The All England Club’s clothing rule prompts players to wear white at Wimbledon. Fortunately, there are no such requirements for off-court attire and in 2007 some of tennis’ top stars showed their fashion sense from the court to the catwalk.

 We assigned Tennis Week photo editor Dan (who brings the same passionate intensity to fashion photography that his tennis hero, Ilie Nastase, brought to the court), the arduous task of reviewing tennis’ top fashion moments of the season.

Here’s a visual retrospective of some of the most striking shots from 2008:

“I love to do designing (but) I am not really comfortable wearing four to five inches of heels,” Serena Williams said prior to walking the runway in India last spring. “I am definitely not a model and modelling is not ideal for me. I love to be behind the scenes. When I am playing and sweaty, I definitely can’t look sexy. But when I design, I like clothes that conform to my body.”

Daniela Hantuchova’s Madrid modeling debut came days after she reached the Open Gaz de France quarterfinals in Paris. Hantuchova, who was training at Barcelona’s Sánchez-Casal Academy, speaks fluent Spanish in addition to Slovak, English and German.

The city that first brought the catwalk to the court four years ago when organizers of the Tennis Masters Series-Madrid hired 25 models, ages 19 to 27, to serve as ball girls during that ATP tournament brought tennis’ eighth-ranked player to the runway and Hantuchova enjoyed the experience.

The Australian Open semifinalist didn’t require a crash course in how to walk the catwalk — she’s been an avid fashionista for several years and relished her role in the TCN show.

“She walked like she had done 20 shows before,” gushed one observer.

The modeling stint was limited to one show: Hantuchova flew to Antwerp where she beat Belgian wild card Yanina Wickmayer, 6-4, 6-3, today to advance to the quarterfinals of the Proximus Diamond Games.

Memories of the 6-0, 1-0 lead she held in the Australian Open semifinals before losing to Ana Ivanovic, 0-6, 6-3, 6-4, were not as easy to shed as the designer clothes she exchanged for her trademark Nike outfit in her return to the court.

“It has been a good start of the year indeed. I should have won against Ivanovic though,” Hantuchova said. “On the day of the final itself, I remember thinking : it should have been me who was there. However, since I left Australia the disappointment has faded. I now have a lot more experience and am more easily satisfied with my level. I want to go on for a couple of more years. My main motivation is that I can still do better. However, within a few years, I want to lead a normal life, with a family.”

 

Rafael Nadal with his mother, Ana Maria, attended the Prince of Asturias Awards ceremony on October 24 at the Hotel Reconquista in Oviedo, Spain.

 Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova completed a photo shoot for an ad campaign for TAG Heuer, the prestigious Swiss watch, in March.  Sharapova signed on as TAG Heuer female brand ambassador in December of 2004, following fellow former top-ranked players Boris Becker and Monica Seles as ambassadors for the brand.

 

To view Sharapova’s modeling portfolio, please visit IMG Models.com.

High performance and high fashion can converge on court when Venus and Serena Williams come to play. The Slam sisters, who partnered to claim their second Olympic gold medal in doubles at the Beijing Olympic Games in August, faced off in their latest sisterly sequel in the US Open quarterfinals.

 

Dress down day did not come on that occasion, but the Williams sisters returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium days after Serena beat Jelena Jankovic to capture her ninth career Grand Slam title and dressed up in designer clothes from Versace, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Sonia Rykiel, Diane von Furstenberg, Celine and Oscar de la Renta for a photo shoot that appears Harper’s Bazaar.

Dressed in various designer ensembles and stiletto heels, photographer Terry Richardson presents the sisters in flowing fashionable form facing off on the familiar true blue US Open court. To view video from the shoot, please visit this Harper’s Bazaar link.

 

 

Serena, who cites Calvin Klein and Diane Furstenberg as her favorite designers, enjoyed elevated status playing on stilettos.

“I’ve never worn stiletto heels on a tennis court, especially not in Arthur Ashe Stadium,” said Serena. “I feel like I would play better if I were as tall as I am in the stilettos.”

Asked who would prevail in a fashion match, Serena replied: “I would obviously win a fashion match because I move a little bit better in my heels than Venus does.”

Venus didn’t exactly share her younger sister’s sentiments: “You know what, I’m gonna have to claim a win in the fashion match,” Venus said.

 

 

Prior to the Open Era tennis was often viewed as an aspirational, elitist sport. The Williams sisters broke barriers in rising from the gritty public park courts of Compton, California in ascending to the World No. 1 ranking and collecting Grand Slam championships. Venus’ own clothing collection, EleVen, recalls her Compton roots — the name “EleVen” refers to the street address of the Williamses former house in Compton (and “11 is beyond 10 you know how people say something is a 10 out of 10 well this is 11,” Williams said.

“The collection is definitely very fashion forward,” Williams said. “On court it reflects my style: I play a very graceful, classic game and that’s style is something I think is reflected in the clothes.”

Venus’ modeling portfolio is here.