Former Wimbledon champion Andre Agassi, known for long hair and loud outfits early in his career, refused to play the London tournament from 1988 to 1990 because of his distaste for the grass surface and stuffy atmosphere, particularly the all-white dress code.
When he decided to play in 1991, the media speculated for weeks about what he would wear -- he eventually emerged for the first round in a completely white outfit to spectator applause.
More recently, Russia's Anna Kournikova was ordered to change in 2002 before the tournament even got underway when she was caught by security cameras practicing in black shorts.
The rule also has raised the ire of players' sponsors -- Germany's Adidas AG is suing the All England Lawn Tennis Club and the International Tennis Federation for trying to restrict the size of its three-stripe shoulder design.
Wimbledon says the stripes are bigger than its logo size limit of 4 square inches (25 sq centimeters). Adidas won a temporary injunction from London's High Court that allows the logo to appear at Wimbledon. A full case will be heard later in the year.
McCowen said there is no conflict between the Adidas dispute and the Ralph Lauren deal. The Polo pony on the Wimbledon uniforms are 3 inches square (19 sq cms), compared to the 5-inch (32 sq cms) square pony logo worn by officials at the U.S. Open.
"We're not playing different rules," McCowen said.
Ralph Lauren went through the club's archive of pictures to create its uniform, basing it on the classic navy-blue blazers and cream-colored trousers worn by umpires in the 1930s and 1940s.
David Lauren, senior vice president of advertising, marketing and corporate communications at the fashion house, said that Wimbledon was "the pinnacle of sports marketing."
"We've always been inspired by Europe and England, by the world of Wimbledon, by the style and the elegance and the sportsmanship," said Lauren, the son of the eponymous designer.
The deal gives Ralph Lauren greater exposure in an upmarket European market it is keen to penetrate. It will sell a 100-piece line of official Wimbledon attire online and in stores across Europe, the United States and in its new Japanese flagship store.
Nader Tavassoli, a marketing professor at the London Business School, said Ralph Lauren's style made it a winning deal for both sides, but warned it would be wise for Wimbledon not to stray too far from tradition.
"They are selling an experience, and that experience includes strawberries and cream and the grass courts and the rain breaks and a sense of Britishness, maybe snobbishness even," he said. "The bride wearing white at a wedding is part of the tradition. Does it change the experience if the bride wears a miniskirt? I think it does."
