"You have additional stress about your period and if your skirt will get dirty" - Daria Kasatkina welcomes Wimbledon relaxing all-white dress code
Daria Kasatkina recently expressed her delight at Wimbledon's decision to make a slight adjustment to their all-white clothing tradition in order to address period-related concerns for female players.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which had prohibited colored underwear since 2014, faced mounting criticism from prominent figures like Billie Jean King and Judy Murray. It was also subjected to the 'Address The Dress Code' campaign at Wimbledon 2022.
Consequently, in November 2022, Sara Bolton, the chief executive of the All England Club, announced a significant change in Wimbledon's policy which would allow female players to wear dark undershorts.
"We are committed to supporting the players and listening to their feedback as to how they can perform at their best. From next year, women and girls competing at The Championships will have the option of wearing coloured under shorts if they choose," Bolton said at the time.
"It is our hope that this rule adjustment will help players focus purely on their performance by relieving a potential source of anxiety," she added.
Looking ahead to the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, Kasatkina welcomed the relaxation in the dress code as it would let players compete without the added stress of worrying about their period during matches.
"All the girls are really happy with this decision because it's one thing to deal on court with your opponent and your own stress and nerves. If you have additional stress of thinking about your period and stuff and if your skirt will get dirty, it’s additional stress which you don’t want to think about," Daria Kasatkina said.
The World No. 11 expressed her belief that while the change wouldn't negatively impact the tournament, it would make a substantial difference to the comfort of the players.
"Finally we’ve got this little adjustment and I don’t think it's going to hurt the tournament but for the players, for us, for the girls, it’s going to be such a big deal," she added.
🎙️ "I'm really happy with this decision"
Daria Kasatkina on Wimbledon relaxing the tournaments dress code to allow female players to wear dark undershorts in order to address the concerns of players who are on their period 💬 https://t.co/sDHgxqnWTm
Daria Kasatkina set to take on Caroline Garcia in Eastbourne QF
Daria Kasatkina made a strong start to her campaign at the Eastbourne International in the lead-up to Wimbledon 2023. The Russian scored a dominant 6-3, 6-1 win over Anhelina Kalinina in her tournament opener.
The World No. 11 took on Karolina Pliskova in the Round of 16. The pair engaged in a closely contested three-setter with Kastakina eventually coming through with a hard-fought 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win.
Daria Kasatkina will be up against second seed Caroline Garcia in the quarterfinals on Thursday, June 29. Garcia defeated Ana Bogdan 6-3, 6-4 to book her spot against the Russian.