Billie Jean King is in no doubt – asking female tennis players to “give us a twirl” is sexist.
A row has erupted at the Australian Open after Serena Williams and Eugenie Bouchard were asked to show off their outfits on court during post-match interviews.
The request left Bouchard and Williams bewildered, though both stopped short of calling Tennis Australia reporter Ian Cohen sexist. King was happy to do so though.
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) January 22, 2015
Bouchard looked slightly bemused by the request, which followed her straight-sets win over Kiki Bertens on Wednesday, admitting in her post-match press conference the question had taken her by surprise.
“It was very unexpected. I mean, yeah, I don’t know. An old guy asking you to twirl, it was funny,” said the seventh seed.
Williams, a second-round winner over Vera Zvonareva on Thursday, revealed she had also had the same request and not enjoyed the experience, but would not be drawn on whether it was sexist or not.
The American said: “A commentator asked me to twirl. I wouldn’t ask Rafa (Nadal) or Roger (Federer) to twirl. Whether it’s sexist or not, I don’t know. I can’t answer that.
“I didn’t really want to twirl because I was just like, you know, I don’t need all the extra attention. But, yeah, it was fine.
“I don’t think and look that deep into it. Life is far too short to focus on that. We have so many other problems we want to deal with that we should focus on. Whether I twirl or not, it’s not the end of the world. It’s about being positive and just moving forward.”
Source: SNAPPA
