Wimbledon controversy noticed stars play braless as new underwear rule earns reward

Plenty of feminine Wimbledon opponents again in 2014 needed to play with out a bra, sparking fierce debate across the match’s strict underwear guidelines. Organisers have relaxed the laws forward of this yr’s match, which has gone down effectively with a variety of outstanding gamers.

The prior guidelines at SW19 said that each female and male gamers needed to play fully in white, together with undergarments, aside from ‘a single trim of color no wider than one centimetre’.

Nine years in the past, because of the laws, British hopeful Naomi Broady needed to play her daunting conflict towards Caroline Wozniacki with out a bra. She misplaced the encounter in straight units.

At the time, 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash slammed the laws as ‘ridiculous‘ and revealed that a number of feminine gamers had been pressured into comparable positions.

“Some of the girls have been told to go back and change their bras and tops because they had slight colour on them,” he advised BBC Radio 5 Live. “I believe some of the girls didn’t have suitable sports bras and had to go without them. It has absolutely gone ridiculous.”

To the reduction of many, Wimbledon chiefs have scrapped the strict all-white gown code for feminine gamers this yr as colored under-shorts will now be allowed.

“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 working round sweating, doing the splits on the courtroom. This yr I knew my interval was going to be throughout Wimbledon once more, so I’m very comfortable that I will not must do the identical factor as final yr. I believe it is an actual constructive and it is actually nice. Really forward-thinking.”