Did Chrissy wear polyester?

Wimbledon begins tomorrow (yay!) and Tennis Channel and ESPN Classic have been showing classic matches throughout the weekend. It's really neat to watch these now because I didn't start playing and watching tennis until a few years ago. I knew who the marquis players were, just didn't have a lot of interest in watching it until I began playing. It's kind of interesting to see Monica Seles vs. Martina Navratilova in 1992, Chris Evert vs. Navratilova in 1978, Sampras, Agassi, Graf and so on.

So my big thought was about the way the players dress. Athletes today, in all sports, are wearing Dri-Fit and Climalite and fabrics that wick. Looking at tennis specifically, in the 1970s the women wore polished dresses, made of cotton in some cases, but it looks like polyester too, hence the title of my post. In the 80s and 90s the women took on bulky oversized tops that look more similar to what one of the men would wear than a women, with the exception of the skirts. What were they thinking??? If Maria Sharapova or Serena Williams were to walk on court in what Seles wore in the match I was watching Friday they would lose their contracts for half of their endorsements. Come to think of it, some of Sharapova's recent court attire choices look along the lines of the classic Chrissy Evert wardrobe. Interesting how things come back around. I really don't need to see the overized Fila outfits that Capriati used to wear though...

I don't know, if I had to run, play tennis or just exercise in general without the Dri-Fit tops and bottoms I've come to love I'd be so uncomfortable. Even in the 60 and 70 degree weather when you see people running in cotton T-shirts and sweat pants I can 't understand it. Not only do those not breathe, but they rub and chafe (ouch!). I'm even more surprised at races when I see people wearing cotton shirts, usually from some other race. Why is it that nearly every race gives out cotton shirts?

So that's what I've been thinking about this weekend. I should really go out and run but this whole classic tennis marathon is addicting.