Wimbledon has decided to drop the courtesy introductions of “Miss” and “Mrs.” from its honor board of women’s tournament champions.
Prior to the announcement, female champions at Wimbledon were marked as “Miss” if they were unmarried and “Mrs.” if they were married.
But now, the famous All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club will adjust to the times.
For example, tennis legend Chris Evert’s 1981 honor board lists her as “Mrs. J.M. Lloyd,” a reference to John Lloyd, her husband at the time.
Going forward, however, Evert’s name on the honor board will read “C. Evert.”
Evert, a three-time Wimbledon singles champion (1974, 1976, 1981), has already praised the dumping of old marital-status titles from the All England Club’s honor boards, which can be viewed in the Centre Court hallway.
“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 It was outdated, and women should be treated equally with the men, as we are with equal prize money,” Evert told The Associated Press.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!”
For the male competitors, Wimbledon’s honor boards didn’t address the players as “Mr. Novak Djokovic” or “Mr. Roger Federer.”
Regarding the 2021 champion (along with 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019), the honor board listing simply says “N. Djokovic.”
This year’s Wimbledon tournament runs from June 27 to July 10.
Via Newsmax