Wimbledon ‘refuses to bow down to gender-neutral terms for ball boys and girls’… as historic tennis tournament wins praise for snubbing generic ‘ball kids’ tag adopted by other Grand Slams
- Wimbledon will continue to use the terms ‘ball boy’ and ‘ball girl’ this year
- Other Grand Slams have adopted generic ‘ball kid’ and ‘ball crew’ labels
- Fans praised Wimbledon’s decision, but others wanted a ‘welcome’ change
Wimbledon will continue to refer to its court assistants as ‘ball boys and ball girls’ despite pressure to adopt gender-neutral terms.
The French Open and Australian Open call their helpers “ball kids,” while the US Open’s sidekicks of all ages are called “ball crew.”
The All England club said on Saturday there are no plans to change the titles, according to The guardand they will continue to use them in all relevant digital run-up to the tournament that starts on Monday.
Each year, from a pool of 1,000 applicants, approximately 250 children with an average age of 15 are selected to assist at the All England Club.
Wimbledon prides itself on having what it claims is the best in the business, with ball boys first introduced in 1920.
Wimbledon will continue the tradition of calling its assistants ‘ball boys’ and ‘ball girls’
Other Grand Slams have adopted the terms ‘ball kids’ and ‘ball crew’, but Wimbledon reportedly has no plans to change the traditional tag
They do everything they can to ensure that everything runs smoothly and it is not easy.
In the past, they have been yelled at by players, hit in the head by loose blows from the likes of Roger Federer, and fainted in the heat.
The SW19-based league has been criticised in the past for being too slow to move with the times, but has also been praised for its respect for tradition.
That said, 2007 was the last Grand Slams other than the French Open to offer equal prize money for men and women.
Venus Williams had written a letter in The Times the year before: ‘The message I would like to convey to women and girls around the world is that there is no glass ceiling. I fear Wimbledon is sending the opposite message loud and clear.’
One user criticized the decision to stick with the original name on
But others hit back.
“Your kind of modern art is worthless,” someone said.
Social media users have argued over whether gender-neutral terms are “welcome” or not
Andy Murray begins his Wimbledon campaign on Tuesday against Tomas Machac
Emma Raducanu faces a tough first-round draw against 22nd-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova
“Welcome who? All children are either boys or girls. This started at conception and continues until they are of age,” someone replied.
Another said: ‘Honestly, it doesn’t sound like anything that needs to change.’