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By Shane Gilreath
Tennis great Billie Jean King recently announced her dislike for the traditions at Wimbledon, the sport’s most renowned tournament. Despite feeling that King has done wonders for the sport, especially for the advancement of women, I think she may have flipped her lid a touch on this one. After all, she played at Wimbledon. It was good enough for her, and while I agree that the world has evolved – though not always for the better – that doesn’t mean that mankind should shuck traditions entirely. They’re the building blocks of who we are as people and who the All England Club is as a venue, a tournament, a legacy. In case you are unaware, players must play in all white – typically, head to toe – on the grass courts of England. That’s tradition and a pretty famous one. Always has been. King did it herself while winning 6 ladies’ singles titles there. And while players have, at times, tried to exploit the tradition’s grey area or buck the trend altogether, they’ve always been repelled. Who could forget American Anne White’s 1985 lycra catsuit, which seemed more suitable to London’s The Wag than the manicured lawns of England. White left officials furious. To my way of thinking, admittedly much more conservative than BJK, King’s recommendation might as well be to pull up the grass! (Believe it or not, it’s happened before – both the US Open and the Australian Open were once played on grass). While, perhaps, there is some point that your run-of-the-mill television viewers – always follow the advertising money! – may have trouble distinguishing one player from the next, tennis enthusiasts always know the players. Almost by heart. And King does, too. Just as the BBC knows them, as does ESPN. We know them by their distinctive runs, by their swagger, their whip of their racquets, their serve, and, yes, sometimes even their grunts, which, I must admit, is a modern tradition I’m not always fond of myself. As much as I miss Monica Seles and Rafael Nadal, grunts of all kinds can be excessive…or, as Andre Agassi once argued against Leander Paes, exceed the stroke. I can’t seem to forget, despite all of King’s greatness (and she is – she bested Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes,” after all), this isn’t her first rodeo. She’s tried to wield her influence to recommend change before. In recent years, she recommended turning a long held (albeit, perhaps, fading) gentleman’s sport into the NBA with players on teams and wearing numbers and names on the back of jerseys. Arrivederci, polo shirt! It’s good to be a well-rounded sports enthusiast. I’d count myself there, too, and King does mean well – really, she does – but All England Club, if I’m among the unlikely voices you consider: keep the traditions that make you unique. Heck, I might even bring a few back. Let’s start with acknowledging the Royal Box! After all, we’re at Wimbledon. I’ll drink a Pimm’s to that.