Wimbledon Officials Call Serena Williams Ugly, Send Her to Back Courts
Quick, name this profession: long, slim, toned bodies poured into tight fitting -- but adorable! -- clothing and jumping around in front of a bevy of overeager photographers, magazine editors, and camera crews. Oh yeah, and there's a lot of "grunting" involved (oh, the scandal!).
Did you say modeling? Actually, it's tennis.
With East European beauties such as Maria Sharapova, Anna Kournikova and Elena Dementieva ruling the press coverage of the sport, one would think they must also be ruling the courts. Not so, say many tennis insiders. Often the best courts and play slots (and hence the better media coverage) are given to the women who are better lookers rather than the ones who are better players. This is even true at the venerable Wimbeldon tournament where officials admitted last night to putting the prettiest female players on the famous center court even if that means relegating the uglier-but-higher-seeded women to the new auxiliary courts. Wimbeldon spokesman Johnny Perkins said unapologetically, "Good looks are a factor." Observe:
The number 1 seed? You'll find Dinara Safina of Russia way over in court 2.
Back in the center court we have No 28 seed Sorana Cirstea of Romania
But where is the number 2 player? The U.S.'s own Serena Williams (edited from original text "Venus": I'm an idiot and can't tell my Williams sisters apart. Thanks to everyone who pointed it out.) is back on court 2.
Never having played tennis outside some embarrassing weekend recreations that we won't discuss, I have no idea if being moved to another court or being told flat out by officials that you are homely would affect one's game. Venus and Serena Williams seem to be pretty indomitable despite being stuck out in the hinterlands (I know! They're gorgeous, right?) but if it were me, I think it would mess with my head and probably my game too.
On the flip side, it also makes me wonder if the "pretty" center court girls worry more about which custom Nike tennis dress they will be wearing than if their backhand is stellar. Or, even worse, that they might avoid lifting weights or training hard because they don't want to "bulk up" and look more like the muscular athletes they are than catwalk models.
Of course, no similar trend has been noticed among the men. Apparently the tennis officials are just giving the people want they want -- and they think we would rather see pretty-but-weaker-players rather than the strong athletes that would show the best athletic competitions.
The question is, are they right?
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Submitting this one in case my first one got lost...
The writer needs to get a clue. In the eight days of Wimbledon so far, a Williams sister has been featured on Centre Court four times, and no female player has been featured more than they have. Dinara Safina has also been featured twice on centre court, yet you make it sound like she has been put out to pasture. The fourth seed, Elena Demetieva is quite blonde and pretty, and yet she never made the cut to be featured, presumably because she just is not as much of a draw as the other players.
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/schedule/schedule8.html
It makes sense to put others on Center Court early in the tournament, the Williams sisters will be showing up all during the end games and dominate the finals. We get to see a number of new players...it makes it all the more interesting. # 1 doesn't have to be the only one we are exposed to.
If marketed properly, the sport gains all around, attracting more players and spectators for a riveting experience. Pretty faces sell, use them. One man's "pretty" is another man's....
One thing is likely, that this petty squabbling has no effect on what the sisters think of themselves or how they play their games. Pros are above all these distractions.
Um, with all due respect, I'm guessing you've never been a female professional tennis player, so how can you know that they are "above" it all? (In my experience, professional athletes can be some of the most insecure people on the planet.)
This is hardly the first time we've seen this sort of thing in womens' tennis: remember Billie Jean King and Chris Evert? Billie jean was a better player, but Chris Evert got more media attention because she was younger, blonder, and dating Jimmy Connors. The fact is that, at the end of the day, a female athlete's appearance matters, much more than a male athlete's does, and some of us are sick of it.
(BTW, thanks for eventually referring to Charlotte by name, instead of just calling her "the writer.")
This is just silly. On Days 1 & 8 Serena played in the sole women's matches on Centre Court
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/schedule/schedule8.html
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/schedule/schedule16.html
On Days 2 & 6 Venus played in the sole women's match on Centre Court http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/schedule/schedule9.html
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/schedule/schedule13.html
So 50% of all women's matches on centre court for the first 8 days included a Williams sister. Sorry, no conspiracy here, and nobody called anybody ugly. This writer is completely clueless about running a tennis tournament, the need for variety in the players who are featured on centre court, etc. The coup de gras was the writer showing a photo of Serena while indicating it was Venus. Find another pot to stir, Ms. Hilton Anderson.
We should boycott
***We should boycott***
Why?
It's been conclusively proven that neither Williams sister has been kept off Centre Court.
I think that looks always are a factor when dealing with any kind of competition between women. But they might do it because everyone is used to the Williams sisters. When they first stepped on the scene there was wall to wall coverage of the Williams at all of the grand slams.
There is beauty in all of us.
Blah. They are sad people. There is beauty in all of us.
