Wimbledon star forced to borrow shorts from her coach after breaking strict rule

It's not just on Centre Court where you can get in trouble for breaking strict dress code rules at Wimbledon - it can happen on the practice court too!

Infamously, Anna Kournikova once had to borrow a pair of shorts from her coach during a practice session after violating the All England Club's strict dress code. At SW19, players are almost always required to wear all-white.

There have of course been exceptions. For example, this year, players were allowed to wear black armbands to pay tribute to tragic Liverpool star Diogo Jota following his death on Thursday.

But mostly, players have largely had to wear nothing but white on court down the years. And that's something which, before the 2002 tournament had even begun, Russia ace Kournikova fell foul of.

At the time she was ranked No.54 in the world and was competing at SW19 for the final time in her career. But she found herself reprimanded for turning up to practice in a pair of black shorts.

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Before she could even step onto the court, Kournikova was sternly informed by tournament officials that she needed to change her attire. Unfortunately, she did not have a pair of white shorts on her person and had to resort to another option.

Thus, she borrowed a pair from the legendary late coach Nick Bollettieri in order to comply with the rules and stay on court.

In 1963, rules were implemented requiring all competitors to dress 'predominantly in white'. Then 32 years later, the wording was altered to 'almost entirely white.' This rule applies both during matches and on the practice court.

Kournikova isn't the only one who has skirted the regulations and she did make sure to don all-white for her opening match against Tatiana Panova - although, she ended up losing in three sets. She did reach the women's doubles semi-finals that year however, before falling to eventual champions Serena and Venus Williams.

Andre Agassi famously skipped the tournament from 1988 to 1990 in protest of the all-white clothing rule, later expressing in his autobiography: "I resent rules, but especially arbitrary rules. Why must I wear white? I don't want to wear white.

"Why should it matter to these people what I wear? Above all, I took offence at being barred and blocked and made to feel unwanted."

Nick Kyrgios caused a stir when he stepped onto Centre Court in 2022 sporting a red cap and red trainers, and he has recently urged the tournament to scrap the all-white dress code to allow players more freedom to express their individuality at the Grand Slam.