Wimbledon champion turns heads with surprise fashion choice despite SW19 weather

Defending Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova was playing doubles on Wednesday and - despite it being 20 degrees plus - was rocking tights in a surprising look for the summer months.

The Czech began the defence of her crown on Tuesday on Centre Court, but needed three sets to eventually see off Alexandra Eala. Krejcikova doubles up as an impressive doubles player and was alongside Hao-Ching Chan out on Court 8.

It was her choice of attire that caught the eye with the 29-year-old likely the only woman to compete so far with tights on. As per the Wimbledon dress code, they were all white. Wednesday was the coldest day of the championship so far, but it still exceeded 20 degrees and was particularly humid.

The opening two days had been sweltering with the heat breaking records at SW19. Air temperature on the grounds had reached 32.3 degrees by 4pm on Monday, surpassing the previous record at the start of a Championships - which was set back in 2001. Players were given ice packs, cold towels and plenty of water to help regulate their temperature during changeovers.

Krejcikova will return to singles action on Thursday when the two-time Grand Slam winner will take on American Caroline Dolehide. The defending champion has struggled since her success in London, meaning she arrives seeded 17.

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That will make her hopes of defending her crown all the more difficult and the Czech was slow to get going in her opener, having to recover from losing the first set with her opponent's quality somewhat surprising her.

She said: "I mean, obviously the first set, yeah, she just did better during the key points of the games. Yeah, she was playing some great tennis. To be honest, I watched some of her matches. What she played in those matches, she didn't show up today. She played totally different tennis. Maybe I was a little bit lost at the beginning because of the way that I didn't maybe expect what she was playing.

"But, I mean, on the other hand, I found a way. To be honest, I just went point by point, just go really, like, point, one after another, and try to put them together. I think was really, the key point was to gain some lead in that second set, yeah."

Krejcikova also added: "The result I achieved last year is definitely helping. I feel good. I mean, I feel, yeah, it's tough because sometimes you just feel stronger in your head. Things you're fighting there, sometimes you don't. It's very individual. I mean, every day is different.

"Yeah, I'm obviously just very, very happy today was the day where I was really mentally there. I was fighting for every single ball, and the match turn around. Yeah, at the end I was the one that was, yeah, lifting up the arms."