It's all Eugenie Bouchard's fault, of course. If she hadn't improved her game so much to keep on having to do post-match interviews in which the awkward questions come out, no controversy would exist.
The initial furor over "Twirlgate" at the Australian Open, but the debate continues. First Serena Williams, then Bouchard, were asked by an older Margaret Court Arena male announcer to twirl to show off their tennis outfits to the fans.
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Both honored the request but admitted afterward feeling a bit awkward about what they were asked to do.
"A commentator asked me to twirl," Williams said, according to Tennis.com. "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," she added. "We have so many other problems we want to deal with that we should focus on."
Bouchard fielded the question twice, after the initial twirl - ironically it was her twirl, not Williams', which sparked "Twirlgate" - and again two days later after her next match.
"It was very unexpected,'' Bouchard said initially, according to ESPNW. "I mean, yeah, I don't know. An old guy asking you to twirl. It was funny.''
It was still amusing to Bouchard a couple of days later, but at least she'd thought about it.
"I think it was just kind of funny," she said, according to ESPN. "I'm fine with being asked to twirl if they ask the guys to flex their muscles."
The twirl request of Bouchard actually was her second awkward post-match interview at the Australian Open. Last year, she was asked whom she'd like to date and said, "Justin Bieber."
Tennis legend Billie Jean King wasn't as patient with the incident as were Williams or Bouchard.
"This is truly sexist King, an 11-time Grand Slam winner, tweeted."Let's focus on competition and accomplishments of both genders, and not our looks."
Ironically, both Australian Open officials and the WTA have been mum on the subject. One reason for their silence could be, as ESPNW put it, "isn't so much sexist or gender-biased as it is simply obvious: Women dress better than men, who are generally slobs."
Male players usually wear T-shirts and shorts onto the court, whereas the women often have more of an ensemble. The Williams' sisters are in the fashion industry. To garner attention for their on-court apparel, at least on the surface, would appear to be a good thing.
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