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Can 鈥榗asual feminism鈥� help end sexism in women鈥檚 tennis?

12 July 2019

After her Wimbledon quarter-final defeat, Johanna Konta described the questions she faced from one journalist at the press conference as ‘patronising’.

Konta is used to less-than-favourable treatment from the press, so should this professional sportsperson have expected such a harsh line of questioning or should the journalist in question have behaved differently?

Many have described this incident as the latest example of ‘sexism’ in women’s tennis.

The tennis ace says she was 鈥榩icked on鈥� with questions over Wimbledon defeat

Andy the ally

Men’s tennis legend Andy Murray has been celebrated as a leading light in the fight against sexism. The Scot has consistently attracted praise from both inside and outside of tennis. He wrote about the topic in 2017.

Murray corrects journalist over gender

Andy Murray corrects journalist over gender claim

Andy Murray鈥檚鈥榗asual feminism鈥� has been seen as a breath of fresh air

Four male broadcasters discuss female tennis players grunting during matches

Johanna Konta’s recent experience isn’t unique. Here are some other infamous examples:-

Serena Williams

In addition to issues with journalists, Serena Williams accused the umpire in her 2018 US Open final defeat of being sexist towards her.

The WTA backed Williams’ claim of sexism: chief executive Steve Simon said that the umpire showed Williams a different level of tolerance over the outbursts than if she had been a man.

Are female tennis players treated unfairly?

The fallout from the 2018 US Open women鈥檚 final between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka sparked debate about whether female tennis players are treated unfairly by match officials.

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How Serena Williams reacted to the sexism to which she felt she was subjected. (From 2018)

‘Racist’ Serena Williams cartoon

After the 2018 US Open final, a cartoon of Serena Williams appeared in the the Australian Herald Sun that many people complained featured racist stereotypes.

Cartoonist Mark Knight denied the accusation, saying he had only intended to depict the tennis player’s ‘poor behaviour’.

Lampooning Williams鈥檚 attitude or mocking her physical attributes?

In 2013, Marion Bartoli – the eventual winner of the Wimbledon Women’s Singles title that year – was subject to comments from journalist John Inverdale that faced a huge backlash.

Broadcasting on Radio 5 Live, Inverdale said that Bartoli was “never going to be a looker”, a comment that provoked anger from many listeners.

Inverdale wrote to the tennis star to apologise and the 大象传媒 issued an apology.

“We accept that this remark was insensitive and for that we apologise.”