Following disturbing accounts of WTA players claiming that they often had to take pills in order to skip their periods and avoid the anxiety of potentially bleeding through their pure white outfits at Wimbledon, the Grand Slam has decided to slightly relax the strict clothing rules and allow women to wear darker shorts underneath their garments.
Daria Saville, Monica Puig and Heather Watson have all brought to attention the added stress women’s tennis players have when their menstrual flow happens during Wimbledon.
Earlier this year, Daria Saville revealed in an interview with The Daily Aus:
I myself had to skip my period around Wimbledon for the reason that I didn’t want to worry about bleeding through, as we already have enough other stress.
Great Britain’s Heather Watson has also voiced her discontent:
I’ll probably go on the pill just to skip my period for Wimbledon. That’s the thought process and conversations that girls have about it.
Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig tweeted in late May:
Definitely something that affects female athletes! Finally bringing it to everyone’s attention! Not to mention the mental stress of having to wear all white at Wimbledon and praying not to have your period during those two weeks.
Wimbledon has now tweaked the all-white clothing rule to allow players to relieve a potential source of anxiety, feel more comfortable and confident on their periods. Precisely, the relaxed rule states that women can from now on “wear solid, mid/dark-colored undershorts provided they are no longer than their shorts or skirt.”
Sally Bolton, the chief executive of the All England Club, said about the dress code change:
We are committed to supporting the players and listening to their feedback as to how they can perform at their best. It is our hope that this rule adjustment will help players focus purely on their performance.
(source: ESPN, photo: Jimmie48)
