Wimbledon brace yourself for a protest on Saturday as the All England Club comes under increasing pressure to abandon the strict all-white dress code for female players who are menstruating.
A group of women activists will stage a small-scale protest outside the main gates of the All England Club to highlight their position, according to the Telegraph†
At the demonstration, which coincides with the day of the women’s singles final between Ons Jabeur and Elena Rybakina, protesters will wear tailor-made skirts with a ‘red blood’ skort.
“These archaic rules were written by men years ago and have gotten stricter and stricter over the years. It’s time to rewrite them for menstruation,” said Gabriella Holmes, 26, one of the co-founders of the Address The Dress Code campaign.
‘We are not asking for drastic changes. Perhaps the Wimbledon board could sit down and make some changes that take into account the fact that women compete during their periods and it increases their pressure when they perform at this level.”
One amendment Holmes would welcome is that Wimbledon would allow women to wear the All England Club’s official colors of green and purple under their white clothing.
A female activist group will protest their all-white dress code at Wimbledon on Saturday, highlighting the problems women face during their periods
The protesters will wear a tailored skirt with a ‘redblood’ skort underlayer
The protesters have labeled Wimbledon’s rules ‘archaic’ with players having to be worn all in white
In light of the news, a Wimbledon spokesperson said: “Priorizing women’s health and supporting players based on their individual needs is very important to us, and we are in talks with the WTA, with manufacturers and with the medical community.” teams on the ways we can do that.
“It’s an issue we need to think about carefully. It’s easy to jump to conclusions about how you might solve one problem without thinking about how you might create another. We’re very concerned about making sure this isn’t something we’re doing.”
Britain’s 28-year-old Alicia Barnett recently spoke about the stress of wearing white clothes during her period and how the symptoms affected her game in the run-up to Wimbledon.
“During pre-qualifying I had my period and the first few days were really tough, and I was a little stressed about that,” she said.
When asked if it affected her ability to play, she replied, “Absolutely. Your body feels looser, your tendons loosen up, sometimes you feel like you’re much more tired.
“Sometimes your coordination just feels really bad, and for me I feel really down and it’s hard to get that motivation.
“Of course you try to play world-class tennis, but it’s really hard when you’re on PMS and feel bloated and tired.
‘Why should we be shy to talk about it? “I know men aren’t shy about talking about a lot of things.”
When asked whether the all-white dress code should be changed to reduce stress for female players, she said: “I think some traditions can be changed.
‘For example, I’m a big supporter of women’s rights and I think it’s great to have this discussion, that people are talking about it now.
“Personally, I like the tradition of all-whites and I think we’ll handle that pretty well.
“I think it’s hard enough to have your period during the tour, but to wear it in white isn’t easy.
The news of the planned protest comes just a day after the England women’s football team revealed that they have spoken with Nike about removing white shorts from their kit due to concerns about playing during their period.
England kicked off their Euro 2022 campaign in the best possible way on Wednesday night by beating Austria 1-0 to a sold-out Old Trafford wearing their white kit.
However, according to the Telegraphthe design is causing fear among players and discussions have taken place with the FA and their official kit manufacturer about the possibility of changing the bottom half of the design.
Ons Jabeur (photo) will compete against Elena Rybakina in the final of the women’s singles on Saturday
Britain’s Alicia Barnett is candid about the stress of wearing white at Wimbledon
‘It’s not practical when it’s the time of the month’: England star Beth Mead reveals the team has discussed scrapping white shorts with manufacturer Nike over concerns about playing during periods
English stars have spoken to Nike about removing white shorts from their kit due to concerns about playing during their period.
According to the TelegraphThe team’s all-white kit design is causing fear among players and talks have taken place with the FA and their official kit manufacturer about the possibility of changing the bottom half of the design.
“It’s something we’ve fed back to Nike,” said goalscorer Beth Mead on Wednesday. “Hopefully they will change that” [the colour]†
“It’s really nice to have an all-white kit, but sometimes it’s not practical when it’s the time of the month. We deal with it as best we can. We discussed it as a team and we fed it back to Nike.”
When asked if there was a preference for what color could be brought in, Mead explained, “I’m pretty easygoing, I’m pretty laid back to be honest. As long as I play for my country, I don’t care what I wear.’
Beth Mead says it’s ‘not practical’ for English stars to wear white shorts during their period
There is understanding from players that moving away from the traditional English color scheme of all white is a difficult decision.
Georgia Stanway also spoke on the subject Wednesday night, admitting it was far from an easy decision.
“It’s difficult because we associate England with white,” said Stanway, who was named player of the match at Old Trafford.
“The home kit is unbelievable, it looks really nice. I think that’s something we can talk about as a full squad, as a group of girls.
“I think there may be a color change next year. I think it’s hard because once you’re on the grass, nothing else matters.
“I think we have a good doctor who is happy to take care of us. Once the adrenaline kicks in, you could be naked and nobody cares. That’s what happens when you’re on the pitch, you forget everything.’
Football is not the only sport where the issue has been raised. Women competing in Wimbledon are still required to have all participants in white uniforms while on the court at SW19.
English stars revealed that there have been discussions about changing the color of their shorts
A large number of tennis players have spoken out about the strict dress code, says British player Heather Watson The times: “I got off the track and looked and went, ‘Oh my God. I hope you can’t see that in any of the photos.'”
Meanwhile, social media users are also campaigning for a dress code change, with one tweet: ‘I love Wimbledon. But as a former athlete who prayed before every major swimming competition that I wouldn’t get my period that day, I’ve always wondered how female tennis players felt about being forced to wear white (with limited bathroom breaks).
While another wrote: ‘The Wimbledon dress code tradition is actually wild when you think about it. Making the girlies rock white? What should happen if they have their period?
“The constant fear you would have about a possible leak. Please free the girls from wearing white.’
A third added: ‘Why on earth does Wimbledon still allow female tennis players to wear all white, regardless of whether the woman is on her period?’
Rennae Stubbs told The Telegraph that the conversation had come up several times in the dressing room, saying: ‘At Wimbledon you know very well that you have to make sure everything is ‘good to go’ as soon as you walk on the pitch – make sure you have a tampon.
‘Many women have sanitary pads on top of that, or make sure you have an extra large tampon before you go out on the track.
“I think maybe the only time I left the court at Wimbledon was when I did have my period.”
British player Heather Watson recalled coming off the field at Wimbledon, fearing her period might have leaked onto her white clothes
Meanwhile, she also revealed how she once had to tell a rival that their periods were leaking, while quietly pulling him aside to say “you should probably go to the bathroom.”
She told The Times, “You’re so paranoid it could happen to you.”
Meanwhile, former Russian-born French player Tatiana Golovin said she prefers to wear “something dark”, adding: “For an athlete it is very difficult to wear white because you have the photographers, you have pictures everywhere, you slides across the field, you fall, you play, your skirt flies up.’
Three Wimbledon youth players had to change their underwear in 2017 for not following the rules.
The rules state that medical devices and equipment must also be white ‘if possible’.