Wimbledon 2022: Periods, tennis and the tradition of whites at SW19

The replies were illuminating when Monica wrote about wearing white at Wimbledon while on your period.

The uncomfortable feeling of "oh, have I leaked?", along with the aches, pains and fatigue that can come with a period, was something that a lot of respondents knew.

The majority of the people who replied were in favor of having a discussion about the dress code and periods. The issue was brought to the attention of the Puerto Ricans last month.

The players talk about it around Wimbledon because of the all-whites.

I think people talk about it a lot, maybe not to the media, but among ourselves.

The things are not the same. People are talking about periods and sports. Wimbledon whites and menstrual bleeding are topics to discuss.

The tradition of Wimbledon whites has been around for a long time.

White was initially the chosen colour for tennis kits because it avoided sweat patches appearing as it would on coloured clothing. The rules around the whites at Wimbledon are strict. Shorts, skirts and tracksuit bottoms must be completely white, except for a single trim of colour "no wider than one centimetre" down the outside seam.

It is a special experience to play in whites. She doesn't want to change the tradition of it. I don't worry about my period, I just plan my period around it.

She would be concerned about bleeding through her white skin. Her biggest problem is that taking the pill doesn't cure her symptoms. She explains that she gets bloated and tired.

The British tennis player spoke about the effect her period had on her performance when she was beaten in the first round of the Australian Open.

She arrived in Melbourne after winning the title in Hobart, and said she was feeling great. Her period began on the day of the game. Every period, she has one bad day where she doesn't have much strength or energy. It was seven years ago that she lost to Tsvetana Pironkova.

In the middle of Wimbledon, where she won the mixed doubles title, she takes action.

A few weeks ago, when we went to practise at Wimbledon together, I had a conversation with a player from Australia.

You have to wear all whites at Wimbledon throughout the year because you have to start your period that day. I didn't think that was nice.

I decided to take the pill just to skip my period for Wimbledon because I will probably be on my period again during the Championships. The thought process and discussions that girls have about it.

The potential discomfort about wearing white has largely been kept to chats between the players.

Some players won't want to take a pill. Some women feel that a pill affects their performance on the field. According to the Women's Sport Survey from 2020, 60 percent of respondents felt their performance was affected by their period, while 40 percent didn't feel comfortable discussing their period with their coach.

The impact of periods has been discussed by other players. The only player to take a set off the unstoppable Iga Swiatek at this year's French Open was hurt in the final two sets. She said it was down to girl things. I was not able to go against my nature.

Petra Kvitova spoke about periods before beginning her Wimbledon title defence in 2015, although she did not have an issue with wearing white. "It's never really easy to deal with one more tough thing," she said. "If we have to play the match or training or something, it's difficult."

Wimbledon has a player relations team and player medical team that work closely with the athletes to address a range of issues.

Wimbledon wants to make sure that women's health is their number one priority and that they provide players with whatever they need.

It could be about how somebody is feeling, it could be needing to talk to someone.

The health and wellbeing of players competing at Wimbledon is of paramount importance to us, and we want everyone to feel comfortable.

People will assume advocating for change for women or speaking about periods is being used as an excuse for a poor performance if they think it's being used as an excuse for a poor performance.

Take a toilet break. There were debates about using the bathroom breaks as a tactical timeout. Men and women wanted bathroom breaks to be limited further.

A woman would like to use the bathroom break to change her sanitary napkin. If she also wants to change her clothing, she can take three minutes for a toilet break or five. The player will be punished with back-to- back time violations if they go over this time.

In that time, she needs to get to the toilet, change the pads, dispose of the old one, and possibly change clothes. The umpire will have the final say on the length of the break.

A further bathroom break is likely to mean speaking to an umpire with a microphone or camera nearby, something that some players might not feel comfortable doing.

Adidas said it had incorporated technology into women's training products, and that some clothing companies were period-proofing their clothes. Wimbledon is able to support the players better by keeping the white clothing it says is a "fundamental" part of its tradition.

The clothing policy was changed in order to allow players to wear approved leggings and mid-thigh compression shorts.

"If someone wants to wear something under their whites then they are free to do so."

As well as making players feel comfortable it could also help stop younger girls dropping out of sport. An Adidas survey from 2021 reported one in four girls dropped out of sport in adolescence, with fear of period leakage a key reason.

Hearing people talk about menstruation would probably convince someone not to take up sport.

It should be more normal to talk about those things. I don't know why people don't talk about certain things in life, but it's part of nature. Different people deal with it.

Wimbledon is not the only sport where women wear white - Test cricketers have also spoken about the anxiety around bleeding in their whites while playing. While it is a tradition, one that is part of the furniture of the summer of sport, it was one that was established in the 19th Century, when periods were not widely talked about.

Former world number one and 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert recently said she wished she had talked about the impact her period had during her career.

The conversations are happening now as times change.