On Tennis, Body Image and the Politics of Style

Notes from Wimbledon, a bunch of free marketing ideas and more...

“I just feel unfeminine. I don’t know — it’s probably that I’m self-conscious about what people might say. It’s stupid, but it’s insecurities that every woman has, I think. I definitely have them and I’m not ashamed to admit it. I would love to be a confident player that is proud of her body. Women, when we grow up we’ve been judged more, our physicality is judged more, and it makes us self-conscious.” – German tennis player Andrea Petkovic

As I considered what to write for the start of Wimbledon, I remembered a story I read nine years ago in the New York Times about women’s tennis players at the tournament and body image. The piece included quotes (like the one above) from athletes lamenting the size of their muscles and unflattering photos they saw in the press. Accompanying the story was an image of Germany’s Andrea Petkovic grimacing during a return. I remember being struck by the injustice. Petkovic opened up to the writer, Ben Rothenberg, about her struggle with body image only to have the paper run an objectively terrible picture of her to illustrate the point. This was likely the result of a photo editor just doing their job, but I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

The story “Tennis’s Top Women Balance Body Image With Ambition” has stuck with me for nearly a decade – far longer than most articles I read. Perhaps it’s because I can relate. While I don’t have to see pictures of myself in the world’s biggest newspapers, I’ve experienced the gut punch of self-loathing that comes from opening a MarathonFoto email filled with depressing shots of me running on the downstep. It’s an inherent tension of competition: performing our best often means looking our worst. In a culture obsessed with beauty, it can be hard to reconcile the two.

This week, I went back to re-read the story and was stunned by the way athletes’ bodies were discussed. It’s hard to imagine a coach telling the Times today: “It’s our decision to keep her as the smallest player in the top 10,” said Tomasz Wiktorowski, the coach of Agnieszka Radwanska, who is listed at 5 feet 8 and 123 pounds. “Because, first of all she’s a woman, and she wants to be a woman.” Or Maria Sharapova getting away with this line: “‘I always want to be skinnier with less cellulite; I think that’s every girl’s wish,’ she said, laughing.”

The story included commentary from Serena Williams on learning to accept her body. Is it any wonder she felt self-conscious when routinely faced with descriptions like this one? “Williams…has large biceps and a mold-breaking muscular frame, which packs the power and athleticism that have dominated women’s tennis for years. Her rivals could try to emulate her physique, but most of them choose not to.” There’s no mention of the racist ideas that underpin the belief that her build was “unfeminine.” Throughout her career, Williams’ appearance – from the beads in her hair to her body suits – was subject to more intense scrutiny than her white peers. Three years after this story was published, she faced censure at the French Open for donning a Nike catsuit deemed “disrespectful” of the game.

Why am I harping on a nine-year-old story? While some things in tennis have changed – Maria Sakkari and Aryna Sabalenka in particular seem quite proud of their muscles – many things remain the same. Women players are still subject to a host of indignities: from unequal pay, bad schedules, stalking, and more. And they do it all in a dress, facing derision for the slightest fashion misstep.

Wimbledon, for all its traditions and charm, embodies this tension. It was only last year that the tournament relaxed its all-white dress code, allowing women to wear colored underwear so they didn’t have to worry about playing during their period.¹

Tennis’s emphasis on aesthetics dates back to the Victorian era. The sport presented the rare opportunity for women to play alongside men, so both parties dressed their best. Fearing sweat stains, players wore white, a utilitarian choice that soon became part of the sport’s visual shorthand.²

Thus, the idea that players, especially women, need to look “good” on the court is baked into the sport. Their appearance has long been a form of currency: The right combination of beauty and talent can translate to millions of dollars in sponsorships. (This, of course, can be a double-edged sword, just ask Emma Radacanu.)

As I watch Wimbledon cataloging skirt lengths and hairstyles, I do so with a conflicted heart. I wish that fashion could exist in a vacuum, to be consumed for its visual value and nothing more. But, the pressure these players face to perform both athletically and aesthetically is one to which many women can relate. And it’s a pressure that only feels magnified with the always-on presence of smartphone cameras and social media.

In an ideal world, we’d all channel our inner Eugenie Bouchard, who told the Times “If it’s what you need to lift trophies, who cares what you look like?” But, all the confidence in the world can’t erase the lessons we’ve been taught from girlhood. As Petkovic, then the 14th best player in the world, said, “Women, when we grow up we’ve been judged more, our physicality is judged more, and it makes us self-conscious.”

Wimbledon Style Notes

• As a note, given the screed above, when I am assessing an athlete’s look, I’m weighing the brand’s work. Things like hair, make-up, and styling I hope to look at from a larger trend perspective. I may mess up here, and welcome discussion about ways to examine athlete style without adding to the negative discourse around appearance.

• Wilson’s dress for Marta Kostyuk was inspired by her wedding dress – and it’s currently available for sale. I’m a sucker for story-driven product marketing, especially when it’s based on an authentic connection. To wit, Vogue got the exclusive and it turns out Wilson designer Joelle Michaeloff made Kostyuk’s actual wedding dress. I appreciated what Michaeloff said about the design process. “It has to be beautiful first—to be tailored, to be crafted. It’s got all the high-tech, super-performance aspects, of course—they’re just not overt. It’s stealth technology: You can’t see it. In the world we’re living in, there's no reason why you have to scream performance anymore.’

• Adidas’s Wimbledon looks showcase performance knitwear, including a cute top that resembles a classic cable knit sweater (buy it here). It almost makes up for their ugly yellow and black kits, which you can also purchase.

