Wimbledon 2022 Day 4
Periods.
The hot topic of recent years. Its relevance to Wimbledon is wearing 'whites', not a colour I wear much. It's incredibly tedious unless there's some interesting design on it or if it's Yom Kippur. So what's the argument? It's impractical for the women who may have a period during Wimbledon fortnight. I've been saying that for years. Golovin bucked the trend and broke the rules by wearing red ball shorts-style tennis knickers and Wimbledon saw 'red'.😅 I thought her red garment was very attractive certainly better than the white ones they wear at the tournament. Zhang, a month ago, lost to Swiatek, apparently due to period cramps. But, presumably exactly a month later she doesn't have the same problem because today she beat Greet Minnen who was playing very well! So even the same woman doesn't always have the same period issues every time. Besides, unless you have a menstrual related condition surely you can ask the WTA tournament trainer for a pain killer, consume more iron in your diet or take the contraceptive pill which reduces periods considerably, so my mother informs me. These days, so I've read, you can take the oestrogen-dominant 'pill'; or the synthetic progestogen-only 'pill'; or the artificial combination 'pill' all of which give you fake periods (withdrawal bleeding) but I'm sure they are just as light as in the past. Exercise also helps reduce pain and heavy bleeding because it improves blood circulation.
So, I'm not clear why this is suddenly such an issue. My concern is for those girls who cannot afford sanitary towels which then means they cannot attend school. That's not a problem women tennis players suffer from. I sympathise it can be awkward, annoying and frustrating to have a period during tournaments which is why there should not be any compulsory tournaments or clothing colours for women. I played an ITF match (I played all my matches as a professional-status player) when having a period and I wasn't feeling my best that day but I put that down to a lack of having a pre-match routine that worked for me. I was still experimenting with pre-match stuff to fine tune my performance such as when and what I liked to eat, when to go to bed the night before, when to get up for a morning match, when and how to practice beforehand, which off-court exercises work best for my body just before I go on court, what genre of music I should listen to (if any), what mood I should be in and so on. I was pleased to discover that, nevertheless, I did not suffer from match nerves so I had a relaxed body that didn't get tight, my muscles didn't feel heavy, and my thinking was clear and calm. I realised that, unlike many players, I don't need to focus on staying relaxed before I step on court - quite the opposite! I need to get myself more fired up! 🔥 I'm used to pressure and the adrenaline rush/nerves from performing, which trains you to control your thoughts and body while trying to execute perfectly so perhaps the tension of tennis matches isn't as tough for me. So I would have easily enhanced my pre-match routine with some more match play (which I would have had because I kept entering ITF tournaments, it was purely the harassment etc at uni that impacted on my tennis career, eg tournament preparation and schedule, then post degree all hell broke loose in a different way, different context). But my periods weren't an issue: I felt fine in my match, didn't have any cramps or pains, I didn't require anything eg painkiller, and I didn't have any worries about how to manage my period or what to wear (although I'm still pleased that, although it was an LTA-run British ITF grass court tournament, I didn't have to wear white).
So I think it's equally important for people without period problems and angsts to share their experiences, otherwise it gives the misleading impression to those who haven't experienced it firsthand that periods enfeeble you, make you ill, render you incompetent, and almost incapable of doing your job every month. Otherwise people will be very surprised when they come across someone like me who takes it all in their stride, with a matter of fact attitude and can carry on with life in the same way as when I don't have my period. With me, it's an unnoticeable difference. (Not because I have light or short periods!) And saying that should also be part of breaking any period taboos and spreading period awareness and knowledge too. Of course, it's not everyone's experience, but it is for many of us, and that shouldn't be drowned out by other stories because everyone's experience counts.
There is, I think, a conflation emerging between those who have a condition that means they have specific period problems eg very heavy periods; those who just have a tougher time than most; those who have biological variations which impacts on how they have periods; and those who merely have the usual, minor period niggles. There's a variety of experience, not just between people but also at different times in people's life and science hasn't come close to scratching the surface of researching and understanding periods, let alone in an unbiased way. And that's before they even begin to consider intersex people's and transmen's experience of periods too. (Luckily for me, as a biological female who identifies at core as a demi-woman, I've never had gender dysphoria about having periods, unlike some other non-binary people.) Science doesn't understand the basics about the average female yet! So everyone should resist the habit of making sweeping generalizations about women, biology and any person who experiences periods.
Nevertheless, no woman is helpless when it comes to periods. They've been dealing with them since childhood, surely. Let's get personal: I was 10 yrs 2 &1/2 months when I started periods. It didn't stop me training or dancing. Ballet dancers have it even worse because, rather like gymnasts, there's not much covering the delicate region. And other forms of dance e.g. Tap, Jazz usually require tight clothing so that's more difficult than sports wear which is breathable, light and allows for multiple layers as well as different styles of clothing and lengths. So I was horrified to read that some girls in the UK cease to want to do sport at all at school simply because of their period concerns, including the effectiveness of the period products they are given and their impractical sports uniform at school. 😥🤦 My mother always offered suggestions, a variety of sanitary products and any different or extra underwear and clothing so I always felt confident and never had to worry about the practicalities of leading a very physically active life at any time of the month. This is something that all girls should have access to 💪, yet this is never explored in period discussions to combat ignorance, stigmas and taboos. 😠
And then there's exams. Periods can make you slightly sluggish which is unhelpful when taking exams. So again you personally have to factor that in. So, women have a monthly occurrence they have to work around in a way that cis men don't! (In addition, transmen can have periods; some intersex people have periods irrespective of their assigned sex or gender identity and some have poorly understood intersex-related period problems; transwomen who have hormone therapy have many side effects from the high dose of female hormones they receive, so also experience female hormonal issues.)
