Wimbledon announced that it has dropped the “Miss” or “Mrs” that used to appear ahead of a champion’s name on its women’s honor board.
Until now, women’s leaders were marked as “Miss” if they were unmarried but were marked as “Mrs” followed by their married name if they were married.
For instance, despite always having competed as Chris Evert, her 1981 Wimbledon honor board mention finds her listed under her married name, “Mrs. J.M. Lloyd.” Going forward, though, Evert’s name will be listed as “C. Evert.”
Chris Evert at Wimbledon, 1974 (Keystone/Getty Images)
The three-time Wimbledon winner praised the decision to dump the old marital status titles from its All England Club’s honor boards in a Centre Court hallway.
Britain’s Emma Radacanu (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
“I am pleased the All England Club has changed the names. It was outdated and women should be treated equally with the men, as we are with equal prize money,” Evert told the Associated Press.
“I have always used my maiden name in tennis,” Evert added. “I began my career, became a champion, and ended my career as Chris Evert! As proud as I was to be married to John at the time, it was my name that deserved to be on the honor board!”
The practice seemed out of place to many since the men’s honor board did not include a “Mr.” 2021 champion. Novak Djokovic, for instance, was simply listed as N. Djokovic on the men’s board.
Wimbledon, which began paying female players at the same rate as its male players back in 2007, noted that it was part of its attempt to continue modernizing the game where possible.
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