WTA players breathe sigh of relief as Wimbledon confirm change to underwear rules

Wimbledon's decision to reverse its ban on coloured underwear has been welcomed by a number of WTA players ahead of this year's tournament.

The All England Club came under criticism from some female players for extending its all-white clothing policy to underwear, which could cause anxiety or embarrassment for some women if they were on their period.

Wimbledon has banned players, both male and female, from wearing coloured underwear since 2014 as part of the traditional all-white policy.

But after a number of players spoke out about the problem last year, including former World No 1 Billie Jean King, it was announced in November that a rule change was coming.

"We are committed to supporting the players and listening to their feedback as to how they can perform at their best," All England Club CEO Sally Bolton said at the time. "I'm pleased to confirm that, following consultation with players and representatives of several stakeholder groups, the Committee of Management has taken the decision to update the white clothing rule at Wimbledon.

Speaking ahead of the start of this year's competition, World No 7 Coco Gauff said it was "a big relief".

"I support it a lot," she told Sky Sports in a recent interview. "I was on my period last year during Wimbledon and it was very stressful. You have the period underwear to help you but it's still in the back of your mind. Sometimes when you go to the bathroom, I would go just to check nothing was showing.

"I think it's going to relieve a lot of stress for me and other girls in the locker room for sure. I'm happy this is being talked about and the decision has been made."

World No 11 Daria Kasatkina also welcomed the change.

"Finally we've got this little adjustment and I don't think it's going to hurt the tournament but for the players, for us, for the girls, it's going to be such a big deal," the Russian said.

"All the girls are really happy with this decision because it's one thing to deal on court with your opponent and your own stress and nerves. If you have additional stress of thinking about your period and stuff and if your skirt will get dirty, it's additional stress which you don't want to think about."

However, World No 6 and last year's Wimbledon finalist, Ons Jabeur, said there was another side to the issue too.

"There is two things. One thing, it's better definitely not to be paranoid. And the other thing, everybody will know that you have your period. So I'm not sure which part of it is good," said the Tunisian.

"I think I don't think I'm going to wear anything. If all the girls will wear it, I think it will make it better. But I think it's a great thing that Wimbledon is trying to help women feel more comfortable on the court."

World No 18 Karolina Pliskova welcomed the rule change for those who wanted it but said she wasn't going to start wearing black shorts.

"I was never worried about this," Pliskova said. "I think some girls maybe they had this issue so I think, yeah, it can be good for them, for the girls which they were struggling a little bit with this or they had a stress from it. I think it can help."

The action at Wimbledon starts on Monday, July 3.