‘Kicked up a fuss’ – I broke Wimbledon dress code rules with pink boxer shorts but I didn’t have any change of pants

Wimbledon is an event so steeped in history there are so many rules and traditions that date back more than a century.

This includes the very strict all-white dress code that has been in place since the very first edition of the tournament and which those preparing for the 2024 edition will be all too familiar with.

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Some athletes in years gone by hated the rule so much they boycotted it like Andre Agassi did for three years.

British tennis star Liam Broady is someone who has fallen foul of those strict rules and there wasn’t a lot he could do about it.

Speaking to talkSPORT.com ahead of his first round match with Botic van der Zandschulp, he said: “I don’t know if it’s still the case. There was a rule at one point over the underwear and I used to wear bright pink and Bjorn Borg boxer shorts and they kicked up a bit of a fuss at the time, but I didn’t have a change of kit. 

“So I didn’t really have a choice to go for a kit change.”

The rules around the dress code are extensive, and when it comes to ‘undergarments’, it states: “Any undergarments that either are or can be visible during play (including due to perspiration) must also be completely white except for a single trim of colour no wider than one centimetre (10mm), except female players who are allowed to wear solid, mid/dark-coloured undershorts provided they are no longer than their shorts or skirt.”

In addition to Broady, Nick Kyrgios once got in trouble for wearing a pair of Nike Air Jordans and two-time finalist Ons Jabeur discovered you can’t even warm up in anything other than white when she was kicked off Centre Court for sporting a black t-shirt.

Broady, though, is always extra careful during Wimbledon fortnight, as he does have a habit of wearing football kits on the practice courts.

“You can’t get away with it on the match courts,” Broady explained. “You’d get turfed out of the tournament if you showed up without any whites on.

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“I’ve got a Villarreal, I’ve got Torino, I’ve got Atalanta, I’ve got the Hoffenheim kit. I might pull one out [on Monday]. I might go with the yellow submarines.”

This will be the seventh time Broady has played in the main draw at Wimbledon, reaching the third round in the last two years and beating Casper Ruud in 2023.

“I’m feeling really good. I’ve played Botic four times now in the last six or seven years. 

“We actually play for the same French club league team as well, so each December we’re practising with each other, supporting each other, so it’ll be quite a fun match I’m sure. 

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“We both know each other’s games inside out and obviously at Wimbledon.

“It’s my seventh time here as well now, so I know this place like the back of my hand as well.

“I think the first two or three times I’ve played here it’s quite difficult to get my head round. Obviously, best of five sets are really different. And to be honest, it can be quite intimidating to play here at Wimbledon.

“It’s the one tournament that I think every tennis player wants to play, so I think the best way to handle it is to just try and treat it like it’s just any other tournament and not to get too overwhelmed really.”

This year will be the first time since 2003 that Centre Court will open with a men’s champion not named Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray.

Carlos Alcaraz, who stunned Djokovic in the 2023 final, is now looking to emulate the Serbian and Federer by retaining the title, but he faces a host of challengers and could meet world number one Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.

MEN’S TOP TEN AT THE START OF WIMBLEDON

1 Jannik Sinner
2 Novak Djokovic
3 Carlos Alcaraz
4 Alexander Zverev
5 Daniil Medvedev
6 Andrey Rublev
7 Hubert Hurkacz
8 Casper Ruud
9 Alex de Minaur
10 Grigor Dimitrov

WOMEN’S TOP TEN

1. Iga Swiatek
2. Coco Gauff
3. Aryna Sabalenka
4. Elena Rybakina
5. Jessica Pegula
6. Marketa Vondrousova
7. Jasmine Paolini
8. Qinwen Zheng
9. Maria Sakkari
10. Ons Jabeur