Words by Smiley Team
Audiences enjoying Wimbledon this summer might not have noticed this small but important change to how female tennis players are referred to by umpires.
Previously the umpire calling results would say “game Miss… "or game Mrs…” throughout each set, rather than just saying their last name as with men for example, “game, Federer”.
As more women are keeping their last name after marriage, preferring Ms instead, or just generally not seeing the need to have their age or marital status referred to at work, it's clear Wimbledon needed to move with the times.
The issue was highlighted last year after Serena Williams married the entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian but kept her last name (because why would you want to stop being a Williams sister?). That meant she was slightly awkwardly referred to as “Mrs Williams” on the court, the Telegraph reported.
So for 2019’s tournament the organisers have for the most part decided to leave out making marital status a feature during the game.
The decision brings the competition in line with the French Open which also dropped "Madam and Mademoiselle" when addressing female players this year.
Prefixes will still be used when umpires are making announcements about code violations, medical issues, or player challenges – but that is the same for the men’s game. So, this step towards referring to everyone on the same terms is another helpful step forward for women's representation in sport.
Original article by Helen Lock - Source Global Citizen
