Billie Jean King has criticised Wimbledon's attire rules after the All England Club vowed to relax requirements on all-white underwear.
By YASMIN SYED
Tue, Nov 8, 2022
Billie Jean King said Wimbledon's all-white rule was her "pet peeve" (Image: Getty)
Billie Jean King has slammed Wimbledon’s all-white dress code as one of her biggest “pet peeves”. It comes after the All England Club made the decision to drop a rule that meant players were required to wear white underwear ahead of next year’s Championships, which had left some female players competing without wearing a bra.
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Billie Jean King has slammed Wimbledon’s all-white dress code as one of her biggest “pet peeves”. It comes after the All England Club made the decision to drop a rule that meant players were required to wear white underwear ahead of next year’s Championships, which had left some female players competing without wearing a bra.
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Wimbledon set to ditch rule that forced some women to play braless
King has blasted the All England Club’s rule that players must wear all-white to compete at Wimbledon after it was announced that they would be ditching a requirement for athletes to wear white underwear, reported by the Daily Mail. The tennis legend said it left players feeling “tense” when they took to the court as they were too preoccupied with worry over their attire.
“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.” Her words come after several players spoke out against the rule, with world No 53 Daria Saville revealing that she was forced to skip her periods during Wimbledon over the fear of menstruating while wearing white.
And six-time Wimbledon winner King said the same concerns had been around since her day, continuing: “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.”
King has blasted the All England Club’s rule that players must wear all-white to compete at Wimbledon after it was announced that they would be ditching a requirement for athletes to wear white underwear, reported by the Daily Mail. The tennis legend said it left players feeling “tense” when they took to the court as they were too preoccupied with worry over their attire.
“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.” Her words come after several players spoke out against the rule, with world No 53 Daria Saville revealing that she was forced to skip her periods during Wimbledon over the fear of menstruating while wearing white.
And six-time Wimbledon winner King said the same concerns had been around since her day, continuing: “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.”
Daria Saville said she skipped her periods during Wimbledon because of the all-white rule
(Image: Getty)
The retired former world No 1 also had another reason for her dislike of the rule as it left spectators confused over who was who while they were watching a match. “Nothing is worse in sports than when you turn on the television and two players are wearing the same uniform or same outfits. It’s horrible,” she stressed.
The retired former world No 1 also had another reason for her dislike of the rule as it left spectators confused over who was who while they were watching a match. “Nothing is worse in sports than when you turn on the television and two players are wearing the same uniform or same outfits. It’s horrible,” she stressed.
“No one knows who’s who. This is one of my pet peeves, I’ve been yelling for years. Have you ever seen any sport where the people wear the same outfit on each side?” While Wimbledon’s decision to abolish their underwear rule wasn’t enough to satisfy King’s frustrations, the 78-year-old said she would welcome a change that allowed players to wear darker undergarments below their white match kit.
“You feel like you can breathe and not have to check on everything every minute when you sit down and change sides,” she explained. “So at least it’s been brought to the forefront, which I think is important to have discussion.”
“You feel like you can breathe and not have to check on everything every minute when you sit down and change sides,” she explained. “So at least it’s been brought to the forefront, which I think is important to have discussion.”
Mihaela Buzarnescu was made to change her bra at this year's Championships (Image: Getty)
Wimbledon’s decision comes after an outburst surrounding the white underwear rule this year. As Mihaela Buzarnescu was about to play her opening match against Nastasja Mariana Schunk, tournament supervisors noticed her bra did not comply with the requirements and forced her to change it before she could play.
The rule also sparked a protest ahead of this year’s women’s singles final between Ons Jabeur and Elena Rybakina, while 1987 men’s champion Pat Cash previously told BBC Radio 5 Live that the rule had left some female players forced to play braless.
“Some of the girls have been told to go back and change their bras and tops because they had slight colour on them.I believe some of the girls didn’t have suitable sports bras and had to go without them. It has absolutely gone ridiculous,” he said.
Wimbledon’s decision comes after an outburst surrounding the white underwear rule this year. As Mihaela Buzarnescu was about to play her opening match against Nastasja Mariana Schunk, tournament supervisors noticed her bra did not comply with the requirements and forced her to change it before she could play.
The rule also sparked a protest ahead of this year’s women’s singles final between Ons Jabeur and Elena Rybakina, while 1987 men’s champion Pat Cash previously told BBC Radio 5 Live that the rule had left some female players forced to play braless.
“Some of the girls have been told to go back and change their bras and tops because they had slight colour on them.I believe some of the girls didn’t have suitable sports bras and had to go without them. It has absolutely gone ridiculous,” he said.
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