Judy Murray urges Wimbledon rule-change to protect women players

Judy Murray has urged Wimbledon to change the all-white dress code to help women players.

Wimbledon has kept its tradition of all players playing in all white and is the only tennis tournament left with any such dress code.

However, that causes potential problems for women players, particularly in the age of high-definition television and photography, and Judy Murray thinks it is time for a rethink.

The issue was raised by Dr Sarah Zipp, the founder of Power to Play, Period and a leading researcher on sport and menstrual health.

She told the Mail: “If you look at Wimbledon, it is a nightmare for anyone on their period — not only due to the requirement for players to wear white, but because there are limited bathroom breaks allowed.”

Judy Murray has now added her voice to Zipp’s, saying she agrees that a potential change needs to be discussed. She, though, thinks nothing can happen until a top player adds their voice to the debate,

“One of the biggest problems previously in sport was that it was always white shorts, white kit and so on in lots of different sports. Everything was white. Nearly all sports have moved over to colour now.

“I think it’s certainly a much more open talking point, but it would probably need more of the players to speak out openly about the trauma it can cause you, if you are wearing all white and then possibly have a leak while you’re playing. I cannot think of a much more traumatic experience than that.

“When all matches are televised and streamed now, it is something that needs to be considered. It’s one of those things, when something like that becomes a talking point, decisions have to be made on it.

“However, it’s really important, too, that we have lots of women on the decision-making panel, because they understand what that’s like to have menstrual cycles and they understand the fear of that happening while playing.”

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