Wimbledon: Match stops players wearing wrong color underwear

CGTN photo

A men’s doubles match of Wimbledon’s Junior Group was suspended on Wednesday because of the underwear worn by a pair of players failed to match the All England Club’s all white dress code.

Wu Yibing of China and Zsombor Piros of Hungary were forced off court to change their underwear of black colors as the organizers deemed that their underpants were still visible through the shorts, which was not in compliance with the club’s full white cloth rule.

The dress rule has gotten stricter since 2014 after an explanation letter was sent to competitors that said “undergarments that either are or can be visible during play (including due to perspiration) must also be completely white and contain no more than 25px of coloured trim.”

The demand for white dress with the English event first appeared in the 19th century when visible sweat print was reckoned socially inappropriate.

For some viewers and players the rule is just a fun trivia to be watchful of but there are others who find the code, as detailed as stipulating that color trims must not be wider than 1cm, not very pleasant.

Venus Williams, an American player and former Wimbledon champion, was ordered to change her pink bra at the beginning week of the English Grand Slam.

"It’s kind of awkward for me. I’ll leave that to you. You can talk about it with your friends. I’m going to pass,” the American said in the press conference after the game.