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9th July 2025
01:08pm BST
Tennis sensation Jelena Ostapenko seemed baffled when she was questioned about her outfit by the umpire during Wimbledon.
Jamie Crowson, the umpire, was seen questioning the Latvian tennis player about her outfit whilst she was preparing for a doubles match.
Ostepenko and her partner Hsieh Su-wei were warming up for their second-round match against Marta Kostyuk and Elena-Gabriela Ruse when the umpire interrupted.
After a brief exchange, Ostapenko is seen gesturing with her hands in frustration and lifting her skirt to reveal green undershorts.
Wimbledon is known to maintain a strict all-white dress code, but adapted the rules ahead of the 2023 tournament, allowing female players to wear other coloured undershorts to alleviate a potential source of anxiety related to menstruation.
At the time, England Club Chief Executive Sally Bolton said: "We are committed to supporting the players and listening to their feedback as to how they can perform at their best.
"I'm pleased to confirm that, following consultation with players and representatives of several stakeholder groups, the Committee of Management has decided to update the white clothing rule at Wimbledon.
This means that from next year, women and girls competing at The Championships will have the option of wearing coloured undershorts if they choose. It is our hope that this rule adjustment will help players focus purely on their performance by relieving a potential source of anxiety," per the Mirror.
So, despite the umpire's sudden intervention, Ostapenko's outfit was in no way a breach of the Wimbledon rules.
Tennis fans have taken to socials to share their opinion on the matter.
One fan wrote on X: "This is humiliating. Why can't the officials do this before the players come out on the court or maybe take her away from the cameras.
@Wimbledon do better. Don't expect a woman to pull up her skirt in the full public gaze."
Another wrote: "FFS a man expecting a sports woman to pull up her skirt in the full public gaze. What made him think she had broken any rules? Get a grip."
