American tennis player Bethanie Mattek-Sands, whose victory Wednesday at the French Open will move her above Venus Williams in the WTA rankings, says she draws her stylistic inspiration from pop superstar Lady Gaga.
The 26-year-old eccentric dresser admits she has already started planning her outfits for this year's Wimbledon.
The world No. 34 is renowned for her eye-catching on-court attire and regularly competes clad in shorts and knee-high socks and with American football-style black tape plastered across her cheeks to combat sun glare.
Mattek-Sands donned a pink T-shirt with black shorts and socks in her 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 defeat of compatriot Varvara Lepchenko in the second round of Roland Garros Wednesday.
Quizzed about the inspiration behind her outfits, Mattek-Sands said she felt a stylistic affinity with Lady Gaga, who is as famous for her jaw-dropping costumes as she is for her massively popular albums.
"I think she's very individual," said Mattek-Sands, whose victory over Lepchenko means she will become the second-highest ranked American behind Serena Williams when the next WTA rankings are published.
"Obviously she's come out with some crazy stuff. I don't know that I would be able to play in a meat dress or anything," said Mattek-Sands, referring to the pop star's outfit worn at an award's show last September.
"I was thinking of stapling some bacon on my shoulder or something, but I don't know how that would work out in the sun."
Wimbledon's strict dress code, which forbids players from wearing any colors other than white, has forced Mattek-Sands to be creative with her outfits during the tournament at the prestigious All-England Club.
At the 2006 championships Mattek-Sands sported a soccer-themed ensemble, complete with socks bought from the famous Harrods department store for £10 ($16) the night before.
With this year's tournament less than a month away, the Florida native revealed she was formulating plans to outfox the stylistic censors once again.
"I don't think I can really challenge the color rule right now," said Mattek-Sands, who was fined for wearing a striped cowboy hat at the US Open in 2005.
"You know, I got to figure something out. Obviously the white, you got to work with a lot of the cuts. Obviously I'll be wearing my high socks. But yeah, it's always challenging to think of new things for Wimbledon."