Hence, we do have bodily autonomy. It's my body. Private property! Not public property for politicians to police! Whether it concerns periods or anything else!
Back to the tennis results on Day 4:
Sadly, Harriet Dart lost but still played well. However, she's had injuries (foot 2015 and hip 2016) and presumably a virus which ended up as pneumonia which, like long Covid, meant months out of competition in 2017. Dart is athletic and a good ball striker beating Muchova in 2018 in Germany to win her first ITF tournament. 👏👏 Yet in 2018 she was still without a permanent coach all to herself. How on earth is she supposed to compete at WTA and GS level against top players?! Maybe given her illness a few years back some really deep breathing exercises might increase her lung capacity which would help her on court when the match becomes tight. Just a suggestion.
Pliskova lost but had to battle the crowd on centre court because she was playing British Katie Boulter. No prizes for guessing who the crowd wanted to win. (British refers to England, Wales and Scotland but does not include Northern Ireland which is part of the UK. We call tennis players from these three areas British because they represent Great Britain, hence the 'GB' next to their name and flag 🇬🇧 in tournaments and on the tour.)
I didn't like one of the commentators referring to Pliskova slamming her racquets into the umpires chair at a past tournament, as though it was something she does all the time. It only happened once. It's that same sexist trope. Quick to jump onto one negative thing a woman does but ignore the appalling behaviour of countless men! I don't hear the same negative commentating on men's matches when they smash their racquets frequently, argumentatively, aggressively, even swearing their head off and being physically violent. I've seen YouTube videos of Federer swearing "sh**"🤬and completely demolishing his racquet frame. Yet commentators talk about him as though he's a tennis god. I enjoy watching him play tennis but I don't respect him more than, say, Ostapenko. Here's a few recent examples on the ATP of how male players can behave, but of course, they aren't criticized as heavily for it as the women and sometimes commentators in matches even make light of it or excuse it:
Yet commentators repeatedly call Serena Williams intimidating, simply because she's an excellent tennis player, quite extrovert and grunts. So what? Grunting (perfectly normal, men are noisy why should women be seen and not heard!) and playing with firepower doesn't make a player intimidating, so why label Serena negatively for it and not most other women, and certainly never men. There's no good way of making 'intimidating' sound complimentary. I've never perceived Serena as intimidating 🤷, whether on TV; in person, on a match court or a practice court; or walking around the tournament grounds, perhaps because I admired Monica Seles who was a similar style of player. Quite apart from the fact that, frankly, constantly labelling a woman of colour intimidating and using animalistic phrases or vocabulary to describe her, falls into racist territory which listeners such as I don't want to put up with listening to. And I've heard that on TV and radio countless times over the years! 😠 Yet commentators talk about male legends in reverend tones. They are all human beings, nobody is more important than anyone else! And Pliskova was not being vicious, nasty or violent with it. When I saw it, I thought it was vaguely amusing! 😅🤷 She was only letting off steam and some frustration. Perhaps she had a period which made her more tetchy that day so she acted uncharacteristically!
Incidentally, I've never thrown any of my racquets, smashed them or damaged them in any way at any age no matter where, when, on or off a tennis court, in practice or a match! Neither have I chucked balls about in a fit of temper. Ice maiden, me! I'm not expressive on court. I'm very focused and in my own bubble, self-contained. Unlike my mother who is more fiery on court. She's a bit like Strycova in a match, constantly talking to herself, annoyed with herself for hitting a bad shot, and coaching herself through it complete with shadow swings. But no racquet or ball abuse from her either. We are the complete opposite of each other on court.
And she's a very demanding, impatient coach which is totally unlike her usual calm self when teaching or doing anything else. However, when she was court side and I was in a match then she was positive, chilled and encouraging! Post-match discussion with her was always super positive. You'd swear I'd won the match.
Anyway, I think we need to stop worshipping some players as though they are gods. They are not. They are just wealthy ones who struck lucky because things combined in such a way to enable success. No-one succeeds by hard work alone! That's a myth. Dart works her socks off but it's the super rich heiress Pegula who wins sending Dart off to row with the umpire over allowing Pegula a late challenge on match point which went in Pegula's favour and meant she won the match.
Is tennis individualistic or nationalistic?
It crossed my mind today after watching Pliskova on Centre Court battling the partisan crowd that maybe tennis players should play as individuals only, as opposed to representing their country. Hence, no flags next to their names. After all, it's how someone plays that matters not where they come from. It encourages nationalism and nationalism is never a good thing. Tennis tournaments don't play national anthems at tournaments so why do we need to know the nationality of a player. It's also unfair that only 4 countries on 3 continents have Grand Slams, and 3 are English speaking. Eastern Europe should have one as should, a Nordic country, Asia e.g. Japan, South America, and yes, even Israel. Grand Slams should be about bringing players of many nationalities together. Djokovic is right that the nationality of a player doesn't matter. But excluding Russians/Belarusians from tournaments this year is not about nationality it's about war sanctions. Staying neutral is also a political stance and an unacceptable one so playing under a neuteral flag is not enough of a statement against the war in Ukraine. So well done to Wimbledon for sticking with their sanctions, despite the backlashes! 👍
Finally, it also struck me that maybe the focus should be on British women winning Birmingham and Eastbourne rather than putting all the stress on a big occasion such as Wimbledon! Here's a startling statistic: The only time a British woman won Eastbourne was in 1975 and the player was Virginia Wade. 🎾 Just take that in for a minute!🤯
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