contents
Wear white on your period? Uncomfortable for tennis players, but normal. A Brit wants to change that.
The way athletes deal with their periods during a competition has so far mostly been a taboo. British tennis player Alicia Barnett has now spoken openly about the strain during the Grand Slam tournament in Wimbledon and brought up a change to the strict rules for white clothing.
“Some traditions could be changed,” Barnett told the British news agency PA. She thinks the Wimbledon custom of wearing white clothes is great, and the players dealt with it very well. But Barnett emphasized: “Having your period during the games is difficult enough, but then wearing white is not easy.”
Why should we be afraid to talk about it? Men are not afraid to talk about many things.
She thinks it’s great that there is now this discussion, said the 107th in the double world rankings. «Why should we be afraid to talk about it? I know men aren’t afraid to talk about a lot of things,” Barnett said. She hopes the taboo will continue to be eased by players talking about it. This could also lead to funding for training methods more geared towards women.
The 28-year-old spoke openly about her experiences. “I had my period during qualifying and the first few days were really tough, I was pretty stressed out by it,” Barnett said. That definitely affected her game.
Legend:
Tennis player Alicia Barnett doesn’t want to wear white clothes when she’s on her period.
imago images
“Your body feels looser, your tendons are loosening up, sometimes you feel a lot more tired, sometimes your coordination feels really bad, and I feel really down and I’m having a hard time motivating myself.” Try to play good tennis. “But it’s really difficult when you’re menstruating and you’re feeling bloated and tired.”
Barnett met American Verena Williams and Briton Jamie Murray alongside her compatriot Jonny O’Mara in the round of 16 of the mixed competition on Sunday.
The Chinese Zheng Qinwen said after her knockout round at the French Open that she could not show her best performance because of menstrual problems.