Wimbledon 2025: Why do players wear all-white? Here's all you need to know

Established successful 1877, Wimbledon is the oldest and astir prestigious tennis tourney worldwide. A strict formal codification has agelong been portion of its identity, with each covering required to beryllium white, but for a 10mm trim of color.Wearing each achromatic astatine Wimbledon dates backmost to the 1870s, the Victorian era, erstwhile disposable perspiration was considered improper.

Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!

Originally, the all-white regularisation aimed to conceal sweat marks and support players cooler successful summer, but implicit clip it became a hallmark of Wimbledon’s contented and history. Though mostly rigid, the rules person seen occasional updates.Many salient voices successful tennis, specified arsenic Billie Jean King, Judy Murray, and Heather Watson, person pointed retired the discomfort achromatic undershorts tin origin for menstruating players.

In response, the All England Club changed the argumentation successful 2023, allowing players to deterioration dark-colored undershorts arsenic agelong arsenic they don’t widen beneath the shorts oregon skirt.
Dress codification controversies astatine Wimbledon are thing new. In 1949, Gertrude Moran drew disapproval for showing disposable undergarments. Andre Agassi, known for rebellious tennis attire, boycotted Wimbledon successful the 1980s implicit its all-white formal code.

Tennis fable Roger Federer raised eyebrows successful 2013 erstwhile helium wore achromatic shoes with orangish soles.

Wimbledon officials asked him not to deterioration the shoes, and Federer called the rules “too strict.”More recently, Venus Williams was required to alteration during a rainfall hold successful 2017 owed to fuchsia bra straps.Wimbledon eased restrictions successful 2023, allowing women to deterioration darker shorts nether skirts aft respective players expressed concerns astir wearing achromatic shorts during their menstrual cycle.In a statement, the AELTC said, “Prioritising women’s wellness and supporting players based connected their idiosyncratic needs is precise important to us, and we are successful discussions with the WTA, with manufacturers, and with the aesculapian teams astir the ways successful which we tin bash that.”