What’s a girl to do?

Today I make no apology for addressing ‘Women and Sport’ arena, one of the recurring themes on the Sports pages of the Rust, at a point during the summer season when there is a great deal of elite men and women’s sport going on.

We have just witnessed a Wimbledon tournament at which the hand of history loomed large – forty years since Virginia Wade was the last Brit lady to win the Singles title; Federer eclipsing Pete Sampras to win his eighth Men’s Singles title; Venus Williams just failing to defy Time and win her sixth Ladies’ title, and so on.

Despite the celebrity, wealth and status of modern tennis playing greats, it seems to me that Wimbledon will always rank first of tennis Grand Slam events because of the strength of its connections with the past and the willingness of its present-day champions to acknowledge they hold nothing more than a splendid but temporary place in its long lineage of playing immortality.

The evident pride of Garbine Muguruza and Roger Federer as they were shown (and posed for the cameras beside) the little gold lettering recording their names as the latest winner of their titles on the respective rolls of honour only minutes after they had come off court was proof enough.

But, stepping back from the sweat and toil of the weekend, it occurred to me that in 2017 the tournament itself – the setting, the atmosphere, the smooth organisation – was the real victor. Taken as a whole, the play was relatively uninspiring. Rather than being committed to watching whatever I could of the tennis, I found myself content to go about my normal business and ‘catch up’ with the results later via the radio or television set.

This approach extended to both Singles finals, I should add.

However, to cut direct to my chase today:

Wimbledon also throws a spotlight upon some of the issues that continue to obsess female sport. Last night the Players Ball took place – an opportunity for the media to wallow in the collision of elite sportsmen and women players and (in the case of the females most particularly) what they wear and how glamorous they look when ‘off duty’ and in the public eye.

See here for a link to the ‘gossip pages’ coverage of the event as appears today on the website of the – DAILY MAIL

It’s the kind of thing that can get any respectable ‘right on’ feminist’s proverbial knickers in a twist.

On the one hand (would run the argument), it’s sexist in the extreme for the mainstream media to make such a fuss of the fashion sense – or lack thereof – of leading tennis players.

What on earth have such things – and indeed players’ looks – got to do with their prowess on the court?

On the other hand, of course, one cannot help but take a sneak peak as how glam and feminine (or not) some of the leading female players do look in their finery when peacocking about in front of the flashing cameras at a major social event like this …

What’s a modern girl to do, whilst trying to remain true to her principles?

The complications, of course, spring from the inevitable collision of PC-correctness and the realities of the business side of modern elite global sport.

In a manner that generally does not apply to sportmen – though ironically perhaps some greats possessed of animal charisma and style like Roger Federer might be exceptions that prove the rule – so much the money-making side of female sport stars necessarily depends upon their looks and attractiveness.

What’s the appropriate feminist ‘take’ on tennis players like Maria Sharapova and before her – the extreme example perhaps because her results were notably inferior – Anna Kournikova, who probably rank high in the list of all-time highest-earning female sports stars because of their looks and the way they manage to exploit them?

Does one defend their right to make whatever money they can – or does one harbour resentment that less ‘genetically well-endowed’ female sports stars are destined never to amass similar wealth and commercial opportunities?

Whether you’re looking at tennis, cricket or football – should elite sportswomen be demanding the right to be treated purely as exponents of sporting excellence, or should they be out there exploiting the media and the commercial opportunities it might bring for all they’re worth?

A factor in the debate, of course, is that – whereas the classic  feminist’s purpose is to root out instances of perceived pandering to patronising male sexist attitudes – arguably, as often as not, the media’s eternal interest in the looks and fashion sense of sportswomen generally is actually driven by the interest of female readers and viewers.

Here are a couple of recent media stories that illustrate the dilemma:

The LPGA organisation is in hot water for its recent announcement of new dress rules for players on its Tour – see here in – THE GUARDIAN

The England Ladies football team ‘goes for it’ on the even of Euro 2017 – see here in the – DAILY MAIL