In Which I Care About Women’s Tennis

Last week, Deadspin and the Wall Street Journal reported on Taylor Townsend, the young tennis phenom that the US Tennis Association attempted to sideline on account of her weight:

But unbeknownst to everyone outside her inner circle, the USTA wasn’t happy to see Townsend in New York. Her coaches declined to pay her travel expenses to attend the Open and told her this summer that they wouldn’t finance any tournament appearances until she makes sufficient progress in one area: slimming down and getting into better shape.

“Our concern is her long-term health, number one, and her long-term development as a player,” said Patrick McEnroe, the general manager of the USTA’s player development program. “We have one goal in mind: For her to be playing in [Arthur Ashe Stadium] in the main draw and competing for major titles when it’s time. That’s how we make every decision, based on that.”

A few observations:

1. She’s not fat.
2. Unspoken and underlying this is something I think far more significant than all of this. Women’s tennis, in order to succeed, relies on men watching on it. Men are more likely to watch attractive women athletes than unattractive ones. The WNBA gets by, but only barely and only with the sponsorship of the NBA. If there is a fear here, I think it has less to do with Townsend’s weight (she’s not fat) and more to do with a fear that she becomes the face of women’s tennis. Serena Williams probably holds that claim now, and while she’s not Anna Kournikova, she still at least looks athletic. That Townsend looks (at first glance – she’s not fat) neither (in the conventional sense) may be problematic for the overall image of the sport.
3. Though #2 makes me at least somewhat understanding of where the USTA may be coming from on this, it ultimately shouldn’t matter. Tennis isn’t (or shouldn’t be) the WWE where you get to pick the winners and losers.
4. The USTA backed off of this and reimbursed the Townsend family for the expenses, seeming to want to chalk it up to some misunderstanding.

Townsend ended up losing in the semifinals.

6. In case you’re curious, Patrick McEnroe is John McEnroe’s brother.

As the title suggest, women’s tennis isn’t my sport. Nor is men’s tennis, for that matter. This jumped out at me primarily due to the weight issue and our focus on obesity. At least, in theory our concern about weight has some sort of health basis. When there is no health basis for our concern, such as when someone is winning tennis tournaments despite not looking like they should, this is something we absolutely should let go of.

It also points to what I believe is a pretty significant double standard. A number of professional baseball players don’t just look muscular, but actually look chubby. Well, more in the past (recent past included, though) than in the present. By and large, nobody cares. We’re also as likely to bond and exalt such players than lecture them (“Babe Ruth did it on hot dogs and beer”). It’s disconcerting that it matters with women. On the other hand, as someone that doesn’t care much for women’s sports, I’m not sure how much I am in a position to say anything.