Wimbledon officials have "demanded" Roger Federer "changes his grass court tennis shoes," according to Mike Dickson of the London DAILY MAIL. Federer's orange-soled shoes "contravene strict rules about players being clad from head to toe in gear that has to be almost totally white." His '13 Wimbledon Nike clothing line "involves orange trim around his personalised tracksuit with the famous RF logo that the shoes are meant to match." Serena Williams, who "also has custom made shoes, is believed to also have been similarly told to change to something more conventional." Tournament regulations state that manufacturers "must submit all clothing designs for inspection 90 days before the start, but there is often not quite the same formal scrutiny of footwear" (London DAILY MAIL, 6/26). ESPN.com's Darren Rovell noted other than the soles, Federer's shoes are "virtually all white, save for a gray swoosh and a small gray 'RF' logo." The shoes are a "special version" of Nike's Zoom Vapor. The neon orange on the soles matches "the color of the swoosh on his shirt and his headband" (ESPN.com, 6/25). Meanwhile, ESPN’s Pam Shriver noted Serena Williams wore “the same color tennis pants, all orange,” as Federer’s shoes during her first-round match yesterday. Shriver: “Why is she allowed to wear her tennis pants that are all orange if Roger can’t have the soles of his shoes all orange?” ("Wimbledon," ESPN2, 6/26). A Wimbledon spokesperson said, "The rules state that players can wear any colour underwear they like provided it is no longer than their shorts or skirt. Anything else must be white" (REUTERS, 6/26).
FORTNIGHT CATWALK: In London, Bibby Sowray noted English fashion designer Stella McCartney is "kitting out three of Wimbledon's biggest talents" in Laura Robson, Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Kirilenko. All three will "wear her new 'Barricade' range for Adidas throughout the competition." McCartney said, "Tennis is really one of the sport disciplines that I design that can really house feminine styles with high performance. We achieve this in our use of colour and cut as well as using all the latest technology" (London TELEGRAPH, 6/25).
