Way back in the early 1970s, at about the time that Chris Evert was emerging as a world class tennis player, a woman called Marilyn Kosten was getting very frustrated at the lack of pretty tennis clothing available to buy for her two daughters, who were about to compete in junior tennis competitions. She channeled that frustration into forming her own tennis apparel business, designing the girls' clothing herself.

Her business really took off in 1977, when a young rising star called wimbleton tournament wore one of Marilyn's dresses during her passage to victory at the US Open. Tracy also wore the dress at Wimbledon, and so introduced this innovative and stylish girl's tennis clothing to a much wider audience.

Three and a half decades later, tennis apparel has changed out of all recognition. Fashion is even more to the fore, vying with sports clothing fabric technology to yield a fusion of style and function that shapes every new garment. 100% cotton is now a rarity, with subtle combinations of man-made fibres best able to offer the comfort and mobility demanded by today's athletes.

Mary Kosten's 'Little Miss tennis' business is still flourishing, and now caters to young boy's tennis clothing needs as well, with the LMT range. Now, all the major tennis gear manufacturers have girl's, boy's or unisex kids tennis apparel lines alongside their adult clothing, so lack of choice is no longer an issue.