Remember, whites only: clothing and women's tennis in 2007
When my Aunt Mary Sue first married my uncle, she made arrangements to meet him at the Cleveland Raquet Club for a game of tennis. As he left the house for work that morning, he said, "remember - whites only!" She was appalled, until she realized that "whites" referred to clothing rather than melanin. Historically, and even within my modest 15-year tennis career, white skirts and polo shirts were considered de rigeur for the competitive player.
Today, Wimbledon is the last of the major tournaments to require players to wear white. The French Open, currently in the Round of Sixteen, has featured athletic young women (and men) from all over the world sporting short candy-colored dresses, often with built-in spandex shorts and sports bras visible underneath their clothing. My mother is scandalized by women whose clothing does not adequately conceal their undergarments. Personally, it doesn't really bother me - although I can't say I particularly lusted after Britney's whole jeweled thong...thing.
That's not to say, though, that I don't ever question the sartorial choices of French Open competitors. Tennis players are some of the only athletes with the power to dictate their own uniforms. Occasionally, female players have even negotiated contracts with major sportswear labels that allow them to design their own clothing line - a trend that first entered public consciousness with Serena Williams' 1998 contract with Puma, for $12 million (since then she has signed a five-year, $55 million contract with Nike. Unfortunately, Nike, like Puma, has continued to provide her with outfits that feature knee socks). Serena's style has run the gamut - for one tournament, she wore a green dress with coordinated knee socks and tennis shoes in the Brazilian national colors; for another, she wore something that looked like pleather and was sufficiently form-fitting that I wondered how she got it on and off (seriously); yet another time, she was seen to wear a pleated denim miniskirt on the court. If you don't believe me (or for a sampler), click here.
For this years' French Open, in a match against Dinara Safina, Serena has opted to wear a dusky pink halter dress with a fluttery skirt. The dress has a very low back and is cut to reveal a substantial black sports bra. When she is serving and the camera only shows her back, she looks like she is wearing a mismatched two-piece bathing suit with an attached skirt - the type that Eddie Bauer and Lands End market to middle aged suburbanites. Safina, for her part, is wearing a significantly more modest skirt-and-shirt combo - but her shirt is too tight, and at-home spectators could clearly see the seams and the logo on her foundation garments, as well.
While I am pleased that the standards governing tennis clothing have relaxed such that "whites only" is no longer the order of the day, I do wish that women - and some men - would consider what exactly they're sporting. Women like Safina and both Williams sisters have revolutionized tennis. They are stronger and more athletic than female players of the past; they have harder, faster serves and powerful groundstrokes. As Safina and Williams battle it out today, they scream and grunt and stomp. I think Safina is swearing, too, but she's doing it in Russian, so I can't say for sure. Both women are examples of a new type of female athlete - one that girls of today do not see enough of. They are strong, they are competitive, they are confident. While some professional players, most notable Justine Henin, are very petite, the New Player is well-muscled and imposing, and both these women certainly fit the bill.
Serena, as if she didn't have enough going for her, is also famous for being modest and well-spoken. She is, in many respects, all that a professional athlete should be: an exciting and inspiring player to watch as well as a conscientious role model and public figure. She has also managed not to become incredibly tiresome despite the fact that she's won seven of the Slam tournaments and is making a serious bid for an eighth. If only we could do something about her style, I think we'd be in business. I do not understand why Serena insists on wearing ugly clothing, off but especially on the court. In fact, I feel almost as though she has an obligation to wear outfits that are a little more flattering. She's already revolutionized the sport, and now I think she has an opportunity to have a significant impact on the way that our culture views ideal body types. Most images of beauty in our society evoke that movie I saw in the seventh grade about the perils of anorexia - Serena and her compatriots provide a welcome respite. Now if only she wouldn't insist on sheathing her physique in heinous and ill-fitting spandex! Why not wear something that celebrates her body - Safina's not exempt here either - instead of something that, although made of pretty colors, pinches your body in such a way that highlights the little fat you have instead of celebrating, or at least emphasizing, the fact that you are one of the top-ranked players in the world and you have the muscles to back it up?
