Wimbledon is tightening its dress code this year, with stricter rules on 'almost entirely white' clothing – these shots from 130 years of pushing tennis style boundaries offer some pointers
Maud Watson, the first Wimbledon ladies' singles champion, 1884 (and again in 1885). Photograph: Popperfoto/Getty Images
May Sutton Bundy, the first US player to win the Wimbledon ladies' singles title, pictured in action in 1907. Photograph: PA
French tennis player Suzanne Lenglen competing at Wimbledon, 1926. Photograph: Central Press/Getty Images
US tennis player Helen Wills Moody playing a semi-final match at Wimbledon, 1933. Photograph: Len Putnam/AP
US team captain Helen Jacobs in action in 1936. Photograph: Len Putnam/AP
Gertrude Moran, also known as Gorgeous Gussie, in 1946. Photograph: George W Hales/Getty Images
Australian player Margaret Court, 1969. Photograph: Colorsport/Rex
Anne White in a revolutionary one-piece, 1985. Photograph: Getty Images
Venus Williams, 1999. Photograph: Andy Hooper/Rex
Tatiana Golovin of France sports red knickers, 2007 – there'll be none of this sort of thing this year, with only 1cm of coloured trim permitted on both outer and undergarments. Photograph: Glenn Campbell/AFP/Getty Images
Maria Sharapova of Russia, 2008. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US arrives on court, 2011. Photograph: Mark Baker/AP
Serena Williams, 2013 – this year, nails and hair are the only areas left unlegislated by the stricter Wimbledon dress code. Photograph: Rex
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