Wimbledon will allow players to break the strict all-white dress code at the All England Club following the tragic death of Diogo Jota.
The Liverpool and Portugal forward was killed in a car crash in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The accident, which took place in the Spanish province of Zamora, took the life of 28-year-old Jota and his 25-year-old brother Andre Silva.
In a statement, Liverpool said they were ‘devastated’ at the ‘unimaginable loss’ of a player they signed in 2020.
Some tennis players will be keen to pay their respect to Jota at Wimbledon and have been given permission to wear black armbands on court by All England Club officials.
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Wimbledon has arguably the strictest dress code of any sporting event, with competitors told they ‘must be dressed in suitable tennis attire that is almost entirely white* and this applies from the point at which the player enters the court surround.’
The guidelines, which were set in 1963, even specify that ‘white’ does not include off-white or cream.
But players have been told they are allowed to pay tribute to Jota with black armbands on court. Portuguese star Francisco Cabral is expected to do so in his next round match.
Eight-time champion Roger Federer was once reprimanded for wearing trainers with orange soles and ordered to change his footwear for his next match.
Andre Agassi, meanwhile, boycotting the tournament for three years in a row because of the strict dress code.
One recent change to Wimbledon’s strict dress code came in 2023 when female players were given permission to wear coloured shorts under white tennis skirts to reduce fears around their menstrual cycles.
More to follow…
