Why ban the catsuit?
I was shocked and outraged to read today1 that the powers that be at
the French Open (Roland Garros) wish to impose a dress code. Why?
Simply because, it would seem, that Serena’s catsuit, which was a compression outfit
known to be effective against blood clots, was going too far. That sounds as if Serena was deliberately
being difficult, rebellious, and somehow lacking respect for her sport rather
like a teenager flouting school rules. Dress code? Schools have dress
codes. Tennis players are adult, elite athletes who often wear their sponsors' latest fashion designs. Some, including Serena and Venus, are fashion designers in their own right so certainly know how to dress well and for the occasion. Many players combine running a business alongside their tennis careers. For instance, Sharapova encourages and mentors women into business and being entrepreneurs. These players are often multi-millionaires with a great deal of power who can do much to improve the lives of women. In this way, they can be great role models. They also undertake charity work wherever they play tournaments, often putting a smile on the face of children they are helping.
So what exactly is disrespectful about wearing a catsuit on court?2 Is it that it is skin-tight? It wouldn’t be a compression
suit if it was loose fitting. Is it because it reveals her beautiful womanly
figure? If so, it’s sexualising and objectifying Serena. Is it too sexy? That
says more about other people’s state of mind than Serena. That’s their problem
not hers. Is it too distracting? Flappy skirts revealing underwear are distracting!
Yet that’s considered tennis dress code and perfectly acceptable. Serena wore a lovely tennis dress (Wimbledon
2016) and someone thought it was distracting that her nipples showed. Quite apart
from this being a case of body shaming, hardening of nipples is normal and involuntary.
It happens for various reasons. During exercise, it can be to do with the
temperature of your body causing a reaction similar to goosebumps, clothes
rubbing against the nipple, response to physical exertion, blood flow or raised
heart rate. One thing is for certain,
you cannot control your nipples hardening! And wearing white makes nipples more
noticeable.
What’s disrespectful to women and
the game is commenting on and criticizing women’s bodies and the clothes they
wear. The Williams sisters have always shown a great respect for the game. What
I find disconcerting about this is that here is a grown-up woman who has just
had a baby and is a role model for many women and new mothers, in particular.
The last thing on her mind is being difficult. On the contrary, she wanted to send a
positive, inspiring message to new mothers to have confidence in themselves and
their bodies. A very laudable reason for wearing it in itself. She is displaying
a respectful attitude towards women, especially mothers. So to ban it is inappropriate and goes
against the feminist idea of showing solidarity with women especially with
those who are going through a difficult or traumatic experience. This could be
why Serena downplayed the medical reason behind her catsuit because otherwise it would distract from the empowering message her catsuit symbolised. She is also well aware how players look for the slightest weakness in their opponent in order to exploit it. Indeed, Serena is lucky to be
alive given the complications surrounding the birth of her daughter, Olympia.
We all know that Serena has a condition whereby she is susceptible to blood
clots which can be life-threatening. Therefore, not only does she have to take
medication for this condition but also it is wise for her to wear compression
clothes. An all-in-one catsuit is more efficient than wearing compression
tights and sleeves because it keeps blood flow even throughout the body.
Besides, clots can form in the belly, an area not covered by tights and
sleeves.
I’m sure we all want our athletes to have the best care possible
during a tournament which is why I find it disappointing that a wonderful
country, such as France, based on their motto of equality, liberty and
solidarity, has started a system similar to the UK’s Wimbledon Championship, whereby
a more restrictive dress code is imposed on players, who have to submit what
they will be wearing, ahead of Roland Garros. A catsuit has been worn at a tournament before
for no good reason just as a fashion statement by Anne White (Wimbledon, The
Championships back in 1985!) and the unitard she wore back then is currently common-place
attire for athletes, equestrian vaulters, dancers, rhythmic gymnasts and
acrobats.
So why can’t tennis players wear
them? It is sportswear and the one worn by Serena was designed by her sponsor,
Nike. Clothes express your personality and fans of tennis enjoy the fashion
that goes with the sport. Serena, under
these rules, will not be allowed to wear her compression catsuit which she wore
for health reasons. What’s the alternative for her? She just has to hope she
won’t have a blood clot on court, or have one and hope someone diagnoses it as
one and rushes her to emergency. Risking a fatality on court is not good for
the sport. Neither is it an option to attempt to exclude players if they have a
condition be it a health problem or a physical issue. If tournaments want to
prevent Serena from taking precautionary measures against having a blood clot (and
a possible heart attack/stroke as a result) then surely they must have medical
expertise court-side for her matches! However, having said that, it is possible
for any player to suffer a blood clot from an injury on court during a match.
This can be as a result of straining/pulling/tearing a muscle or spraining an
ankle and similar common injuries tennis players suffer during matches. Hence,
I repeat what I said in my previous post. Tournaments should have medically trained
staff sitting court-side who can respond in seconds and save a life.
Rules and regulations are meant
to make life better and improve conditions for competitors:
1. Rules are continuously being
added to the detriment of players eg adding a serve clock and fining them if
they go over their allotted seconds which is now also being introduced at the US Open. This is despite past advice which stated
that you should take your time before serving, and not let your opponent pressurise
you to speed up. Rushing between points was considered a cause of one-sided
matches. Steffi Graf was an example of a player who rushed her opponents so
pressurising them into playing at her fast speed and thus playing less well
against her. No surprise she won many of her matches so easily. Taking nothing
away from Steffi’s achievements, nevertheless, it was never said that her quick
matches were more entertaining than others eg Sampras who played slowly. I
remember having the privilege of seeing Graf play and was struck how fast she
was around the court. Buzarnescu’s speed around the court, during the Rogers
Cup in Montreal, reminded me of Graf. Besides, what happened to the adage that
you play at the speed of the server. (Maybe a tournament should be fined if
they take too long to show hawk-eye, can’t find the relevant hawk-eye re-play, their
speed gun isn’t working or the medical staff take more than 1 minute to arrive
on the scene.)
2. But no new rules, as far as I can
see, are being added to uphold tournament responsibilities towards players’
health and safety. These are standard practices for putting on sporting events
and is knowledge that any 14-19 year old possesses who undertakes a BTEC in Sport.
Tournament organisers are sports event
planners and providers so should have a responsibility to the players to reduce
and prevent potential safety/injury and general health risks and illnesses, including
accommodating pre-existing conditions. Serena’s compression catsuit reduces potential
health/illness risks for her so banning it for everyone, with no medical
exemptions, goes against this duty of care principle.
2 ibid
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