General view of match action between Caty McNally and Heather Watson one of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday July 1, 2019. Photo credit should read: Adam Davy/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: Editorial use only. No commercial use without prior written consent of the AELTC. Still image use only - no moving images to emulate broadcast. No superimposing or removal of sponsor/ad logos.
The titles will still be used for both women and men when it comes to code violations, medical announcements and player challenges (Picture: PA)

Spectators at Wimbledon may hear the chair umpire referring to female players a little differently this year…

And that’s because traditional naming titles for this year’s tournament have been scrapped in a bid to provide gender equality.

The chair umpire will still refer to female players as Miss, Mrs. or Ms., but only in the same instances that they will use Mr. for the male players.

The titles will still be used for both women and men when it comes to code violations, medical announcements and player challenges, according to the All England Club.

However, when announcing the winners, female players will just be referred to by their surnames – the same as male players.

Angelique Kerber and Serena Williams together on Centre Court at Wimbledon, holding their trophies
The topic of using the titles came up last year, the first year Serena Williams played at the All England Club as a married woman (Picture: Getty)

Heather Watson, a British player who is making her 10th appearance at Wimbledon, didn’t notice the change while beating Caty McNally of the United States in the first round. But she was all for it.

She said: ‘Equality is always good’.

In the past, the chair umpire would use the titles at the end of each game during women’s matches, and at the end of the match. But not for men’s matches.

So when Watson won a game in the past, the chair umpire would announce, ‘Game, Miss Watson’.

But for a men’s match, the announcement would just be, ‘Game, Federer,’ in the case of eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer.

The topic of using the titles came up last year, the first year Serena Williams played at the All England Club as a married woman.

Instead of, ‘Game, Miss Williams,’ it was, ‘Game, Mrs. Williams.’

Novak Djokovic, a four-time Wimbledon winner and the defending champion
‘I mean, sure, if that is the reason, then why not? I support that’ (Picture: Getty)

This year, assuming she wins a game in her first-round match on Tuesday, the chair umpire will say, ‘Game, Williams’.

Novak Djokovic, a four-time Wimbledon winner and the defending champion, said he hadn’t noticed that the club made the change for this year’s tournament.

‘I don’t know, to be honest, how I feel about it,’ said Djokovic. ‘I thought that tradition was very unique and very special. I thought it was nice.’

But after being told that the reason for the change could be in the interest of gender equality, Djokovic was on board.

He added: ‘I mean, sure, if that is the reason, then why not? I support that.’