World No 31 Jelena Ostapenko was cautioned by a Wimbledon chair umpire over an apparent issue with one of her sponsors.
The former French Open champion had previously caught the eye during her first-round match against British wildcard Harriet Dart when she arrived on No 1 Court emblazoned with the logo of British supermarket Tesco.
Demurring after the three-set clash that the deal had only been ‘for the match’, Ostapenko was called up after beating Antonia Ruzic in straight sets days later.
The 29-year-old was sitting on her chair when she was approached by the chair umpire and another member of staff and queried her sweatbands, which were emblazoned with a large black logo.
Ostapenko demonstrated some confusion at being called out for the item, prompting a reminder from Wimbledon staff that rules on sponsors differ between the WTA and the ITF (now World Tennis), the governing body which oversees the tournament.
When asked about the conversation after the match, Ostapenko told Daily Mail Sport: ‘I don’t know (what the issue was), maybe you have to ask the chair umpire. Maybe they didn’t like something, I don’t know’.
Jelena Ostapenko was spoken to by Wimbledon staff after her second-round match
The 29-year-old’s sweatbands were emblazoned with a large black logo for her tie with Antonia Ruzic
The former French Open champion previously sported the logo of Tesco Whoosh, the British supermarket’s delivery service
Daily Mail Sport has contacted the All England Club for comment.
Wimbledon’s strict all-white dress code ensures stringent guidance for players over the shape and design of any sponsorship logos.
Rule number four of the tournament’s dress code states: ‘Colour contained within patterns will be measured as if it is a solid mass of colour and should be within the one centimetre (10mm) guide.
‘Logos formed by variations of material or patterns are not acceptable.’
Ostapenko has already been a lively presence at the Championships this week, after her sarcastic applause of the crowd celebrating Dart claiming a third-set break was met with a hail of boos from the normally reserved SW19 punters.
