Change comes slowly at the All England Club, which will not follow the other Grand Slams by scrapping the gender-specific titles
The slogan for this year’s Wimbledon is “Always like never before”, a nod to the All England Club’s annual balancing act in modernising while maintaining some of the traditions it holds so proud. But while the club and the tournament are expanding all the time, with the proposed development on the grounds of the old golf club across the road expected to be approved later this summer, some things stay the same.
Unlike the other three Grand Slams – the Australian Open, French Open and the US Open – Wimbledon persists in using the gender-specific terms ball “boys” and “girls”. The US Open, which uses people of all ages for the role, calls them “ball crew” while it’s “ballkids” in Melbourne and Paris. The All England Club, which is proud of having what it feels are the best ball boys and girls in the business, said on Saturday that there are no plans to change their titles.