With Wimbledon 2016 just around the corner, all eyes are on the competitors as they gear up for the world’s most famous tennis event.
But there’s one (particularly pretty) face notably absent from this year’s line-up – tennis’ former golden girl, Maria Sharapova.
In the sports scandal of the year, the 29 year old Russian player – and world’s highest earning female athlete – was handed a minimum two year ban after testing positive for taking Meldonium at the Australian Open in January.
Following the news, almost all of Sharapova’s sponsorhip deals fell through and she was suspended by a number of organisations, including the UN, who dropped her as a Goodwill Ambassador.
The scandal has left the player’s career – and reputation – in tatters. And yet, her biggest sponsor, Nike, recently lifted their suspension on the star’s endorsement deal, saying “We hope to see Maria back on the court and will continue to partner with her.”
Why is the sportswear giant still backing the star? Do her looks have anything to do with it? Would it be the same for a male player? Well, maybe David Beckham. Some say his looks and celebrity status (thanks largely to Posh Spice) was the real reason Real Madrid signed him as a Galactico rather than purely for his skills on the pitch.
Female tennis stars’ looks have long been the subject of media scrutiny. In 2013, when Marion Bartoli lifted the Wimbledon Ladies Single trophy, the BBC’s John Inverdale sparked fury with his remark the French player was “never going to be a looker.” He then pondered whether the player’s father had ever said to his daughter, “You’re never going to be somebody like Sharapova with long legs, so you have to compensate for that.”
Two years on, and, sadly, not much has changed. As few days before the tournament begins, Bartoli is back in the news, not for her historic Wimbeldon win, or her court skills but – you guessed it – her appearance; more specifically, her recent weight loss. A quick Google search reveals numerous articles, tweets and blog posts all scrutinising the player’s reasons for losing weight.
Other female players have spoken out against sexism in the sport. In a recent interview Spanish player Garbine Muguruza said “Unfortunately skirts and legs sell more than our winning shots.”
However, Muguruza is hopeful that things will change as women gain positions of authority in the sport: “We have some more women in the top level. So I think this will change with time.”
But Nike has some catching up to do. The US sportswear giant this week recalled its women’s tennis dress after some of its 20 sponsored female players said they were struggling to cover up!
All this will of course be old news when Wimbledon gets underway, but hopefully it will have hammered another nail into tennis sexism.
