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According to SheWired, Wimbledon organizers had no qualms about telling the Daily Mail newspaper that they "try to schedule very attractive women players on Centre Court, no matter what their ranking." That is why you rarely see Venus or Serena Williams, easily the two most dominant women at Wimbledon for the past decade, on Centre Court until one or both make it to the semi-finals. Like Helen Wortham at SheWired, I am not sure whether I am more offended by the blatant bigotry, or by the scale of arrogance that accompanies it. And it is not just the Williams' sisters who are affected. There are a lot of high-ranked Russian and Eastern European women who do not meet the beauty standards set by the stalwarts at Wimbledon. Interestingly, the fans seem to have gotten over what I will term the Kournikova Syndrome (Anna never won a singles tournament of any kind in her entire career) and are flocking to see the top-seeded women. We do not need to cry for Venus and Serena--they made $2.5 million at last year's Wimbledon and will make more this year. Yet that does not erase the "sex sells" attitude of the Wimbledon organizers.
Spare me the argument that some women on the tour dress to kill, so the women are their own worst enemy. There is a distinct difference between a woman choosing how to dress and a institution like the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club having a policy that discriminates on the basis of looks.
Gross, Wimbledon!