Wimbledon drops Miss and Mrs titles on female champion's board in modernisation bid

27 May 2022, 15:18

Wimbledon will drop "Mrs" and "Miss" titles on its board of women's champions in a bid to modernise the tournament.

Female winners of the prestigious summer tournament have been listed as "Miss S. Williams" or "Miss S. Graf" while men have only been referred to by their initials, such as "N. Djokovic".

Married players who win the championship will also now be referred to by their own name, instead of their husband's.

This happened to Chris Evert, the former American number one who won Wimbledon in 1981.

Fans looking for her name on the winner's board will find only a "Mrs J.M. Lloyd" won it in 1981, with organisers having given Evert her husband's name.

The All England Club confirmed that it wanted to make the change as an update to an Open that is steeped in tradition, such as having long-held restrictions over wearing only white kit.

Sources told The Times that keeping the prefixes would be an "anachronism" in the modern era.

Read more: Wimbledon stripped of ATP ranking points after banning Russian and Belarusian players

Read more: 'Devastated' Martina Navratilova reduced to tears by Wimbledon ban on Russian players

Wimbledon did not pay women and men equal prize money until 2007. The cash prize stood at £1.7m for the winner of the men's and women's tournament last year.

Previously, Wimbledon told umpires to stop referring to women players with their prefix, and instead refer to them by their surnames, as happens to their male counterparts.

Read more: Boris Becker: Downfall of a Wimbledon legend left relying on charity handouts

Earlier in May, Wimbledon was stripped of its ranking points after its decision to ban Russian and Belarusian after the invasion of Ukraine.

That decision upset some in the game, including Martina Navratilova, calling it the "wrong decision".