Portuguese Player Honors Jota at Wimbledon Despite Ban

In a humanitarian gesture to honor his late compatriot Diogo Jota, Portuguese tennis player Nuno Borges attempted to wear a Portuguese national team shirt during his match against Russian player Karen Khachanov at Wimbledon. However, tournament organizers rejected this, insisting on the strict dress code that mandates wearing only white attire on the courts.

Borges had planned to wear the shirt in tribute to Jota, whose brother Andre tragically passed away in a car accident days earlier, evoking sadness among Portuguese athletes.

After losing the match, Borges said, "I wanted to wear the Portugal shirt when leaving the court. I even tried to find a white version, but the committee refused, so I had to resort to another option."

Instead of the shirt, the organizing committee allowed players to wear a black ribbon on their attire as a mark of respect for the deceased. Both Borges and his doubles partner Francisco Cabral wore the ribbon in honor of Jota.

Borges considered the gesture symbolic and significant despite its simplicity, stating, "Although Wimbledon is not flexible regarding attire, they allowed us to express our grief in this way. It was a respectful gesture."

Wimbledon is known for its strict dress code, permitting only pure white attire with very few exceptions, such as small patterns or colored emblems.