As well as beating her rivals on the tennis court, Maria Sharapova plans to outplay them in the fashion stakes.
With her new Wimbledon dress, the Lawn Rose, the 2004 champion is hoping to steal the show on the court catwalk. But its unique style is not her only motivation — the dress also comes with a £43 million deal.
Nike, which sponsored the design, extended its contract with the 23-year-old Russian in January.
The eight-year deal is believed to be the most lucrative women's sports endorsement ever.
Sharapova, seeded 16 for this year's tournament, wore the new outfit for the first time on Court 12 today in her opening match against fellow Russian Anastasia Pivovarova. The outfit, all white with cream-coloured piping, has a lightweight base layer and soft overlayers based on an upturned rose.
In 2008, Sharapova was accused of creating a fashion disaster by opting to forgo frilly dresses and sleek designs and instead wear a top with "a tuxedo bib front" and a pair of men's shorts.
The year before, she wore an all-white dress with lots of pleats in the back, said to be inspired by a swan.
Serena Williams was today expected to wear the Nike-sponsored Control Lawn dress with red piping which was inspired by strawberries and cream.
