Wimbledon is the oldest of the four Grand Slams in the world of tennis
A fact that provides a series of traditions and liturgies that must be traced back to its beginnings to understand
Wimbledon is undoubtedly the most special tournament on the tennis calendar. The third Grand Slam of the season and the only one that is played on grass, it is for many reasons the most iconic and peculiar to the history of tennis.
you have to go back until 1877 to find the origins of the Grand Slam oldest of the four. A group of gentlemen met at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to play a tournament that still lasts over time. It was in 1884 when the women’s box was also opened.
The 22 athletes who met for the first time on the grass that continues to host the Wimbledon tournament to this day, dressed completely in white, in an act that could be interpreted as coincidence, although reality must be according to social class criteria.
By then, sweat stains were frowned upon among society, so white clothing was used among the upper classes as it was the color that best conceals sweat. This fact that began as a pure fclass functionality It ended up becoming a tradition that is today one of the most untouchable rules of the tournament code.
A rule that has also been increasingly restricted. In 1995, due to the increasing trend of using different shades of white, the tournament made it a law to use the ‘pure white’ in the kit From 2014, the rule also began to contemplate accessoriesunderwear and even the soles of the players’ shoes.
the rebels to white
Not all tennis players have accepted this rule throughout history and some have tried to challenge the imposition of white. In case of Andrea Agassi It was the most drastic and notorious, since the American tennis player refused to play between 1988 and 1990 because he was not willing to give up his colorful clothing for which he was so well known. Despite this, he ended up succumbing to his resistance and even came to rise with the title in 1992.
But Agassi’s was not the only famous case in the history of Wimbledon and the white color. As surprising as it may seem, Roger Federer also had his controversy in 2013, when He was reprimanded in 2013 for wearing sneakers whose orange soles stood out too much by tournament standards. A fact for which he was forced to change the model from the second round.
And as in any controversial list in the world of tennis, the name of nick kyrgios. The Australian has been the last to join the list of controversies with the white color. It was during last year’s edition, when he reached the final, in which he was reprimanded for breaking the dress code by put on a Jordan brand cap and sneakers, both red, to speak to the public after finishing their fourth-round match. Far from reacting, he accepted the fact by arguing, “This is more attention for me. As they say, all publicity is good. So I’m going to keep doing it.”