ONS JABEUR was ordered to leave Centre Court during her warm-up ahead of this afternoon’s Wimbledon final.
The Tunisian star had taken to court in a black T-shirt for her practice session – breaching the All England Club’s all-white clothing policy.
Ons Jabeur took to court in a black T-shirt
ReutersThe 28-year-old was back in her Wimbledon whites as she walked out for the final[/caption]
The likeable sixth seed was forced to head back into the locker room to change.
Jabeur takes on Marketa Vondrousova this afternoon bidding to win her first Grand Slam title.
She is hardly a newbie at Wimbledon, having reached last year’s final.
All England Club rules state: “Competitors must be dressed in suitable tennis attire that is almost entirely white* and this applies from the point at which the player enters the court surround.”
During the build-up to this afternoon’s big match on Centre Court, three-time Wimbledon singles champion Chris Evert told the BBC: “And by the way, Ons was wearing all black on Centre Court and they kicked her off.
“They kicked her off and made her put on white clothes.
“At Wimbledon you have to wear white! Even in the final of Wimbledon. I thought that was interesting.”
Following a relaxing of All England Club rules, this year female competitors are permitted to wear dark undershorts if they wish.
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ReutersThe Tunisian takes on Marketa Vondrousova[/caption]
Players are permitted to wear colours on the practice courts at neighbouring Aorangi Park.
So it is possible that Jabeur was in the habit of wearing black for her warm-up sessions during this year’s tournament.
At last year’s Wimbledon Championships, Jabeur became the first African and Arab woman to reach the final of a Grand Slam.
She lost to Elena Rybakina on that occasion, before falling to Iga Swiatek in the subsequent US Open final.
The 28-year-old hopes to go one further against Vondrousova this afternoon.
Following her semi-final win over Aryna Sabalenka, Jabeur said: “Hopefully, I can make history not just for Tunisia but for the whole of Africa. I am going all out for it.”
The world No6 has had a stunning route to the final.
She has defeated former Grand Slam champions in her last FOUR matches.
Jabeur recovered from a set down against 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu in round three.
She then trounced two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova in the last 16, before producing two more exceptional acts of escapology against last year’s conqueror Rybakina, and Sabalenka.