About four years ago, Bergeret began a campaign to revamp the sport’s wardrobe, going so far as to present executives from table-tennis outfitters with a slide show contrasting the outfits of female tennis players with those worn by their table-tennis counterparts.

“They understood the problem,” Bergeret said.

Since then, several of the major clothiers — Joola, Butterfly, Tibhar and Li Ning, she said — have begun tinkering with the typical uniform, adding miniskirts, fitted shirts and other elements. Bergeret held a fashion show during last year’s table tennis World Cup, showcasing updated uniforms for both men and women.

Judging from the attire on display in early rounds of men’s and women’s singles matches Wednesday, women’s table-tennis style has a long way to go if the players hope to catch up with the likes of Venus and Serena Williams, or the beach volleyball player Misty May-Treanor.

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Viktoria Pavlovich of Belarus looked smart in a black miniskirt with hot-pink piping and a matching black T-shirt. Gao Jun of the United States was stuck with a navy zip-up shirt and a pair of baggy shorts with an elastic waistband.

“I would like to see the girls wear a skirt,” Gao said Wednesday after defeating her miniskirted opponent, the Slovak Eva Odorova, 4-2, in the second round of women’s singles. “When I practice, I do wear a skirt. We just receive this, you know,” she said, motioning to her outfit, “so I will wear what it is we received.”

Bob Fox, the United States’ team leader in table tennis, said he favored spicing up the uniforms if for no other reason than it may attract new fans. “I mean, look at beach volleyball,” he said. “I don’t think I need to say anything else.”

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Some Chinese fans said sexy table tennis is a contradiction in terms.

“Table tennis is popular enough in China, because everybody plays the game,” said Li Yong, 47, a male spectator. “I come for those players with good skills, not for prettiness.”

Another man, Li Yi, 39, disagreed. “I don’t think they need to dress like stylish stars, but they must do something about the current ugly outfit,” he said. “Too many blacks and blues.”

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The idea pleased Zhang Yining, a table tennis player who is a household name in China. Zhang’s cropped hair gives her a tomboy look, but she recently posed for a glamorous photo shoot on a Chinese Web site. In an interview after defeating Pavlovich, 4-0, Wednesday, she said she would appreciate clothes that maximized speed and spinning the ball. “I’d love to see tighter and shorter sleeves,” she said.

While shorter sleeves might please a young star like Zhang, in table tennis it is not uncommon for players to compete until they are in their late 40s and even 50s. That creates problems when women of different ages must agree on a single uniform, said Roland Berg, managing director of Tibhar, a German table-tennis company that outfits several Olympic teams, including France, Portugal and Brazil.

“As soon as we make something which is modern, unfortunately, it doesn’t sell very well,” Berg said. Older women, he said, prefer cotton uniforms in a classic cut, often in the color blue. “There are a lot of players who are 40 years old, almost. They don’t want to be wearing hot pants. I understand that.”

While Bergeret has focused her campaign on women, she said she favors updating men’s attire, as well. That is fine by the German player Christian Süss, who defeated Janos Jakab of Hungary, 4-1, Wednesday in the second round of men’s singles.

“Some say, this is what they wore 20 years ago already,” said Süss, gesturing at his loose gray shorts, which did not match his polo shirt, which was done up in Germany’s national colors of red, yellow and black. “Now we are such a professional sport. You see the tables and everything else looking different. But the clothes? Yeah, we have to improve a little bit more.”