"I love that women are becoming a lot more open, why shouldn't we talk about our period?" - Barbara Schett

Former tennis professional Barbara Schett welcomed the growing tradition of women players openly talking about periods with respect to Wimbledon's decision to alter its all-white dress code.

Schett, 47, is a retired Austrian tennis professional. During her career, Schett won three WTA singles titles and attained a career-high ranking of No. 7. In the 1999 US Open, the Austrian lost to Venus Williams in the quarterfinals. Currently, she is a commentator and presenter.

In a recent interview with Eurosport, Barbara Schett commented on Wimbledon's recent relaxation of its all-white dress code. Since 2014, players have been prohibited from wearing colored underwear. However, starting this year, players can wear colored underwear if they want.

"The all-white policy has been extremely strict - if you had one coloured stripe on your kit, you were sent off to the locker room. That’s not the case anymore, which is fantastic, especially for women who will be on their period during the tournament," Schett said.

The Austrian also recalled various incidents of women athletes, including Ons Jabeur and American Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin, openly talking about their menstrual cycles and how it affected their performance. Daria Kasatkina recently welcomed Wimbledon's relaxation and revealed how wearing white undershorts was a problem for the WTA players.

"So, I love that women are becoming a lot more open and they’re not afraid of what men think. Why shouldn’t we talk about our period? It’s the most natural thing on earth - ultimately, if women didn’t have their periods, there wouldn’t be any babies and humans would be gone," Barbara Schett added.

The former World No. 7 continued by saying how today's men, especially the younger ones, are sensitive to these issues. While acknowledging that the situation is getting better, Schett hoped for further progress in the coming days.

"Support for players has hopefully evolved since then. It’s no secret that the majority of coaches on the WTA Tour are male, but I think men now - especially younger men - have a completely different understanding compared to our fathers or grandfathers. So, it’s getting better, but it needs to continue progressing."

"I could barely move during the points, it was the most uncomfortable thing and I felt so ashamed" - Barbara Schett recalls horrifying incident in Prague

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In the same interview, Barbara Schett opened up about her ordeal in Prague when she was around 21 years old. Recalling the incident, the former tennis pro revealed how she was playing a match while on her period and had to use the toilet but was forbidden to do so, due to the rules at the time.

"I remember when I was about 21, I had a horrid experience in Prague. I was on my period and could feel I needed to go to the toilet to change my tampon, but the toilet rules meant you could only go at the end of each set. I remember standing waiting for a return, where of course your legs are spread, and I literally felt that it was going to fall out, and that’s a woman’s worst nightmare."

She further noted that she tried talking to the umpire, but in vain, forcing her to carry on playing despite being barely able to move on the court.

"I tried speaking to the umpire, but they said I had to wait until the end of the set, and I was just so conscious; I could barely move during the points. It was the most uncomfortable thing, and I felt so ashamed," Barbara Schett added.