If last week’s smartening up of the dress code in the Royal Enclosure at Ascot was generally deemed A Good Thing, then perhaps it was only a matter of time before this line of thinking was followed at Wimbledon. Although, this week, it isn’t interference with the spectators’ attire — after all, how much offence can a plastic cagoule really cause? No, in this instance, it is the sexing up, or rather the sexing down, of our tennis players’ clothes on court.

Blame it on the credit crunch, the vogue for repressed, non-blingy clothes or even that the It-pair of shoes of the moment happens to be a pair of loafers, but Wimbledon dressing has taken a decidedly modest turn.

Enter specimen one, this exclusive glimpse of Maria Sharapova’s Nike white top and shorts combo that she will wear to play in her first match today. With its non-cling fabric and that demure pin-tucking up top, it certainly has something of a Thirties air to it, akin to Keira Knightley in Atonement.

It’s the antidote to all those “I’m wearing a skirt, honest” bottom-skimmers or Venus William’s laced-up-back dress and goes some way to echoing the Pierre Balmain bloomers that last showed up on Gertrude “Gussie” Moran at in the 1950s.

The warm-up outfit above is just as restrained, comprising a Tuxedo-style jacket with matching tailored trousers, although this being world-class tennis, it’s actually a happy marriage of decorum and all-singing, all-dancing, high-tech, fabric called Dri-FIT jersey.

But for Wimbledon aficionados used to high gloss and showy fashion, is this all rather tame? Probably.

The irony is that in fashion terms — or for those who take their cue from style.com — this outfit would be perceived as rather edgy with its nod to Viktor & Rolf’s sharp tailoring. Though with everything styled in demure white, the only loud element will be Sharapova’s ear-splitting grunts.

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