WTA fashion at Wimbledon 2017: Rich textures and finishes make stunning performance dresses

Since today is Middle Sunday at Wimbledon, I used the day without tennis to make my traditional Grand Slam fashion overview, my third this year, after the Australian Open and Roland Garros. There’s such a variety of WTA clothes that I feel like my overviews are getting longer each time, not because of me, but because more and more companies are entering the women’s tennis apparel market and I like to include pretty much all brands, to give you a complete picture. There is no shortage of beautiful and top-performance dresses at this year’s Wimbledon, so grab a refreshing drink and enjoy the latest styles that the best tennis players in the world are sporting.

World No.1 Angelique Kerber, Kristina Mladenovic, Simona Halep and others rock Part 1 of Adidas’ “Evil Twin” series, which uses a combination of fabrics and textures to bring the edge to traditional white Wimbledon outfits. While Kerber showcases the Adidas London Tank and the wave-patterned laser-cut skort that goes with it, Halep also mixes and matches the tank with the cute Adidas London Shorts, featuring engineered mesh side panels for extra ventilation and style.

Kristina Mladenovic presented the Adidas London Dress, which stands out with its feminine mesh sleeves, beautifully-executed mesh construction on the back and on-trend higher neckline.

Looking for inspiration to bring something new to the table while staying within the confines of the all-white Wimbledon fashion rule, Stella McCartney played with textures and finishes in the sculptured fit of Garbine Muguruza’s aSMC Barricade Dress.

The Spaniard pairs the 3-in-1 dress, accentuated by a red zipper pull tab, with Adidas Stella Barricade 2017 Shoes.

Caroline Wozniacki‘s slim-fit Adidas by Stella McCartney Barricade Tank and its open hole mesh back panel match the ventilating engineered panels of the coordinating skort. Offering the most responsive cushioning to date are Caro’s new Adidas Stella Barricade BOOST 2017 Shoes.

Injury prevented Maria Sharapova from playing the tournament at which she won her first Grand Slam title back in 2004, but 22-year-old German Carina Witthoeft gave nice exposure to the Nike Fall Maria Lawn Power Dress. As I described in my preview, the dress is characterized by asymmetrically placed knife pleats and deep faux V-neck with centrally-positioned Swoosh.

For her big comeback to a Grand Slam stage, Victoria Azarenka chose a plain Nike Fall Pure Dress, including only a slight touch of black contrast at V-neck. Just as other Nike’s items, the dress is equipped with Dri-FIT technology, wicking sweat away from the body and taking it to the performance fabric’s surface.

During her one-match-long Wimbledon 2017 appearance, the 2014 runner-up Eugenie Bouchard rocked the cropped NikeCourt Dry Slam Tank, featuring powerful engineered knit sections for targeted ventilation and subtle side slits for added comfort. Not everyone can pull off this look, but it definitely suits Genie’s character and body, and the tight but elastic NikeCourt Power Spin Skirt perfectly matches the sleeveless top.

Pregnant Serena Williams is skipping this edition of Wimbledon for the best possible reason, but being the legend that she is, we can understand Nike for creating this beautiful Fall Serena Lawn Power Dress nevertheless. Layered skirt with mesh hem and asymmetrical mesh top layer, closed cutouts at waist and the American’s recognizable deep V-neck make this dress stand out from the competition.

Venus Williams, probably because of the distress caused by the fatal car accident she was involved in just weeks before Wimbledon, surprised us by bringing nothing new to the table at the prestigious Grand Slam and wearing white items from a range of EleVen‘s previous collections. In her first-round match against Elise Mertens, the five-time champion sported the EleVen Core Love Tank and Core Flutter Skirt, with straps of her pink bra peeking from underneath the tank, which I heard Wimbledon officials didn’t really like, so V ditched it in later matches.

We didn’t have much opportunity to enjoy Jelena Jankovic‘s Fila Spotlight Dress, since the former world No.1, pretty much as expected, lost her first-round encounter to Agnieszka Radwanska. The dress’ name comes from its all-over shine, but the shimmer effect is noticed only when you look at the dress closely, as it wasn’t so evident when I watched the match on TV.

Mentioning Aga Radwanska, the Pole reverted to classic approach to tennis fashion, going for a plain and simple Lotto Nixia III Dress, featuring subtle details such as keyhole cutout on the back and mesh at flouncy skirt.

On the wings of her Birmingham title, Petra Kvitova made a welcome return to her favorite major, wearing a nicely textured NikeCourt Dry Slam Dress, promoted by Madison Keys in Nike’s campaign. Engineered knit panels provide plenty of breathability and discreet pleats allows for a comfortable range of motion.

Just as during her title run in Eastbourne, world number three Karolina Pliskova promoted Fila’s Lawn collection, in particular the UV-protective Fila Lawn Racer Tank, characterized by vertical pleats with illusion mesh gussets on the back, and complementary Fila Lawn Skirt.The Czech’s promotion was short-lived though, as Slovak Magdalena Rybarikova shocked her in the second round already.

Dominika Cibulkova rocked the Lacoste Spring Player Dress, which stands out with its drop-waisted pleated skirt.

The dress was even more photogenic on Alize Cornet, but the Frenchwoman lost at the onset of the tournament.

Christina McHale combined her all-over pleated skirt with a sleeveless polo instead of a tank announced in Lacoste’s pre-Wimbledon promo.

New Balance is in charge of one of my favorite Wimbledon 2017 outfits, as I really like the flair of Heather Watson‘s Spring English Rose Dress, especially its light mesh pleats and Y-shaped racerback. 

Separates from the collection are just as stunning, especially Sorana Cirstea‘s fluffy tulle skort.

Grasscourt specialist Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria launched her own clothing line called Pironetic at her favorite tournament.

Johanna Konta let her tennis do the talking, especially in the marathon triumph over Donna Vekic in the second round, but her lightweight Asics Spring Club Dress nicely complemented the feat with its sporty elegance brought out by the scoop neck and stylish mesh opening at chest.

Svetlana Kuznetsova and Qiaodan opted for a feminine dress at this year’s Wimbledon, featuring ruffled skirt and sheer short sleeves that match see-through V-shaped panel below chest and at neckline.

I really like the match of Yonex and Anastasija Sevastova! The Latvian’s Wimbledon dress is a clean and sporty design with stylish subtle mesh and keyhole cutout on the back. If you like simple looks, this is a perfect pick!

Shelby Rogers was the most successful WTA representative of Diadora, falling to the top-seeded Kerber in the third round.

Martina Hingis‘ Estrella Dress from her own Tonic line is my most favorite item she’s created since launching her own clothing production. I really like the waistband and “suspenders” piping, further enhanced by the subtle chest rhombus mesh inset.

As always, Barbora Strycova and Sergio Tacchini chose a classic sporty design, this time with a touch of femininity provided by pleats at skirt’s hem.

Similar to Strycova, Ellesse‘s Monica Puig never detaches from traditional sportiness.

Now that you’ve seen all the Wimbledon 2017 outfits in one place, what is your verdict? Which dresses are your favorites and which companies are your biggest disappointments? I see no fashion failures, I can only say that I’m disappointed that Venus and EleVen had no new collection ready for Wimbledon. When it comes to hits, we have a plethora of beautiful designs, but if I had to pick just one, I’d go for Kristina Mladenovic’s Adidas dress.