“I love Wimbledon, but they’ve gone too far now,” said tennis GOAT Roger Federer in 2015, criticizing the all-white dress code of the Wimbledon Championships. It’s been in place for nearly 150 years now. But the 20-time slam champion wasn’t really a fan of this mandatory tradition after a point. Remember how he broke it in 2013, wearing orange-soled Nike shoes in his first round encounter against Romania’s Victor Hănescu? But Federer was not spared as he was banned from wearing these shoes the next time. “The rules have become ridiculously strict. I would be in favor of loosening it up a little bit,” he said. But Federer was not the only one who wasn’t fond of Wimbledon’s strict dress code. Even the 8-time slam champion Andre Agassi didn’t like it, and he went a step further to do something that Federer never even contemplated.

Agassi, who was known to flaunt his colorful fashion on the court, was someone who didn’t abide by weird restrictions. Even if it meant skipping Wimbledon. Well yes! He did exactly that. Between 1988 and 1990, the former World No.1 opted to be a rebel and boycotted the Grand Slam due to its policy not to allow colors other than white during matches. Even in his book, titled Open, he revealed, “I resent rules, but especially arbitrary rules. Why must I wear white? I don’t want to wear white. Why should it matter to these people what I wear?”

Now, in a latest interaction with US Magazine, which he shared on his IG story, Agassi recalled that time again, spilling the beans on why exactly he broke Wimbledon’s ‘all-white’ dress code. When asked about his decision to skip the slam for three seasons, he explained, “Well, I don’t know if it was that simple. I had an intense opposition to unfairness and inequalities, so if I felt something wasn’t right, I was anti-establishment.”

Continuing further, the 54-year-old added, “That was real. (But) I had a lot of growing up to do, and I did it in front of the world.” While he never really liked Wimbledon in general, because of the grass court, Agassi did end up clinching the title in 1992, defeating Croatian Goran Ivanišević 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.

Unsurprisingly, Agassi wasn’t the only one who was “anti-establishment” to the Wimbledon showrunners (the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club). There have been several instances throughout the years where famous tennis players have ended up ditching the dress code. Take, for example, Australia’s Nick Kyrgios. Remember how he wore the red-and-white Jordan sneakers and an all-red cap in the 2022 edition?

Then there was Serena Williams as well. In the 2010 and 2012 Wimbledon, she wore brightly colored undershorts. According to the 23-time slam champion, she did it for good luck. And the tactics certainly paid off as she won the title in these two editions.

The ‘all-white’ dress code of Wimbledon has been so strict that even 24-time slam champion and active member of the Big Three, Novak Djokovic, had to ask for an exception to be made last season.

When Novak Djokovic wore a non-white accessory at Wimbledon

Last season, at the 2024 Wimbledon, the Serb maestro Novak Djokovic stepped on the court to play his first round match against the Czech Vit Kopriva. While everything seemed normal to start with, eyebrows were raised later. Why? Well, Djokovic was wearing a knee compression sleeve having a gray color. Of course, it wasn’t white – and that was the main problem.

The Serbian was forced to wear the knee compression sleeve due to his knee surgery ahead of the tournament. But because the accessory was gray instead of the compulsory white, it was not normal. Djokovic did mention that he had to seek permission before the match, while choosing the shade of light gray to be closer to the white code.

“I did check. I actually just met the chairwoman just before walking onto the court,” he said, as reported by ATP’s website in July 2024. “She gave me a thumbs-up, so it was okay. Of course, we did check in the days prior if we have permission. We’re trying to find a white one, trust me.”

He continued, “I know it’s (gray) not ideal. I like to go all white and I like to respect the rules. But I got the permission. I said to them that I will give our best for next match the white one.”

What are your thoughts on Wimbledon’s unapologetic compulsion to have only whites on the court? Do you think the dress code will see a modification going forward? Share your thoughts in the comments below.