Are pros more concerned about looking good than winning?

Golden Retriever

Hall of Fame
Thats why they don't wear sunglasses, don't wear a hat and use cool-looking 87 sq in rackets.

Imagine not able to see the beautiful eyes of Federer's on court and watch how his hair flows against his fingers. Tennis even life becomes so meaningless.
 

superstition

Hall of Fame
at least i wouldnt have to listen to superstition cry about sexism anymore if they did.
As if this topic didn't have enough not going for it.

To clarify... Sexism is requiring female athletes to dress provocatively and not requiring male athletes to do so. Athletes who choose to dress provocatively—under no pressure—are not an example of sexism, at least not obvious sexism. We can't escape our culture, and there are more cultural pressures for women to objectify their bodies.
 

ramseszerg

Professional
I wasn't aware that WTA players were under pressure to wear short skirts? Seriously, not putting you down here, this is interesting. You mean like an unspoken pressure by society right? Because every other WTA player dresses like that?

IMO if WTA players wanted to wear shorts or longer skirts or whatever, they would've grown a pair of balls and started wearing them. They obviously don't mind the skirts. It'd be interesting to ask some of them just to be sure though.
 

pow

Hall of Fame
Thats why they don't wear sunglasses, don't wear a hat and use cool-looking 87 sq in rackets.

Imagine not able to see the beautiful eyes of Federer's on court and watch how his hair flows against his fingers. Tennis even life becomes so meaningless.

Sunglasses can be bothersome in tennis, they can fall off in a scramble and it can get in the way of your vision, even slightly. Some people can use it, it's much simpler to not.
Same with a hat, I dislike using hats, they don't stay on if you're in a mad dash and can be an annoyance during crucial moments when there are more important things that demand my attention.
Regarding the smaller head size, it's a matter of preference. Try them some time, it astounded me with how much feel a smaller head has. I used to be intimidated by the head size and never gave it a chance until I tried one for fun and immediately noticed a world of difference in feel that a bigger stringbed just cannot emulate.
 

chrisdaniel

Semi-Pro
...

I just made a post about this in another topic like an hour ago. I find that with the WTA this is true. Jelena Jankovic takes Glamorous Photos like every week it seems. And the whole presentation of the WTA in general lately has gotten a little more involved with the looks. Like the whole SUPER HERO thing. I mean I don't think it's a bad thing, I just don't want it to be more important than the tennis. Ask Justine Henin how many Magazine covers, or how many photo shoots she's done, and then ask her how many titles she has. And that's the way she likes it. Not to mention the WTA sure needs someone to step up and take that top spot like they actually want it.
 

wyutani

Hall of Fame
of course the pros prefer a win. looking good is a bonus. you can be ugly and win too, and winning makes you look good.
 

superstition

Hall of Fame
I wasn't aware that WTA players were under pressure to wear short skirts? Seriously, not putting you down here, this is interesting. You mean like an unspoken pressure by society right? Because every other WTA player dresses like that?

IMO if WTA players wanted to wear shorts or longer skirts or whatever, they would've grown a pair of balls and started wearing them. They obviously don't mind the skirts. It'd be interesting to ask some of them just to be sure though.
My topic was about table tennis where there has been a lot of explicit pressure from media and other sources for female players to dress provocatively in order to "justify" people watching them play. Someone decided to bring this up in this topic.
 

tbini87

Hall of Fame
if any pros are more concerned with looking good than winning it would be a very small percentage. however, why does looking good mean one doesn't want to win? can people not look good but also want to win at all cost? does federer looking well dressed and groomed affect his ability to win? i have seen some pros wear sunglasses and plenty wear hats. the ones that don't probably don't because they don't like to (restricts their vision, makes them hot, don't like the way they feel... etc). they also use racquets they are used to and like... some pros use racquets much larger than 87 inches...
 

shell

Professional
I just made a post about this in another topic like an hour ago. I find that with the WTA this is true. Jelena Jankovic takes Glamorous Photos like every week it seems. And the whole presentation of the WTA in general lately has gotten a little more involved with the looks. Like the whole SUPER HERO thing. I mean I don't think it's a bad thing, I just don't want it to be more important than the tennis. Ask Justine Henin how many Magazine covers, or how many photo shoots she's done, and then ask her how many titles she has. And that's the way she likes it. Not to mention the WTA sure needs someone to step up and take that top spot like they actually want it.

Agree with you Chris. I find it interesting that there are posts all over this forum about WTA glamor girls, but if you tally up the male forum posts about Justine, she seems to be the only WTA player that they would watch. And she was, as you mentioned, not in the least bit worried about her glamor image - or lack thereof. So it seems kind of a contradiction. It's like saying you either better look great, or you better play great. The WTA doesn't seem to be able to figure out what they want. I really think they would prefer the women to look great, which is a shame.
 

Gob_

New User
I just made a post about this in another topic like an hour ago. I find that with the WTA this is true. Jelena Jankovic takes Glamorous Photos like every week it seems. And the whole presentation of the WTA in general lately has gotten a little more involved with the looks. Like the whole SUPER HERO thing. I mean I don't think it's a bad thing, I just don't want it to be more important than the tennis. Ask Justine Henin how many Magazine covers, or how many photo shoots she's done, and then ask her how many titles she has. And that's the way she likes it. Not to mention the WTA sure needs someone to step up and take that top spot like they actually want it.

Yeah no one asked Justine to take pictures for the cover of magazines cause she's ugly! And she's a *****! She used gamemanship all the time. Sure, Jankovic may be in a match where she holds serve like once, but at least she's nice! And hot.
 
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