Wimbledon officials are asking competitors to pull down their shorts and show them their undies.
Seriously.
Wednesday and Thursday in two separate incidents officials came onto the court, asked three separate junior boys to pull down their shorts and show them their underwear.
The reasoning? Because their underwear apparently didn’t fit the all-white dress code that has been enforced since Wimbledon’s inception in 1877. Don’t ask how they could tell their underwear wasn’t white before asking them to show it off.
But for Austria’s Jurij Rodionov, China’s Wu Yibing and Hungary’s Zsombor Piros they not only had to show off their underwear, but they had to actually change, too. Officials stopped play and made all three young men go back to the locker room and change their underoos.
The Wimbledon rule came into clearer attention when Venus Williams was caught for wearing a pink bra in play earlier this week, and it is now in even clearer public view after these incidents.
But no matter what, Wimbledon sticks to its standards and it went so far as to justify it this week once again.
“To us, the all-white rule isn’t about fashion, it’s about letting the players and the tennis stand out. Everyone who steps on a Wimbledon court, from a reigning champion through to qualifier does so wearing white. That’s a great leveler. If a player wants to get noticed, they must do so through their play. That’s a tradition we’re proud of.”
Pretty sure players aren’t trying to get noticed for their boxers (or briefs), but, OK, Wimbledon, whatever you say.
