Concerned about blood stains on white dress: British tennis player Barnett brings change of Wimbledon clothing into play

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Alicia Barnett at Wimbledon

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Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

British tennis player Alicia Barnett spoke about period stress at Wimbledon and suggested changing the strict white dress rules.

"Some traditions could be changed," Barnett told the British PA news agency.

She thinks the Wimbledon custom of wearing white is great, and the players dealt with it very well.

But Barnett emphasized: "Having your period during the games is difficult enough, but then wearing white is not easy."

She welcomes the fact that this discussion is now taking place, said the 107th in the double world rankings.

'Why should we be afraid to talk about it?

I know men aren't afraid to talk about a lot of things," said 28-year-old Barnett, who lost to American Verena Williams and the American in the round of 16 of the mixed competition alongside her compatriot Jonny O'Mara on Sunday Brits Jamie Murray scores.

She hopes that female players will increasingly comment on the subject of periods in sport.

This could also lead to funding for more female-focused training methods (read more here).

Other active and former professionals had previously commented.

Rio 2016 gold medalist Monica Puig recalled in the Telegraph the "mental stress" of having to wear white at Wimbledon and "praying not to get your period in those two weeks".

Briton Heather Watson, ranked 117th in the world, told the Times about her fears that bloodstains could be seen on the white dress.

Common topic in the locker room

The topic was common among the players in the Wimbledon dressing room, former Australian player Rennae Stubbs told the Telegraph.

'At Wimbledon there's a lot of concern that everything is in order as soon as you step onto the pitch - and that you have a tampon with you.

A lot of women also have pads with them or make sure they have an extra large tampon before they go on the pitch.' But she also said that the white clothes made Wimbledon special.

This has been a tradition since the tournament began in 1877, there are few exceptions for color accents and these are strictly regulated.

Underwear must also be white if visible during play.

This rule applies from the moment you enter the square.

A rare exception was made this year: athletes are allowed to wear symbols in the colors of the Ukrainian flag to show their solidarity.

»As a woman you always have to think about it«

Deviations from the white dress had repeatedly caused a stir.

The orange soles of Roger Federer's shoes in 2013 aroused the displeasure of the officials.

In 2007, the French Tatiana Golovin wore red underpants, and the underwear regulation was then tightened.

According to the Telegraph, Golovin claimed that she didn't choose the red color because of her period, but the 34-year-old has mixed feelings about wearing white as a professional player.

'As a woman coming to Wimbledon, you have to keep that in mind,' she said.

Most recently, the Chinese Zheng Qinwen said after her round of 16 at the French Open that she could not show her best performance because of menstrual problems and focused on the topic in tennis.

ngo/dpa