Wimbledon allows women players to compete in dark-colored underwear

Wimbledon changed its all-white clothing rules to allow women and girls to compete in colored underwear to ease period-related anxiety after protests from several tennis players.

In a statement Thursday, Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club, said that after consulting with players, women competing at the Wimbledon Championships will have the “option of wearing colored undershorts if they choose.”

Bolton said the club hopes the decision will alleviate some anxiety for women and girls competing while on their period.

“We hope that this rule change will help the athletes to focus on their competition and not on a potential source of anxiety,” she said.

In June, British athlete Heather Watson described altering her period with the use of birth control pills to avoid menstruating during the tournament in an interview with the BBC.

“I worked out that I’ll probably be on my period again during the Championships so I said I’ll probably go on the pill just to skip my period for Wimbledon. That’s the thought process and conversations that girls have about it,” she said.