• I have generally enjoyed New Balance’s gear for Coco Gauff, so I was a little stumped by her Wimbledon dress, which was longer than her usual hemlines. I should have known that was the point! It’s an homage to Serena William’s look from 2019, the last year she won the tournament. This isn’t the first time Coco has honored Williams through her style {insert teary emoji}.

  • I really liked Coco’s media day look. You can buy her bucket hat, here.

• FP Movement continues to make inroads in professional sports (I mentioned their support of long jumper Quanesha Burks last week.) They sponsor both Sloane Stephens and Danielle Collins, who is in the midst of a brilliant final season.
  ³ According to their Instagram, FP is making a major marketing push at Wimbledon. They’re certainly doing a good job of chasing trending sports like tennis and running, whether it feels authentic is another story.

• Speaking of authenticity, Alo Yoga is also sponsoring players. Anna Kalinskaya made it to the fourth round in their kit before exiting with an injury. I’ll give Alo credit for calling their tennis collection “tennis-inspired,” but I assume it must annoy purists that the model sporting the Varsity Tennis Skirt is holding a paddle.

• I’m fascinated by the micro-trends in sports hair. During my rowing era, we wore baseball hats but about two years after I retired visors became cool (the better to show off elaborate hair-dos). So far at Wimbledon, visors and long braided ponytails seem to be popular.⁴ Iga Swiatek, at least, seems very loyal to the baseball hat. I’ll do a more rigorous study for the US Open…

• Another trend I spotted: elaborate nail art. Katie Boulter and Coco Gauff showed off Wimbledon-themed manicures, complete with strawberries. I need to interview the artist at the Wimbledon player’s beauty salon, ASAP.

• Emma Navarro is having a great tournament (go ‘Hoos!). I noticed that she wears a lot of jewelry – multiple necklaces and an ear full of earrings, which the WSJ just called “a power move.”

Free Ideas

• It was announced last week that Glossier is the first beauty partner for the US women’s Olympic basketball team. This is a natural next step for the brand, which has partnered with the WNBA for years. I love this kind of beauty-sports collaboration, and it got me thinking about other brands that should partner with Olympic teams. Here are a few free ideas:

• Supergoop x US Women’s Soccer – who better to advocate for sunscreen as skincare than athletes who are outside all day, every day?

• Rare Makeup and USA Gymnastics – really any GenZ beauty brand would do well to capitalize on the most popular Olympic sport. These women perform mind-boggling feats of athleticism in perfectly applied mascara, I can’t keep my makeup from smudging when I work from home…

  • On this subject, I stumbled on some of the younger gymnasts’ Get Ready with Me’s for Trials. 16-year-old phenoms Hezly Rivera and Tiana Sumanasekera shared their routines on TikTok. Honestly, it terrifies me how good they are at this. Gymnastics is a sport where makeup is part of the overall aesthetic, so one presumes they’ve been working at it for a while. Of note, Sumanasekera’s perfect red lip came courtesy of Makeup Forever’s lip liner and Dior Addict Lipstick.

• Olaplex and USA Synchro - spending so much time in chlorine has got to do some serious damage to your hair, right? This feels like a layup (or whatever the synchronized swimming version of a layup is …)

Quick Thoughts

Things that drew my eye or my ire…

• A few updates from last week’s newsletter:

  • The intrepid Kamilah Journet helped me find the designer of Alaysha Johnson’s speed suit. It’s HMN ALNS.

  • I learned that the gooseheads that fans wore for the men’s 1500m final were a clever feat of sports marketing. I am guessing On didn’t promote it on social media because USATF/USOC would cause a fuss (lame). Still, I would click buy on a baseball cap or other merch with a goose graphic faster than Yared ran his last lap…

  • Photographer Joe Hale let me know that Nike’s all-yellow kits, like the one Faith Kipyegon donned to set the 1500m world record this weekend, are reserved for athletes who won the World Championship in the previous year. This is cool! Imagine if Nike did some storytelling around it…

  • I missed that Christina Clemon’s Dorito-sponsored kit ran afoul of the USOC. The Fast Women newsletter pointed out that Clemon’s had a clever workaround. She covered up the logo with Dorito-shaped decals.

• The New York Times covered Actively Black’s kits for Nigeria’s Olympic team, which showcases performance-driven updates on traditional Nigerian garb including a classic block print, buba dress, dashiki, and gele hat. Even better, the designs were made in Nigeria and utilize locally sourced fabrics. Actively Black’s Instagram has a lot of good detail on the process and thinking behind the collection.

• This week in collaboration watch, the long-awaited Jacquemus x Nike collection debuts soon. It includes a buzzy Swoosh Bag, which would be even cooler if it could actually carry a discus …

  

• This was a great read on WNBA tunnel fits and the ubiquity of matching sets from the Rabbit Fur Coat Substack.

• Nike’s record on women’s sports is … mixed to say the least. But I do appreciate this visual and copy.

  

• Let’s end with this:

  

1. It took until 2007 (and heroic campaigning by Venus Williams) for Wimbledon to award women equal prize money.

2. For more on this subject and more listen to Articles of Interest by Avery Truffleman.

3. I loved this quote from Collins, “I lay my emotions out there and I wear my heart on my sleeve. I'm someone who's not afraid to be myself and I think as women, we should really embrace that and support each other and be able to use that passion to fire us up. I think it's a lot. We get framed as emotional and frustrated and this and that, and I just say, ‘F it!’”

4. My sisters and I call these “bitch braids.” Does that make us bad feminists?

Thanks for reading and subscribing! Next week: Sweat Lookbook’s first interview, Wimbledon closing thoughts, and whatever else the sporting gods have for us. As always, let me know if I missed something – comment or email: leeglandorf@gmail.com.