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Beauty preferred over class at Wimbledon?
Wimbledon has become the first Grand Slam to admit that they do consider looks over ranking when deciding on who should play on Centre Court.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: July 02, 2009 05:34 PM IST
Read Time:2 min
New Delhi:
Unseeded players like Gisela Dulko and Maria Kirilenko got to play on Centre Court. Sorana Cirstea, who's seeded 27th also played on Centre Court, while top seed Dinara Safina, 2nd seed Serena Willaims and 5th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova were pushed to court number 2.
So a large scale conspiracy at play on how to get the better looking players on the show courts or just a case of listening to the demands of box office appeal as per Wimbledon Organisers?
A spokesperson from the All England Club said there was nothing wrong in scheduling a Sharapova vs Dulko game on Centre Court considering one was a former champion and the other an upcoming player, though neither were ranked in the top 40 right now. It's a different matter that most fans on websites and blogs dubbed this as Wimbledon's Battle of the Babes.
So Wimbledon Organisers have become the bad guys for being politically incorrect, while the players themselves don't entirely disapprove. Serena Williams said she had no problems being on court number 2 and she knew that sexiness sells.
Serena, the highest earning woman sportsperson of all time with about 24 million dollars in prize money, is considered a fashion icon and she has 10 Grand Slam titles to her name.
While Maria Sharapova, easily one of the most popular women tennis players right now, also has won 3 Grand Slam titles. All going to prove these girls have style and substance.
And the tennis girls have support when it comes to looking good. Yelena Isinbayeva, the Olympic gold medalist in pole vaulting and a self styled sex symbol said: "Every girl in sport has a duty to be womanly and to look good."
As for the men maybe they don't need to wear make up but there is no denying the fact that charm, charisma and media savviness all contribute to making any athlete more popular whether they are male or female.
The top four seeds traditionally play their semi-finals on Wimbledon Centre Court, but that's not quite been the case in these championships. That's because Wimbledon has become the first Grand Slam to admit that they do consider looks over ranking when deciding on who should play on Centre Court. They don't call it sex appeal but box office appeal.Unseeded players like Gisela Dulko and Maria Kirilenko got to play on Centre Court. Sorana Cirstea, who's seeded 27th also played on Centre Court, while top seed Dinara Safina, 2nd seed Serena Willaims and 5th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova were pushed to court number 2.
So a large scale conspiracy at play on how to get the better looking players on the show courts or just a case of listening to the demands of box office appeal as per Wimbledon Organisers?
A spokesperson from the All England Club said there was nothing wrong in scheduling a Sharapova vs Dulko game on Centre Court considering one was a former champion and the other an upcoming player, though neither were ranked in the top 40 right now. It's a different matter that most fans on websites and blogs dubbed this as Wimbledon's Battle of the Babes.
So Wimbledon Organisers have become the bad guys for being politically incorrect, while the players themselves don't entirely disapprove. Serena Williams said she had no problems being on court number 2 and she knew that sexiness sells.
Serena, the highest earning woman sportsperson of all time with about 24 million dollars in prize money, is considered a fashion icon and she has 10 Grand Slam titles to her name.
While Maria Sharapova, easily one of the most popular women tennis players right now, also has won 3 Grand Slam titles. All going to prove these girls have style and substance.
And the tennis girls have support when it comes to looking good. Yelena Isinbayeva, the Olympic gold medalist in pole vaulting and a self styled sex symbol said: "Every girl in sport has a duty to be womanly and to look good."
As for the men maybe they don't need to wear make up but there is no denying the fact that charm, charisma and media savviness all contribute to making any athlete more popular whether they are male or female.
Topics mentioned in this article
Tennis Andy Roddick Lukas Dlouhy Rohan Bopanna Leander Paes Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi Maria Sharapova
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