Wimbledon Announces Big News Regarding ‘White Underwear’ for WTA Players After Protests From Women

The Wimbledon Championships is one of the oldest and arguably the most prestigious of all Grand Slam tournaments. However, the sporting world got surprised when a number of women were spotted protesting during Wimbledon this summer. The fans were protesting against the old tradition of wearing all-white underwear for women athletes during the tournament.

They further expressed the issues faced by female athletes while wearing the white uniform during their menstrual cycles. As a result, the All England Club was made to rethink its policies regarding the dress code. Notably, they announced the decision to relax its dress code of all-white underwear to accommodate the issues that WTA players might face during the tournament.

Wimbledon announces its decision about wearing all-white underwear for female athletes

A number of women were spotted outside the gates of Wimbledon as they were holding their protest banners that stated, “Address the dress code”. Additionally, Andy Murray’s mother recently raised her voice about the issue. Judy Murray urged the authorities to rethink the traditional all-white dress code during the championship.

As a result, Wimbledon announced its decision to relax its code of all-white underwear to help women athletes. The All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club recently released this statement, “Prioritising women’s health and supporting players based on their individual needs is very important to us, and we are in discussions with the WTA, with manufacturers and with the medical teams about the ways in which we can do that.”

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The rules and policies about the all-white dress code for female athletes have been strictly followed for several decades. Notably, the Romanian tennis star, Mihaela Buzărnescu, was once asked to change her bra during one of her matches. The officials asked Buzărnescu to change her bra, as it was too black. As a result, the Romanian tennis player had to borrow a bra from her coach.

Judy Murray and Billie Jean King also raised their voices

The American tennis legend, Billie Jean King, talked about the issues faced by WTA players while wearing the all-white uniform during their menstrual cycle. Billie Jean King further stated that women female players of her generation were worried about the bloodstains on the all-white dress they wore during Wimbledon. Additionally, the 12-time singles Grand Slam champion stated that it was much more comfortable when she wore dark clothes underneath.

King went on to say that they didn’t have to check on everything when they sat down or switched sides while wearing dark clothes. Andy Murray’s mother, Judy Murray was also among the other women who raised their voices about this issue. She talked about the ‘traumatic experience’ of a possible leak on the white uniform while playing. She further stated that such ‘things’ need to be considered, as matches are being televised.

With Wimbledon announcing its decision to relax the dress code rule, can we expect a similar change in the men’s category as well?

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