How Female Players Are Responding To Wimbledon Dress Code Changes

May 24, 2023

Aryna Sabalenka plays a tweener at Wimbledon in her Nike outfit that feature black undershorts. ... [+] (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

There's a colorful change to Wimbledon's dress code in 2023.

While announced in fall 2022, this week has provided the first practical instance since 2014 of a change to Wimbledon's all white dress code. And this rule change wasn't about making life stricter, instead allowing female players the freedom to wear dark-colored undershorts, a response to concerns about forcing women to wear all-white even while on their period.

Top players from Elena Rybakina to Aryna Sabalenka to Victoria Azarenka have embraced the new rule, donning black undershorts during first-round matches at the tournament that began July 3. Azarenka became the first player to wear black undershorts during the 2023 tournament. Both Azarenka and Sabalenka wear Nike NKE on court, which has a Wimbledon look that seemingly highlights the undershort thanks to perforations. Rybakina, the tournament’s defending champion, wears Yonex.

Victoria Azarenka during the first round of Wimbledon 2023. (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images)

When announcing the rule change in late 2022, Sally Bolton, All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club chief executive, said the tournament was "committed to supporting the players and listening to their feedback as to how they can perform that their best." That's why, after working with the players, the female players were given the option of wearing colored undershorts, starting during this year's tournament.

"It is our hope that this rule adjustment will help players focus purely on their performance by relieving a potential source of anxiety," Bolton says.

In the lead-up to the change, a variety of players—from American teenager Coco Gauff to Britain's Heather Watson—spoke about the anxiety from being forced to wear white and have concerns about appearance while menstruating during play.

The rule change is all about options. Two top players—Ons Jabeur and Karolina Pliskova—have stated they don't plan to wear black shorts, Pliskova because she hasn't been concerned about the white in the past and Jabeur saying she wouldn't want people thinking she's in the middle of her period.

Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon 2023. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

Still, though, Jabeur says making a change to improve player comfort on the court is a positive step and players can choose to wear colored undershorts for whatever reason they want.

The actual change comes to rule nine of the 10-point Wimbledon dress code. The rule now says that any undergarments visible during play "must be completely white, except for a single trim of color no wider than one centimeter, except female players who are allowed to wear solid, mid/dark-colored undershorts provided they are no longer than their shorts or skirt."

The focus on white clothing has been part of tennis for as long as the sport has existed. Wimbledon embodies that tradition.

Wimbledon went “predominately in white” with its dress code in 1963, and while players and brands have attempted to skirt the dress code rules—akin to a high schooler defying the principal—Wimbledon has only entrenched itself in the rule. It created a stricter version in 1995, says on-site Wimbledon historian Robert McNicol, when the Wimbledon powers “changed to ‘almost entirely in white’ to make it even stricter.”

The Championships, Wimbledon has continued to refine—and tighten—the white rule. In 2014, it included accessories in the rule listing for the first time. The apparel rule comes with 10 different points, really, and “refers to all clothing, including tracksuits and sweaters, worn on The Championship courts both for practice and for matches.”

The rules include the definition that white “does not include off-white or cream” and note that the back of the apparel must be “completely white.” While “there should be no solid mass or panel of coloring,” Wimbledon does allow a single trim of color around the neckline and the cuff of the sleeves, no wider than one centimeter. Logos formed by variations of material or patterns are not acceptable, although small sponsor logos may contain some color. The rules extend to shorts, skirts and tracksuit bottoms, headwear, shoes and all undergarments, until now.

With some of the game's top female players adopting the adjusted dress code, it may only be a matter of time before more players join the practice and colored undershorts become the norm across Wimbledon.