Tennis: Wimbledon to drop “Mrs” and “Miss” titles from women’s honours board
Winner of this year’s Wimbledon women’s singles tournament will not have a title included before their name on the honours board for the first time.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club has confirmed that the listing of a female champion’s marital status will be scrapped before this year’s event.
Using “Mrs” or “Miss” alongside the victor’s name has been tradition for the women’s board since the tournament’s inception in 1877, but it has never been included on the men’s equivalent, with just the initial of the first name and full surname given.
The Times reported that the women’s board is to be replaced before the 2022 edition of Wimbledon and this has been confirmed.
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In a further change, married women who win Wimbledon will no longer be referred to by their husbands’ initials and surnames on the board.
For example, 1980 champion Evonne Goolagong Cawley of Australia is listed as “Mrs. R. Cawley” on the current board, due to her husband’s name.
This will be changed to “E. Goolagong Cawley”.
It is hoped the change will bring further parity to the men’s and women’s tournaments at the Wimbledon, following a series of other subtle changes have been made after public criticism.
In 2019, the policy of umpires calling out the titles of female players, as opposed to just the surname like they did with male players, was scrapped.
The Grand Slam has also been dividing opinion for its decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players this year, in response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
This has led to its ranking points being taken away by the Association of Tennis Professionals, Women’s Tennis Association and International Tennis Federation.
The 135th edition of the Wimbledon is due to take place from June 27 to July 10.
Australia’s Ashleigh Barty will not defending her women’s singles title, having retired.