Wimbledon official handed 33-year ban for controversial 'sexual' incident during the tournament
An long-standing official at Wimbledon was banned for 33 years over a controversial outfit he designed for the 1949 tournament.
The tennis tournament at All England Club's grass courts kicked off in 1877, initially at Worple Road before moving to Church Road in 1922.
Wimbledon operates a strict all-white dress code which is still followed by players to this day, but issues with the attire of one competitor led to a hefty suspension to Ted Tinling, a tennis official standing at 6ft 7.
Tinling was an umpire, consultant, player liaison and chief of protocol as well as being one of the most famous designers of tennis dresses for the great female players.
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In 1949, however, his creation for American Gussie Moran, caused an almighty stir and led to him being punished.
Tinling designed the dress but also the lace trimmed undershorts that Moran sported during her Ladies Doubles final with Patricia Todd against Louise Brough and Margaret Osborne duPont.
Why was Wimbledon official Ted Tinling banned?
Moran lost the final but her undergarments, deemed somewhat racy and inappropriate were a huge talking point that photographers were trying to capture with low-angle snaps and led to a flurry of personal appearances.
Wimbledon chiefs claimed Moran was guilty of "putting sin and vulgarity into tennis", while chairman Sir Louis Greig accused Tinling of "having drawn attention to the sexual area".
He had worked as a Master of Ceremonies for 23 years but was then issued with a staggering 33-year ban from Wimbledon.
Still, he was responsible for the dresses worn by the Wimbledon ladies' champion in 1959, 1960, 1961, 1964, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1978 and 1979, while he also designed Billie Jean King's dress for her 'Battle of the Sexes' game against Bobby Riggs in 1973.
"Confidence is probably what makes the difference between a victory and a defeat,” Tinling said on his designs.
“If a woman feels that she is prettier or better dressed than her opponent, nothing can stop her.”
Tinling was eventually invited back to Wimbledon in 1982 as a player liaison and worked as the Chief of Protocol for the International Tennis Federation as well as a Director of International Liaison for the women’s pro tour.
A trailblazer who changed tennis fashion, Tinling was inducted into the Tennis International Hall of Fame in 1986 - four years before he passed away.
Josh Lawless