I play tennis? what?

But now, apparently Wimbledon has had a change of heart in the “classy” department. They’re putting unseeded and low-ranked women on the best courts (Maria Sharapova- unseededand ranked 60th, Gisela Dulko -unseeded, ranked 45th)  because they’re cute instead of the powerhouses like Serena Williams (seeded 2nd) and Svetlana Kuznetsova (seeded 5th). Because Maria Sharapova’s modeling career has been infinitely more successful than her tennis career she gets preference over women who are actually talented tennis players. In a tennis tournament. Shoot me.

And then Wimbledon’s defense was absolutely pathetic. They didn’t acknowledge the disgustingness of such an accusation, but rather side stepped the issue, legitimizing the idea that pretty women should be placed above talented women in a contest measuring talent. Because if you’re pretty, nothing else matters, right?

The official defense was: “Looks per se are not taken into account” Apparently “box office appeal” was. Correct me if I’m wrong, but box office appeal is usually determined by how famous and talented the players in the match are. Even non-tennis people know who Serena Williams is. Who can tell me who Gisela Dulko is? Well, she must be pretty good because she played on the centre court while Serena Williams was relegated to a back one. Or maybe Gisela just looks like this 

Gisela

while Serena looks like this

Serena

Because apparently a woman who is muscular and unabashedly powerful (BECAUSE SHE’S ONE OF THE BEST TENNIS PLAYERS IN THE WORLD) is unattractive. Good job, idiotic beauty standards.

And one more time, all together, this is about tennis. And how well the players can play tennis. I don’t care if Maria Sharapova can model her ass off—if she can, good, then go find a runway. I honestly don’t think the people that are spending good money on Wimbledon tickets are that concerned with looks, either. If they’re there, it’s because they like watching good tennis – and are expecting the best, because Wimbledon is supposed to be the best. Looks of the players are not what’s driving the box office.

On the other hand, it’s a pretty good example of how sexism is still alive and thriving. This isn’t exactly happening to the guys, now is it?