ShortcutsTennis This article is more than 9 years oldWhy are we fat-shaming tennis players?
This article is more than 9 years oldThe 18-year-old American player Taylor Townsend has plenty of talent, but her skill is not the only thing to come under scrutinyTaylor Townsend has a forehand like a clap of thunder and a net game as delicate and dazzling as anyone in women's tennis. And, as the 18-year-old American showed in holding off a spirited fightback to shock the No 20 seed Alize Cornet at the French Open last week, she has plenty of guts and talent too. But – and there is no delicate way to put this – there was another reason her victory was given such prominence: she also appeared to be carrying a few extra pounds.
People quickly took entrenched positions: those whose antennae detected that Townsend was a victim of body shaming and sexism; dullards who lobbed vicious comments on tennis forums; and others who pointed out that in September 2012 the US Tennis Association cut off her funding until she got into better shape and, you know, perhaps she did need to get fitter.
We have been here before. Serena Williams, the world's No 1, once pointed out to detractors: "I could lose 20lb and I'm still going to have these knockers and I'm going to have this ass, and that's just the way it is", although later in her career she dropped to a size 10 by doing Pilates and training up to four hours a day. As she said: "I wanted to get really fit. I wanted to lose some weight." And then there was Lindsay Davenport, who was 6ft 2in and 86kg (13½st) when she blasted on to the WTA Tour as a teenager. People called her fat, which hurt her more than most defeats. But after she lost 13.6kg (30lb) in two years she became world No 1. As she said: "It made such a big difference in my game."
Townsend is not the only young player to have her weight scrutinised either. Laura Robson, Britain's top player, was also told recently that "she needs to get a lot fitter" by TV commentator Annabel Croft. But anyone who dares to venture into this arena risks being caught up in the issues surrounding weight, fitness and gender politics.
It's a delicate area, but anyone playing elite sport knows the unarguable truth – that the stronger and fitter you are, the closer to your maximum potential you will be.
It is also worth noting, as David Epstein points out in his book The Sports Gene, that Steffi Graf – probably the greatest female tennis player of all – was so fit she would train for endurance alongside Germany's Olympic track runners and was suspected to be good enough to be European 1,500m champion. It doesn't hurt to match tennis talent with supreme fitness – no matter how good you are.
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