The All England Club have enforced a strict dress code on players at this year’s grand slam stating that clothing must be ‘almost entirely white’.
They state there should be no off white shades or cream and no solid mass or panels of colouring , including no trims of colour being limited to one centimetre wide.
But one player who just can’t stop being colourful is the flamboyant American, 30-year-old Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
When she moved to serve, the colourful tattoo on Bethanie’s arm was on full display
The tennis star from Miami, Florida, flashed her famous tattoo featuring flowers and bees, as she beat Alison Van Uytvanck from Belgium in her first round match.
Spectators were given a prime view of the inking, which runs the length of her arm, every time she served as she won the match in two sets 6-3 6-2.
The design features large pink, purple and orange flowers and includes a bee – a reference to her nickname.
While the latest dress code for Wimbledon states that players must wear ‘almost entirely white’ – down to their socks and underwear – they haven’t gone as far as ordering coloured tattoos like Bethanie’s to be covered up.
Karolina Pliskova is another tattooed player who took to the grass courts today. Her tribal body art could be seen on her arm and thigh
They also haven’t issued rules on the use of hair dye and and the American made full use of this omission by adding a pink streak to her blonde hair when she played today.
Bethanie is famous for adding to fashion flair to her play and has previous poked fun at the Wimbledon dress code by turning up in 2011 wearing a jacket covered in white tennis balls.
She’s often experimented with her hair colour too, dyeing it purple, red and green in 2012.
Outré though her look was, Bethanie certainly wasn’t the only tattooed player on court at day one of Wimbledon.
Karolina Pliskova, 23, of the Czech Republic wore a white vest top and a short skirt making matching tribal print tattoos on her arm and thigh visible.
