Tennis, we are reliably informed, is thriving. London’s 02 Arena has been universally hailed as a superb stage for the Barclays ATP World Tour finals. The stars have come to play and whole production is breathtaking, bright and brash in technicolour. Why then are the majority of the players sent out in playing attire that can only be described as drab?

True Rafael Nadal was resplendent in a luminous green shirt while his Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco cut a dash in fruitful orange. Unfortunately hombres lost their opening match although a yearning for a sun-kissed clay court probably had something more to do with that than their vivid choice of attire.

In contrast look at the colours sported by the first three singles winners of the week; Andy Murray opened proceedings in the dullest of dark blue, Roger Federer followed up in a drab dark chocolate and then came Robin Soderling, clad in black aside for the odd stripe for tangerine and white.

Cries for the traditional all-white attire on a tennis court fall on deaf ears at this time of year. Such styles are understandable for that bastion of tradition, the All England Club in late June and early July, when the sun is known to shine and daylight allows play to continue unaided by floodlight until late in the evening. But at this dark and dank time of the year a little vibrancy is required.

Of course it would be incongruous to see Murray parade on court in a shirt predominantly pink and Federer, a man whose style is often ratified by Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue no less, has never been a man for clashing stripes or hoops. However wouldn’t t be nice to see Murray in the much brighter blue he wore at the US Open or Federer clad in red with a splattering of white to show just how Swiss he can appear.

Now Murray’s current clothing company Fred Perry might not be overly disposed to making their soon to be ex-man as photogenic as possible. The company did a sterling job at both Wimbledon and New York’s Flushing Meadows sending out the Scot in a retro outfit that made the a man who delights in being un-clothes-conscious almost appear neat. Money has of course talked in the interim and this is the last tournament in which Murray will be wearing the laurel-leafed badge of dear old Fred.

For a reputed 15 million big ones over the next five years, Murray has elected to go down the Tim Henman route and wear the three stripes of adidas. Ironically the company also clothes Verdasco but who would beat on Murray emerging at next January's Australian Open clad in orange. He is a Hibernian supporter after all.

The marketing of tennis attire has long been a mystery to many who follow the sport around the world. There have been some iconic male outfits: those great Fila pinstripes as worn by Bjorn Borg; the Sergio Tacchini shirt worn by John McEnroe before he became corporate Nike property and the multi-colours worn to identify the Handsome Eight in those days just before tennis went Open. More recently Rafa’s pirate pants and sleeveless shirts illustrated the player’s identity.

All that is required is a little imagination and surely it is what the public want to see. The likes of Nike, adidas, Reebok and now Sergio Tacchini who are about to burst back on the market with the signing of Novak Djokovic for next season spend millions on attracting the big names. Let’s see them sent out to do battle in something a little more eye-catching and entertaining.