Please?
Today, Wimbledon is the last of the major tournaments to require players to wear white. The French Open, currently in the Round of Sixteen, has featured athletic young women (and men) from all over the world sporting short candy-colored dresses, often with built-in spandex shorts and sports bras visible underneath their clothing. My mother is scandalized by women whose clothing does not adequately conceal their undergarments. Personally, it doesn't really bother me - although I can't say I particularly lusted after Britney's whole jeweled thong...thing.
That's not to say, though, that I don't ever question the sartorial choices of French Open competitors. Tennis players are some of the only athletes with the power to dictate their own uniforms. Occasionally, female players have even negotiated contracts with major sportswear labels that allow them to design their own clothing line - a trend that first entered public consciousness with Serena Williams' 1998 contract with Puma, for $12 million (since then she has signed a five-year, $55 million contract with Nike. Unfortunately, Nike, like Puma, has continued to provide her with outfits that feature knee socks). Serena's style has run the gamut - for one tournament, she wore a green dress with coordinated knee socks and tennis shoes in the Brazilian national colors; for another, she wore something that looked like pleather and was sufficiently form-fitting that I wondered how she got it on and off (seriously); yet another time, she was seen to wear a pleated denim miniskirt on the court. If you don't believe me (or for a sampler), click here.
For this years' French Open, in a match against Dinara Safina, Serena has opted to wear a dusky pink halter dress with a fluttery skirt. The dress has a very low back and is cut to reveal a substantial black sports bra. When she is serving and the camera only shows her back, she looks like she is wearing a mismatched two-piece bathing suit with an attached skirt - the type that Eddie Bauer and Lands End market to middle aged suburbanites. Safina, for her part, is wearing a significantly more modest skirt-and-shirt combo - but her shirt is too tight, and at-home spectators could clearly see the seams and the logo on her foundation garments, as well.
While I am pleased that the standards governing tennis clothing have relaxed such that "whites only" is no longer the order of the day, I do wish that women - and some men - would consider what exactly they're sporting. Women like Safina and both Williams sisters have revolutionized tennis. They are stronger and more athletic than female players of the past; they have harder, faster serves and powerful groundstrokes. As Safina and Williams battle it out today, they scream and grunt and stomp. I think Safina is swearing, too, but she's doing it in Russian, so I can't say for sure. Both women are examples of a new type of female athlete - one that girls of today do not see enough of. They are strong, they are competitive, they are confident. While some professional players, most notable Justine Henin, are very petite, the New Player is well-muscled and imposing, and both these women certainly fit the bill.
Serena, as if she didn't have enough going for her, is also famous for being modest and well-spoken. She is, in many respects, all that a professional athlete should be: an exciting and inspiring player to watch as well as a conscientious role model and public figure. She has also managed not to become incredibly tiresome despite the fact that she's won seven of the Slam tournaments and is making a serious bid for an eighth. If only we could do something about her style, I think we'd be in business. I do not understand why Serena insists on wearing ugly clothing, off but especially on the court. In fact, I feel almost as though she has an obligation to wear outfits that are a little more flattering. She's already revolutionized the sport, and now I think she has an opportunity to have a significant impact on the way that our culture views ideal body types. Most images of beauty in our society evoke that movie I saw in the seventh grade about the perils of anorexia - Serena and her compatriots provide a welcome respite. Now if only she wouldn't insist on sheathing her physique in heinous and ill-fitting spandex! Why not wear something that celebrates her body - Safina's not exempt here either - instead of something that, although made of pretty colors, pinches your body in such a way that highlights the little fat you have instead of celebrating, or at least emphasizing, the fact that you are one of the top-ranked players in the world and you have the muscles to back it up?
Please?