The StoryTomorrow, Wimbledon begins — and it’s likely to serve up some new looks. What do you mean?For the first time in recent history, the world’s oldest tennis tournament is relaxing its Victorian-era, all-white dress code — which includes headbands, wristbands, even medical tape “if possible.” Now, female players will be allowed to wear dark-colored undershorts beneath their skirts or shorts. The change, which was first announced in November, is intended to relieve ”a potential source of anxiety,” so athletes can focus solely on their performance. It comes after players opened up about the stress of having to wear all-white ensembles while on their period and after protests at last year’s Grand Slam. About bloody time.You said it. And Wimbledon isn’t the only game changer: Last year, England’s Manchester City Women announced it had punted white shorts from its kit. In February, the Orlando Pride became the first team in the National Women’s Soccer League to do the same. And since then, the Ireland women’s rugby team and the women’s national soccer teams of England and New Zealand have all made similar moves. Not to mention that later this month, at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, nearly all of the 13 national teams partnered with Nike will have kits featuring colored shorts that have proprietary technology to prevent period leaks. Important, since studies have shown girls drop out of sports at alarming rates around puberty — with, surprise, surprise, periods being a key reason why. theSkimm Sports teams and competitions are raising a red flag over white shorts. That’s a big win for women’s sports. Period. |