Wimbledon's bizarre dress code explained ahead of Cameron Norrie's clash against Novak Djokovic

With Cameron Norrie keeping Britain's hopes of a Wimbledon win alive, millions of tennis fans will be watching him battle against Novak Djokovic in their hotly-anticipated semi-final. Norrie, who is the only Brit left in the Grand Slam, will go up against the number one seed on the iconic Centre Court on Friday (July 8).

But, millions of viewers around the world may wonder why The Championships has a strict dress code, where players are only allowed to wear white. The tradition has caused controversy over the years, with Australian bad boy Nick Kyrgios hitting the headlines earlier this week for wearing red trainers on Centre Court.

In a bid to understand this archaic rule, we've researched the history behind the dress code and this is what we found.

: Young Essex tennis star who survived childhood cancer wins Wimbledon wildcard

Wimbledon rules state that all players, male and female, must adhere to the competition's strict all-white dress code. This also applies to undergarments, including bras.

The dress code was written in the genteel 1880s, when the sight of sweat was considered rude and improper. According to the official Wimbledon website: "Any undergarments that either are or can be visible during play (including due to perspiration) must also be completely white except for a single trim of colour no wider than one centimetre (10mm)."

This meant that some female players were reportedly forced to go braless during the tournament in 2014. "Some of the girls have been told to go back and change their bras and tops because they had slight colour on them," BBC pundit and 1987 Wimbledon winner Pat Cash told BBC Radio 5 Live at the time.

Puerto Rican tennis player Monica Puig also brought the dress code to attention