Wimbledon will replace its honor boards before next month’s tournament – to remove the “Mrs” and “Miss” marriage titles that have been used in front of women’s names – in order to align them with men’s boards .
Key points:
- Since the tournament began, women have been listed with their prefix marital status, while male players have simply been listed with their first initials and last name.
- Wimbledon will replace the boards before next month’s tournament to normalize the protocol
- Recently, the Grand Slam event was stripped of the standings for banning Russian and Belarusian players.
Since the tournament began in 1877, the honorary marital status denoting marital status has always been given to players, while men have been included on the boards only with their first initial and last name. that is, last year’s only male winner, Novak Djokovic, is presented as “N. Djokovic.” “.
The female champions, meanwhile, have always had an honorary title denoting their marital status, so Ash Barty, winner of the 2021 women’s single, appears as “Miss A. Barty”.
Former Grand Slam winner Chris Evert was listed as “Mrs. JM Lloyd” when she won the Wimbledon title in 1981 after marrying John Lloyd, while her name was both before and after her marriage. divorce in 1987 says “Miss CM Evert.” The rule change means it will now be known as “CM Evert” for all three titles.
Other iconic female players whose names are engraved in similar lines are Billie Jean King, who is still listed as “Mrs. LW King” despite her divorce from Larry King in 1987, and Evonne Goolagong Cawley, the name of the which says “Mrs. R. Cawley.” “for his 1980 victory.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club has made moves in recent years to modernize and level the game after receiving more criticism for being obsolete.
Evonne Goolagong Cawley was listed as “Mrs. R. Cawley” on the Wimbledon honors boards after her 1980 victory over Chris Evert. (Getty Images: Bettmann)
A 2018 New York Times article drew attention to the standard practice of referees identifying players with their marriage prefixes while only calling the last names of male players during matches.
A year later, Wimbledon abandoned the use of honorary titles when the referees said the results of a match, which surprised some players like Djokovic.
“I thought that tradition was very unique and very special. I found it pleasant,” the Serb said at the time.
“It’s definitely not easy to alter or change any tradition here that has been present for many years. It’s quite amazing that they’ve done that.”
Images of Ash Barty’s name revealed on Wimbledon’s honor boards after his victory last year drew even more attention to the practice.
As originally reported in The Times, the Grand Slam event will continue its push for equality by rewriting the club’s honor rolls, with the board most visible in the clubhouse itself.
The move comes when Wimbledon was stripped of the ATP and WTP touring rankings for its harsh ban on Russian and Belarusian players, essentially reducing the Grand Slam event to an exhibition tournament.