The famous Wimbledon honours board is to undergo an overhaul after bosses ruled to remove titles from female names.
In the past at SW19, umpires would use the terms 'Miss' or 'Mrs' when announcing the scores in women's matches. That practice also applied to the board, with the first winner in 1884, Maud Watson, listed as Miss M Watson.
However, in 2019 officials were given a different directive, and dropped the two terms, instead just saying 'game Osaka ' or 'advantage Raducanu ' depending on who was in action. And now things will go a step further as the tournament continues its quest to promote equality.
The honours boards are displayed around the hallowed club halls, with the most visible one being in the clubhouse itself. Footage of 2021 winner Ash Barty's name being unveiled after her victory last year further propelled the issue into the public domain.
The Australian went down as 'Miss A Barty', but that will soon change to just 'A Barty'. This will mirror the names on the men's side of the board, with the reigning champion down as 'N Djokovic'.
The All England Club is also reportedly updating the practice of giving married women who won the titles the initials and surname of their husband. The most famous example of that Chris Evert, who won at Wimbledon in 1974, 1976, and 1981.
She's marked as ‘Miss C M Evert’ for her first two successes. And for her third she is down as ‘Mrs J M Lloyd’ in reference to her marriage to former British player John Lloyd, and wasn't altered when the pair divorced 35 years ago.
The decision has prompted strong reactions on social media, with many fans welcoming the new, but belated, directive: "Wimbledon has finally moved into the 21st century and removed Miss/Mrs on the tennis honours board to match the male titles," wrote @3dancingfeet.
@F3Lollipops added: "For anyone saying this isn't important, this is why it is, in fact, a VERY important step. Married women such as Billie-Jean Evonne and Chris went on the Wimbledon champions board under the name of their husband."
Not everyone was in agreement though, with @BlessbabeNicola arguing: "The world needs to get a grip. I'm in my 30's and proud of my Mrs title." @XBonitax2 added: "IMO it's just wrong.....I'd be furious personally.
The saga adds to what has already been an explosive build-up to the 2022 Championships. Last month, the All England Tennis Club confirmed that Russian and Belarusian players would be banned from competing, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A number of leading players voiced their resentment at the decision, and then last week, things took another twist. The ATP announced that the tournament would be stripped of its ranking points if it maintained the ban, leading to fears of a boycott from top stars.
