To Twirl or not to Twirl
Those of us that are tennis enthusiasts have been avidly watching the Australian Open. The world’s best tennis players are strutting their stuff in the first major of the year. As the tournament shifts in to the later rounds, the quality of play becomes increasingly intense.
These players are world-class athletes. Tennis at that level demands dedication, conditioning, power and skill; as well as the ability to perform at a high level under incredible pressure. I can not think of another sport that pits two individuals against each other for hours at a time–in front of a crowd of thousands of people in the stadium and another million (or so) watching on TV. (In contrast — no one has ever come to watch me play — even when I played a match 2 blocks from my house (humph)).
Women tennis players have not always made equal prize money to the men. Billie Jean King and others worked hard to improve conditions and compensation for women, and wow – the women have responded. From Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, and more… women have raised their level of professional and sheer athleticism to heights that were virtually unimaginable not so many years ago.
Professional Tennis players are young and extremely fit–which makes them more attractive than your average demographic. I’d certainly be lying if I said the only thing I admire about Rafa Nadal was his lefty forehand. These guys and gals work out and you can’t help but notice the results.
Which all leads me to the Eugenie Bouchard controversy. For those of you that have not been following professional tennis in recent years, Eugenie is an incredibly talented young player from Canada. During the post-match interview after one of her wins last week, a male reporter asked her to ‘give him a twirl of her skirt’. Really? After her display of athleticism, skill and power, you are mostly interested in her skirt? The request was as cringe-worthy as someone asking Roger Federer to take off his shirt or flex his muscles for the camera.
Eugenie’s best response will be on the court. The woman has game. And, maybe next time she’ll give the clueless reporter a closeup of her backhand instead of a ‘twirl’.