This was a process begun way back in the 1930s, when Frenchman Rene Lacoste promoted his own brand of sports shirts by sporting the Lacoste crocodile logo on court.
The relationship between tennis and fashion has always been strong, but today's stars - especially the women - are taking things a step further.
The outfits worn by three leading players on day two of the Australian Open caused more of a stir than any win or loss.
Wimbledon and US Open champion Venus Williams led the way with a black and blue split-top number which gave new meaning to the phrase "displaying her talents".
Martina Hingis kept hers under wraps but made her mark by having one full-length and one short sleeve - the world number one claims the style aids her service action.
Mary Pierce, meanwhile, went for a shocking pink ensemble and later said: "I think it's great to see everybody really getting into what they're wearing and getting involved in design and fashion and colour."
Of course, it is not all about tennis players giving licence to their creativity in clothing.
In today's game, multi-million pound sponsorship by sportswear companies has upped the ante in the tennis fashion stakes.
Promoted
Companies such as Nike - which has just signed up young Aussie star Lleyton Hewitt for $16.5m - seek a return on their investment by selling the lines modelled by their talent roster.
This was a process begun way back in the 1930s, when Frenchman Rene Lacoste promoted his own brand of sports shirts by sporting the Lacoste crocodile logo on court.
Until then, unadorned white had been the colour of tennis. Gentleman wore long trousers and women played in full-length dresses.
Suzanne Lenglen of France, who won five consecutive Wimbledon titles between 1919 and 1923, pioneered dresses cut daringly, for the time, just above the calf.
Another Wimbledon great, Helen Wills Moody, took things a little further - and higher - with knee-length outfits.
Britain's Bunny Austin became the first top player to wear shorts in tournaments in 1932.
Daisy Dukes shocked the tennis establishment by following suit in the same year, but most women continued to wear dresses.
Ease of movement
Ladies' underwear came into view after the Second World War, with skirts now short enough to ride up when players served or reached high.
Ease of movement became key as sleeveless ladies' tops came to the fore in the 1950s, but still the tennis dress code remained conservative - and white only.
Other colours began to creep in as the liberal 60s exerted their influence, but white continued to hold sway well into the 70s.
That decade saw a move away from uniformity, with stripes and bars of colour featuring in outfits and sponsors logos becoming more important.
Players also asserted individuality through their hairstyles. Who can forget John McEnroe's wild locks kept under control by a red headband which matched his fiery temper?
But it was the 1980s which saw white really come under fire, with sportswear manufacturers experimenting with all kinds of colours, shades and patterns.
No one player summed this up better than the young Andre Agassi, with his Bon Jovi hairdo, stone-washed jean-shorts and the crazy hues of his Nike-supplied shirts.
Boundaries
The 1980s also saw America's Anne White comply with Wimbledon's "predominantly white" dress code - by wearing an all-in-one spandex suit with leg warmers.
It didn't catch on.
The last decade has seen female players pushing at the boundaries of tennis fashion, with more colourful, shorter and backless outfits.
Wearing mostly white still makes sense in the sweltering heat of many outdoor tournaments, but that didn't stop Mary Pierce showing off her curves in an all-black ensemble.
The outfits on show at the Australian Open are just the latest shots in tennis's lucrative fashion wars.
For some players, how they look defines them more than their play.
After all, tennis pin-up Anna Kournikova may not have won a tournament but she has modelled bras...