Bethanie Mattek-Sands: The Lady Gaga of Tennis

Eye grease and tattoo
The stripes of grease swiped under the eyes are usually the reserve of football and baseball players but Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US has brought it on the tennis court. Mattek-Sands sports a tattoo, plays in knee-high socks and plans to attend the Wimbledon players' party in a dress crafted from tennis equipment by one of Lady Gaga's designers Alex Noble.

USA's Bethanie Mattek-Sands returns the ball to Spain's Arantxa Parra Santonja during their first round match for the French Open tennis tournament, at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Sunday, May, 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Laurent Baheux) Eye black originated in the 1940s when football players began smearing ash from a burnt cork on their cheeks. Today it is a must have for baseball and lacrosse players.

USA's Bethanie Mattek-Sands reacts as she plays Spain's Arantxa Parra Santonja during their first round match for the French Open tennis tournament, at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Sunday, May, 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Laurent Baheux) Mattek-Sands has gone a step further and etched cute Bs in the grease under her eyes. Mattek-Sands indulged her interest in fashion with a recent behind-the-scenes tour of Paris's Moulin Rouge cabaret club, but admitted her attempts to join in with the dancers yielded mixed results.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US returns against Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in her third round match of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Friday May 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau) She played the 2007 US Open in a what looked like a black push-up bra and has been fined for wearing a cowboy hat during a match.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US looks down in her match against Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in the third round of the French Open tennis tournament in Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Friday May 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau) The eccentric dresser Mattek-Sands says she draws her inspiration from pop superstar Lady Gaga, and admits she has already started planning her outfits for this year's Wimbledon.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US blows air on her injured right hand in her match against Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in the third round of the French Open tennis tournament in Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Friday May 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau) 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 multi-million-selling albums.

USA's Bethanie Mattek-Sands cenches her fist as she plays Spain's Arantxa Parra Santonja during their first round match for the French Open tennis tournament, at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Sunday, May, 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Laurent Baheux) At the 2006 championships she sported a football-themed ensemble, replete with football socks bought from the famous Harrods department store for USD 16 the night before.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the U.S. returns the ball to Vania King of the US during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris May 25, 2010. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau. The 26-year-old American teamed 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 the French Open at Roland Garros.