Wimbledon breaks strict 148-year rule for first time after Liverpool player Diogo Jota died in car crash

We're nearing the peak of this year's Wimbledon Championships after it kicked off last week (30 June) with the two-week sporting event set to go on until next week (13 July).

The world's oldest tennis tournament started way back in 1877 and has been going strong ever since.

Not just known for platforming the best tennis talent from across the world, the matches have since become famed for their celebrity and royal audience sightings as well as the event's infamous dress-code rules.

However, Wimbledon has just broken its incredibly strict 148-year rule for the first time ever following the tragic passing of Liverpool FC player, Diogo Jota, on Thursday (3 July).

Jota, 28, and his 25-year-old brother, footballer Andre Silva, were involved in a fatal car crash around 12.30am in Spain yesterday, with the Spanish Guardia Civil confirming the pair were found dead after their car went off a road near the city of Zamora.

The rule has been in place since the Wimbledon Tournament started back in 1877 (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

According to the Guardia Civil, the brothers' car veered off the road before crashing and catching fire. The emergency services rushed to the scene, but they were unable to save them.

Police said no other vehicles were involved in the incident.

Heartbreakingly, just 11 days before the crash (22 June), the Portuguese footballer married his long-term girlfriend and mother to his three young children, Rute Cardoso, in a ceremony in Porto.

As a result of Jota's passing, Wimbledon has decided that, under special circumstances, they will allow the tennis players to honour Jota if they choose to do so by breaking the tournament’s all white dress-code to wear black armbands.

Diogo Jota tragically died this week (Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

A fellow Portuguese native, tennis player Francisco Cabral, has since spoken out following Jota's death - news which he heard in the car on the way to his Wimbledon doubles match.

Partnered up with Austrian Lucas Miedler, Cabral defeated Scotland’s Jamie Murray and American Rajeev Ram.

"I have seen the very sad news," he said. "The guy is a big name, not just in Portugal but in the world. He was a great human being with a nice family and three kids.

"My best wishes to them all. For his family, it is very tough to recover from that."

While Cabral didn't have enough time to organise a black armband for the match, he did confirm that he will be sourcing one before his next match against Czech Republic duo Petr Nouza and Patrik Rikl.

"I couldn’t get one [an armband] in time today, but I want to in the next one," he assured.