Wimbledon Makes an Exception to Its Historic Dress Code to Pay Tribute to Diogo Jota

Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments in professional tennis but is known as the Major with the most traditions. The most famous of these is undoubtedly the all-white dress code that players must adhere to in order to compete.

Since the tournament's inception in 1877, this rule has always been enforced and never abandoned, although the 2012 London Olympics, held at the All England Club, allowed players to wear their national colors. For the first time in its 148-year history, Wimbledon will briefly set aside its dress code for a few hours.

Indeed, the tournament organizers will permit players to wear black armbands as a way to pay tribute to Diogo Jota and André Silva, two Portuguese footballers who tragically died in a car accident overnight from Wednesday to Thursday in Spain.

This is good news for Francisco Cabral, a Portuguese doubles player, who was unable to wear an armband during his match yesterday but will now have the opportunity to honor his compatriot in his next game.

"Diogo Jota was a big name, not just in Portugal but worldwide. He was a wonderful man with a beautiful family and three children. I wish them all the best. It’s very hard for his family to recover from this.

I couldn’t get an armband in time for today (Thursday), but I want to do it in the next match," he told *The Mirror* in recent hours.

Diogo Jota, who played for English club Liverpool since 2020 and won the Premier League last May, passed away at the age of 28, just days after his wedding.