Women's Tennis Association criticised for 'best dressed' poll

A poll by the Women’s Tennis Association asking which of nine female players at Wimbledon was the best dressed has been slammed by a leading equality charity and criticised for putting women’s tennis back “by a century”.

Critics slated the WTA for “misogyny at its best” over the poll, which features photographs of players including Britain’s Heather Watson and asks fans to judge them on how they look in their on-court outfits.

Leading equality charity Women in Sport, whose patron is Olympic gold-medal winning swimmer Rebecca Adlington, said it was disappointed and warned that the focus on appearance could put self-conscious girls off playing sport.

“Women in Sport is a campaigning charity, working to enable women and girls to be empowered through sport. Consequently we were disappointed to see the WTA poll on best dressed female tennis players at this year’s Wimbledon,” said the chief executive, Ruth Holdaway.

“By focusing on the appearance of women, this poll diverts much needed attention away from the pure talent and athleticism on display from these players.

“Our Changing the Game for Girls research highlighted the crippling effect of girls’ self-consciousness about their appearance as a barrier to them playing sport.

“The WTA is reinforcing the notion that image is important for women and girls when playing sport – which is likely to put them off – rather than highlighting the physical, mental, emotional and social benefits of physical activity, which will inspire many to give it a go.”

The poll, which was tweeted by the WTA, the principal organising body of women’s professional tennis, asked fans to choose between Watson and eight others – Dominika Cibulkova, Alize Cornet, Simona Halep, Angelique Kerber, Petra Kvitova, Kristina Mladenovic, Garbine Muguruza and Carina Witthoeft.

There was mixed reaction from female players. Watson said: “I think the poll is fun.”

Speaking after winning a place in Sunday’s mixed doubles final, she said: “I like to look good on the court. I love the clothes that I wear. I love my Wimbledon dress right now.

“I am always looking at what the other girls are wearing. And it is good to see what other people think as well.”

Czech player Kveta Peschke said: “All the players get their outfits from the company sponsoring them and can’t really choose. It’s chosen for them and you end up with 20 players in the same outfits anyway. It’s really a poll of sponsors, not players.”

Russian player Elena Vesnina, who plays in Saturday’s women’s doubles final, said it was crucial the women’s game should be treated on a par with the men’s, but “asking fans about what we wear could give people an extra interest in the sport”.

Magdalena Maleeva, the former world number four who reached the US Open quarter finals in 1992, said she was angry and disappointed.

“I would rather women players were viewed for the good tennis they play rather than the nice dresses they wear. I find it a bit sexist to be honest and it’s disappointing they did this,” she said.

“Perhaps we should do a poll for the best forehand on the women’s tour rather than the best dressed. And why not a poll for the best dressed guys?”

Others took the WTA to task on Facebook. One male user wrote: “I honestly don’t understand how the WTA can ask such a stupid question, one that sets the women’s game back about 50 years.

“The WTA is full of powerful, talented athletes who are really good at what they do. Try focusing on that.”

Another called it “misogyny at its best”, adding: “Do you ask who the best-dressed man is? How about the best shot? Best hustle. WTA get with the 21st century.”

There were demands for the poll to be taken down. One critic wrote on Facebook: “Taken us back a century, please have some respect for these amazing women that work hard to achieve amazing things in their careers #takethisdownWTA.”

Some Twitter users said the poll objectified the athletes and diminished their talents to “who looks best in a dress”.

The WTA defended the poll, saying: “Tennis has a rich history linking the sport with fashion, and this is no more evident than at the [Wimbledon] championships.”

It added that the “traditional all-white dress code at Wimbledon is one of the most famous and iconic aspects of tennis” and the poll was “created to celebrate this unique feature of the All England Lawn Tennis Club … we see nothing wrong with promoting athleticism while celebrating Wimbledon’s wonderful dress code”.

The backlash came as Wimbledon has faced accusations of sexism over its scheduling of top women players on outer courts while male players got more time on the top two show courts.

The tournament has also seen criticism of the WTA for the lack of creche and nursery provisions for female players with children.

With sexism a constant theme during this year’s championship, Andy Murray corrected a male sports journalist at his post-match press conference after losing to Sam Querrey, when the journalist said Querrey was the first US player to reach a grand slam semi-final since 2009. “Male player,” Murray interjected.

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Serena Williams, who has won 12 grand slam tournaments in that period, praised the Briton, saying: “That is who he is and what we love about him.”

Williams, whose sister Venus plays in Saturday’s final, told ESPN: “He has spoken up for women’s issues and women’s rights, especially in tennis, for ever. He has done it again.

“He has such a wonderful mother [Judy], who has been such a strong figure in his life and he has done so much for us on our tour. We love Andy Murray.”Judy Murray told BBC Sport: “Andy is a great advocate for women’s tennis. Having had female coaches for most of his formative years has helped as well. But he does his bit to help the girls.”