Wimbledon allow players to break strict dress code rule due to Diogo Jota death | Tennis | Sport

Wimbledon will allow an ‘exception’ to their dress code following the tragic passing of Diogo Jota. The Liverpool footballer and his brother Andre died in a car accident in the Spanish province of Zamora.

The Guardia Civil have confirmed that the incident is under investigation but believe that the Lamborghini in which the pair were travelling in suffered a tyre blowout whilst overtaking another vehicle, causing them to leave the road. The car then caught fire.

With the world of sport shaken, Express Sport understands that Wimbledon have taken action to allow players to pay tribute to the late Portuguese international. Players will now be able to request to wear a black ribbon around their arm in tribute to the Liverpool star.

All players are required to wear all-white kits on competition courts, though that rule was eased in 2022 to allow female players to wear dark-coloured undershorts as long as they are not longer than their shorts or skirts.

However, the All England Club are willing to make an exception to their rules due to the tragic circumstances. Speaking about Jota’s passing after his victory in the first round of the men’s doubles alongside partner Lucas Miedler, Portuguese star Francisco Cabral revealed that he intends to wear a black ribbon when he next takes to the court as he did not have enough time to organise his tribute beforehand.

Speaking after his win over the team of Jamie Murray and Rajeev Ram, he said: “I have seen the very sad news. The guy is a big name, not just in Portugal but in the world. He was a great human being with a nice family and three kids. My best wishes to them all. For his family it is very tough to recover from that. I couldn’t get one in time today, but I want to in the next one.”

Tennis legend Rafael Nadal paid tribute to Jota and his brother on X before action at SW19 got underway. The Spaniard tweeted: “What terribly sad and painful news. All my love, affection, and support to his wife, his children, his family, and his friends in such a difficult moment. Rest in Peace, Diogo Jota and Andre Silva.”

British former doubles No. 1 Neal Skupski also paid tribute, tweeting: “Tragic news. YNWA.”