Wimbledon, July 1 (IANS): Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard escaped strict punishment from umpire Louise Engzell despite breaking Wimbledon's dress code.

The 21-year-old, who reached the final of last year's lone grass court Major, wore a black bra whose strap was easily visible during her women's singles first round defeat to China's Ying-Ying Duan here on Tuesday.

Engzell checked to see if Bouchard had broken the dress code but did not take action against the World No.12. Wimbledon's dress code states that players must dress in 'almost entirely white' during competitive matches at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

When asked by sportsmail if she knew that her bra strap had caused concern, Bouchard replied, "I was not aware of that at all and no one told me anything about my bra."

The rules state that "competitors must be dressed in suitable tennis attire that is almost entirely white and this applies from the point at which the player enters the court surround".

Duan piled more misery on Bouchard as she defeated the Canadian 7-6(3), 6-4. Bouchard has now lost nine of her last 11 games.