Blah, I'm so over eurocentric values, the world is diverse and beautiful, honestly, this type of thing used to affect me, cause all types of emotions being of AfroCaribbean (beautiful, unique) descent. Now I realize this is just ignorance and fear on a few people's parts.. There are lots of different races of people who appreciate and see the beauty in each other. In the age of Obama, with Michelle being the icon she is, those emotions are now humor and pity for shallow, sad people.
For what it's worth, I think Serena and Venus are gorgeous. They are both beautiful, shining examples of what a young women should be like.
Talented. Rich. Beautiful. Privileged. Famous. Yeah, they've pretty much got it down.
The author's question is "are they right?" Yes, they are right, and I say that as somebody who works behind the scenes at several Grand Slam tennis tournaments, and has been a part of scheduling meetings at those events since 1987. It's all about crowd control, public safety, name recognition, and maximizing the fan experience - both for ticketholders and those watching on TV.
Does Daniela Hantuchova put more butts in the seats than Safina? You bet she does. Is Hantuchova the better player? Nah.
When Anna Kournikova (for example) was ranked 120, you couldn't put her out on a court with < 9,000 seats or you'd have a riot on your hands - even though, as a tennis player, she was never better than mediocre.
The scheduling decision tree also varies dramatically by geography. At the US Open, for example, you can put Lleyton Hewitt on a court with 1500 seats, with little or no US TV coverage (but designated primarily for worldfeed TV) , with absolutely no problem. At the Australian Open, that would cause a riot. Same with Andy Murray and Wimbledon. Most people have never heard of Marcos Baghdatis, but in Australia (which has a huge Cypriot population) Baghdatis is worthy of a slot on Rod Laver or Margaret Court Arenas, even for doubles, ahead of most players in the Top Ten.
The author clearly has a chip on her shoulder and is trying to make this a sexist issue, but it's not.
Some would see it as a racial issue as well, and I am one who does.
The author has a point and it IS a sexist issue when a sport looks at an athlete's butt rather than her abilities. I used to watch all the time but stopped because of the blatant bias shown between athletes. Maybe because you are one of those responsible for this, and the racism (we know about THAT as well), you can't see the forest for the trees.
If they would all wear a burqa, this problem would go away.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think that Venus and Serena are beautiful. They also play excellent tennis. If a person's idea of beauty is vapid and anemic then they should go to a fashion show not center court of Wimbeldon. It's tennis not a catwalk.
"It's tennis not a catwalk"
Actually no, it's a business - media coverage, TV ratings, etc. Fair or unfair, right or wrong, it's a business, and apparently, the tennis and/or network powers that be have discovered that putting hotties with mediocre talent front and center garners higher ratings and more moola than featuring less attractive super talents.
I thought business was all about merit and not looks? I wonder if the promoters of "meritocracy" will be bringing suits against these blatant reverse discriminations against talented women tennis players?
It's a sport, first.
Your column is misleading..However, since I am a big tennis fan and keep close tabs on the Williams sisters they have always been a double standard in regards to how they are treated in the tennis/sports world. The primary reason is because of the color of their skin. Fortunately, like most super successful African Americans they don't allow the petty racist prevent them form acheiving their goals. They have learned to choose their battles wisely. The Wimbledon club did the exact same thing last year and the Sisters won the single and doubles title...In this last decade they won 7 of 10 single titles and 4 of 10 double titles at Wimbledon. And that's after not showing up for all 10 years after injuries and the death of their sister.
So while the so called "pretty girls" get the center court, Venus and Serna get millions and the trophies. In tennis, pretty will only take you so far and it doesn't increase your bank account.
Anna Kournikova's bank account increased plenty just on pretty.
From endorsements not from tennis prize money..And how many Tennis players do you think are so pretty that they will be able to repeat it. Maybe they should be runway models..
BTW..Venus has the biggest sport endorsement of any female athelete..40 million dollar shoe contract with Reebook...Show my your Kornikova "pretty' 40 million dollar contract..
"The question is, are they right? "
I would bet they have reems of marketign data that says they are. Anna Kournikova proved it years ago by grabbing every women's tennis headline years ago despite winning virtually never. She gave tennis a boost by showing up on magazine covers and talk shows. It didn't matter that many other players were better. Maria Sharapova improved the situation somewhat because she is good looking AND actually wins a fair amount of the time.
This goes much wider than tennis. Why do female volleyball players wear postage stamp sized outfits while men wear t-shirts? This is the sports' way of getting male viewers.
Sad but true
She gave herself a boost, not tennis. The Williams sisters are the reason womens' tennis is even televised in the U.S.
Yes, I can't remember ever seeing Chris Evert Lloyd, Pam Shriver, Martina Navratilova or Billy Jean King play on the T.V.
Obviously, the Williams sisters have faced discrimination, overcome tremendous obstacles, and are terrific athletes.
They are not the reason women's tennis is televised in the U.S.
what Siansmom said-- thats Serena, not Venus!
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