Billie Jean King has urged Wimbledon to scrap its strict dress code which forces players to wear all-white at the All England Club.
Wimbledon’s strict dress code has caused much controversy down the years, with tennis icon Andre Agassi boycotting the tournament for three years in a row because he was not allowed to wear whatever he wanted.
Roger Federer, an eight-time Wimbledon, was reprimanded in 2013 for wearing trainers with orange soles and asked to change his footwear for his next match.
Wimbledon’s dress code has been in place since 1963 but dates back to the 19th century and the first edition of the tournament in 1877.
White was chosen for a number of aesthetic and practical reasons, with white clothing reflecting light better and therefore retaining less heat.
But it also has a history of elitism as white clothing was worn in social tennis events to show households had the means to keep their uniforms clean.
King is less concerned about those connotations and more with the practicality for viewers watching Wimbledon on TV screens at home.
Describing the dress code as a ‘total mistake’, she told the Daily Telegraph: ‘There’s a match that comes on, you sit down, and you look – let’s say it’s television – who’s who?
‘Tennis people say: “Well, the mark is next to their name” [to indicate who is serving]. I shouldn’t have to look at a mark, I shouldn’t have to look at anything. I should know [who’s who]. My sport drives me nuts.
‘They shouldn’t have the same uniforms on. They both have white on. You can change tradition.’
King, who won a staggering 28 Grand Slam titles across singles and doubles, even suggested names and numbers added to tennis player’s shirt, like in football.
‘I’d have merch with their names on the back so they’d make money, the tournament makes money, everybody makes money,’ the 81-year-old American added.
‘We’re losing out on millions and millions because of that. Numbers are really important!
‘Kids love numbers and they can retire numbers – like a Federer. It’s so obvious. Take what other sports are doing and what people like from other sports.’
In 2023, Wimbledon allowed female players to wear coloured shorts under white tennis skirts to reduce fears around their menstrual cycles.
‘When Wimbledon announced that about the under-shorts I was so happy because it makes such a big difference,’ former British number one Heather Watson said.
‘I speak openly about my period and being on my period. I don’t think it’s a taboo subject. I would love for people to talk about it more, especially women in sport.
‘So, when I heard this I was really happy because last year I went on the pill to stop myself bleeding because I knew we had to wear white under-shorts, and I didn’t want to face any embarrassment.
‘We’re running around sweating, doing the splits on the court. This year I knew my period was going to be during Wimbledon again, so I’m very happy that I won’t have to do the same thing as last year.
‘I think it’s a real positive and it’s really great. Really forward-thinking.’
Why Andre Agassi boycotted Wimbledon
American great Agassi won Wimbledon in 1992 after boycotting the tournament for three years earlier in his career.
‘It’s my first time at the most hallowed venue in tennis, and from the moment we arrive I dislike it,’ he wrote in his book Open.
‘I’m a sheltered teenager from Las Vegas with no education. I reject all that’s alien, and London feels as alien as a place can be.
‘The food, the buses, the venerable traditions. Even the grass of Wimbledon smells different from the grass back home.
‘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.
‘Above all, I took offence at being barred and blocked and made to feel unwanted.’
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