Dorothy Round in shorts
English-born Dorothy Round (1909-1982) plays tennis at Albert Park Cricket Ground, wearing her signature white sleeveless dress with divided skirt, pleated to form loose shorts. Dorothy won Wimbledon in 1934 and 1937, and the Australian Open in 1935.
In the early 1930s, many women players in Europe and USA swapped stockings and long skirts for bare legs, short skirts and shorts. In October 1933, Mr Harley Malcolm, Secretary of Lawn Tennis Association Australia (LTAA) declared, “I consider shorts not regulation costume and would stop both men and women, particularly women, wearing them. I think women’s desire to strut themselves in such a costume is unreasonable.” However by November, the Victorian Lawn Tennis Association (VLTA) officially allowed shorts at Kooyong for both sexes.
At the July 1934 Wimbledon Women’s Final, played in front of the King and Queen, Dorothy wore a sleeveless dress with the skirt divided. Her American competitor, Helen Jacobs, wore white tailored shorts with a black stripe on either side, described as “mannish, though businesslike”. In October, Australian tennis player Mrs Nell Hopman warned, “When Miss Dorothy Round arrives in a few weeks’ time, the LTAA will have to reconsider its decision about women playing in dresses, as she is sure to bring a trunkful of shorts. Miss Round has a “shorts only” rule which I fancy she will stick to here. She is the most stylish player I saw abroad.”
The papers also reported that “Mrs Hopman saw no “he girls” among tennis players in Europe. Even the almost universal rule for shorts did not make them look masculine.” Dorothy said, “I wear shorts because they do not get in the way as a frock does. Mine are made in one piece and this avoids any tightness around the waist.”
MCK113 Inkjet print by John Gollings on Canson Platine Fibre Rag
Featured in "Newsworthy: Melbourne in photographs 1933-1936" exhibition at East Melbourne Library, October to December 2023. Exhibition caption by project volunteer, Fiona Collyer.