At Wimbledon, Ashleigh Barty Pays Tribute to a Forebear

Barty, who is seeking her first Wimbledon title, defeated Anna Blinkova of Russia, 6-4, 6-3, on Thursday and will face Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the third round on Saturday.

Before the tournament, Barty approached her clothing sponsor, Fila, with a suggestion to re-create elements of the outfit Goolagong Cawley wore during her first Wimbledon triumph. Goolagong Cawley’s white dress had buttons all the way down the front and, most notably, a scalloped hemline.

“We took that element, we took some beautiful stitching of flowers on another dress that Evonne loved, and we took all of that as inspiration, and designed a couple of different outfits for Ash,” said Lauren Mallon, Fila’s senior director of tennis marketing. “We also kept in mind what Ash likes to wear; it’s really important to us as a brand that is comfortable, functional, and beautiful for all of our athletes.”

Barty, who prefers not to wear dresses on the court, was given a tank top and skort with similar elements. There were other updates: Whereas the flowers that appeared on some of Goolagong Cawley’s outfits were embroidered with colorful thread, the ones on Barty’s dress were laser cut out of the fabric.

Barty said in her pre-tournament news conference that she had sought Goolagong Cawley’s blessing before going ahead with the plan; Goolagong Cawley’s excitedly gave it.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/02/sports/tennis/wimbledon-ashleigh-barty.html