Wimbledon officials got twisted over several players panties this year. The top seeded boys double players, Zsombor Piros and Wu Yibing, were asked to leave the court and change out of their black skivvies into – wait for it – borrowed white underpants.
(Seriously, y’all, you can’t make this kind of stuff up.)
The whole hubbub is explained in this article (includes video).
And how do these guys get their head into the game after being publicly sent packing (OMG, these puns are really hard to avoid today) to the locker room for some emergency underpants?
Papers like The Star opened their Wimbledon articles with ledes like this: “Tennis is a game that tests players’ athleticism, precision and mind. At Wimbledon, however, it’s also a test of players’ underwear.”
Yes, I know, it’s in the rules that one must wear white. I hear you. But I’d really think that applied to visible clothing, rather than undies. Did you watch the beginning of that video above?
Now keep in mind, this wasn’t the only undie case that day.
Another young whippersnapper, Jurij Rodinov, scandalized the chair umpire with his blue underpants. (I was scandalized by his man bun.) The umpire called in Lucy Grant, a Wimbledon supervisor, to also peek at this guy’s shorts. She says into her little radio: “Can we have some underwear to Court 18 – boy’s?”
…and here was the supervisor who came out to look at his underwear yet again. He (Jurij Rodionov) then left court to change. #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/rU1q7tpqDo
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 13, 2017
Certainly, an Undie S.O.S. is how I’d want to be remembered in the sporting world, right? (Geesh!)
My advice to all Wimbledon players:
Go online and buy scads of white underpants. Do it the moment you know you’ve qualified for the tournament. And after the play is over — hopefully no officials have looked down your pants and asked you to change — do this with those boring white undies:
I have an Undie Chronicle I’ve been saving for a while, but this Wimbledon White Undies saga was just too fabulous to pass up.
Are you a tennis fan? What are your thoughts on extending the “all-white dress code” to the players’ undergarments? Enquiring minds love to know these things here at More Cowbell!
~ Jenny
Oh, this is too funny. What a silly rule. I sure hope it will be struck down soon. I can’t see how it would possibly affect the game in any way, and if everyone does accidentally see the player’s underwear they can easily ignore it just like you’d ignore it if someone passed gas in public.
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On that last line, I’d say it might depend on the gas… But seriously, I don’t understand why Wimbledon officials care. The coverage I read said, “they got serious about the ‘all-white dress code’ in 2013 when they asked Roger Federer to change out of his blue underpants.”
And I’m with you…if it doesn’t affect the play, why do they give a rip. They’re getting more bad press worrying about the undies. Of course, they’ve given me this whole post, so I’m not complaining THAT much. 🙂
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ROFL
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Exactly!
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OMG, I’m dying! Unbelievable. At least these were young guys who didn’t seem to take themselves too seriously. Cracked me up to see them comparing waistbands….
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Kathy, I just don’t understand why they care. And these weren’t pale guys…I’m pretty sure that a darker pair of underpants would look better once they started sweating it up in the game. Wimbledon needs to get over the white undergarment thing IMHO.
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Wow. Not a tennis fan so didn’t know this. LOL thanks for sharing!
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You are welcome! Nothing but the best undie news over here at More Cowbell. 🙂
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I hope the borrowed underwear was clean, and not like borrowed from someone in the crowd.
Remember Gussie Moran (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gussie_Moran#1949_Wimbledon_controversy)?
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Yeah, I hope so too, John! And no, I didn’t know about that “Naughty Gussie.”
This paragraph of that link caught my eye: “Her outfit drew considerable attention; reporters covering the event began calling her “Gorgeous Gussie”, and photographers fought for positions where they could get low shots of Moran, with the hope of glimpsing the lace.[10] The event scandalized Wimbledon officials, prompting a debate in Parliament.[11] Moran, who was accused of bringing ‘vulgarity and sin into tennis’ by the committee of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club,[11] later reverted to wearing shorts.”
It seems those Wimbledon officials have always been more than a bit uptight.
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Oh for God’s sake. Are we there to watch tennis or butts? Wait – that’s why we watch the Tour De France right? The bike riding? I get it now. It’s all about the butts.
I’m thinking if this is becoming a regular “problem” perhaps there should be a shorts check in the locker room BEFORE these guys take to the court hmmmmm? Save some awkward moments.
As always, thanks for keeping us all up to speedo (sorry couldn’t help myself) on these current underwear events.
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
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Right? Check in the locker rooms where you aren’t holding up the play (and treating us to strips of tanned abs). Seriously, I don’t understand why they care. But obviously, they really really REALLY do.
“up to Speedo” <– Heh!
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Tennis has never been so exciting! I know what I’ll be carefully watching at the next televised tennis matches . . .
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You and me both, sister. You and me both.
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When I saw this on the news I was like are you kidding me?! How ridiculous is that? I get the whole white shirt and shorts and tradition or whatever but what was up with the underwear? Kind of crazy sticklers? I mean how do you say that’s your job? You went out to check someone’s underwear and whose underwear do you borrow since a couple had dark undies? Awwwwww the world of sports. Glad this made your undie chronicles 🙂
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There were so many things about this story I just didn’t understand. Why can’t you check in the locker room, instead of on open court? What DO they think of this job? DO they stock “emergency undies,” or do they have a go-to borrower??
So many bizarre practices…so little time…
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Wait – what about going commando under those tennis shorts? Wonder if having your junk dangle free would be a violation? Would the judge say there are too many balls in play? Hmmmmmm????
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“Wonder if having your junk dangle free would be a violation?” <– Hahahahaha!
They seem to be awfully concerned with stuff they don't need to be concerned with, don't they?
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I’d happily violate!
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Hahahahaha! Of course you would.
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