Wimbledon’s CEO Sally Bolton has explained the All England Club’s all-white clothing rule had to change after concerns were raised by female players.
Previously, players were required to wear clothing that is almost entirely white the entire time they are in the stadium.
Nick Kyrgios defied these rules last season, wearing a red Nike cap after matches on his way to finishing runner up to Novak Djokovic in last years’ event.
Previously, players had been forced to change hats with dark underbills.
But women’s players rejoiced in November when Wimbledon announced it was finally allowing female players to wear dark undergarments.
It came after players, including Australia’s Daria Saville, revealed she had to skip periods in order to participate in the event.
This week, Bolton revealed the players had flagged the issue as a “considerable concern” and it was a no-brainer for the tournament to make the change for 2023.
“Going back to the principles we always have been committed to continuing to find ways to support players to compete at their very best and so that is a consistent approach that we take,” Bolton said.
“We continue to engage with players on a range of issues and this one, it became apparent, was something that was of considerable concern to players, flagged to us. We thought carefully about it. But I think it would be fair to say it was not a particularly difficult decision to take.”
The issue was thrust back into the spotlight last year when Mihaela Buzarnescu had to change her bra before her round one match as it was deemed not to have complied with the rules.
Last year, Saville revealed she had to “skip her period around Wimbledon” in an interview with The Daily Aus.
“Recently just being at Wimbledon, I was talking with my friends saying that I love the all-white look. But then a few girls said they hate it because it sucks to wear all white while being on your period,” Saville said.
“It’s true, I myself had to skip my period around Wimbledon, for the reason that I didn’t want to worry about bleeding through, as we already have enough other stress.”
She was far from the only one as Andy Murray’s mom Judy and former World No. 27 Monica Puig also joined calls to change the rules.
Tennis legend Billie Jean King blasted the archaic rules that were the norm at all events during her days.
“My generation, we always worried because we wore all white all the time,” she told CNN. “And it’s what you wear underneath that’s important for your menstrual period.
“And we’re always checking whether we’re showing. You get tense about it because the first thing we are is entertainers and you want whatever you wear to look immaculate, look great. We’re entertainers. We’re bringing it to the people.”
Last year, Wimbledon officials were faced with protester calling for the All England Club to “Address the dress code”.
