Roger Federer has branded the decision of the French Tennis Federation to ban Serena Williams’ catsuit as ‘a bit of nonsense’ as he calls for a rethink on the rules regarding women’s clothing.
Earlier this year Williams made headlines when she played at the French Open wearing a black catsuit. Breaking away from the traditional attire worn by women. Although at the time she did not break any rules, the head of French Tennis later said that the clothing, inspired by the movie Black Panther, would be banned in the future. During an interview with Tennis Magazine, Bernard Giudicelli singled out Williams’ catsuit as an example of the kind of attire that will no longer be accepted. Saying players must ‘respect the game and the place.’
“Serena has worn crazier stuff in the past. Guys have worn crazier stuff.” Federer said during an interview with The Sunday Times. “It was a big deal when Tommy Haas wore a sleeveless top at the US Open and then, all of a sudden, it was allowed.
“For me, it was a bit of nonsense. Just chill out for a second. I was totally on the women’s side. Leave them alone. They are not coming on court wearing wings.”
Williams isn’t the only player punished when to comes to clothing. During the US Open Alize Cornet was controversially issued with a warning from the umpire. Due to the fact she took off her T-shirt, which was back-to-front, on the court. Cornet was wearing a sports bra underneath. The WTA Tour concluded the penalty was given in error, triggering an apology from the USTA.
“What was the problem with taking the T-shirt off, or the catsuit?”
Amid a sexism debate that was triggered by those incidents, Federer has once again stated his opinion on Prize money. The 20-time grand slam champion says he is ‘all for equal prize money,’ but you have to take into account the circumstances of individual tournaments. Due to the women’s and men’s tour having their own governing bodies, some combined events have different prize money. For example at this year’s Italian Open, the men’s champion won €935,385. 0ver €400,000 more than the women’s champion (€507,100).
“I admire anybody, woman or man, who comes back, but even more so a woman, because their whole body changes and that’s a major deal.” Explained Federer. “That’s why I’m doubly happy for Serena, [Victoria] Azarenka and [Kim] Clijsters that they’re able to remember how much fun tennis was before [motherhood].”
Serena went too far
Elsewhere during a wide ranging interview with The Times, Federer has shared his view about the controversial US Open final between Williams and Naomi Osaka. Williams engaged in a heated confrontation with Carlos Ramos, who issued her with a total of three warnings during the match. One of which was for coaching, which she firmly denied. She was eventually docked an entire game in the match for verbal abuse after calling Ramos a ‘thief’ and ‘liar.’
“It’s a melange of all things, but at some point, I feel like Serena should have walked away,” commented Federer. “She did, but she went too far. She should have walked earlier. It’s a little bit excusable. The umpire maybe should not have pushed her there. It’s unfortunate, but an incredible case study.”
Surprisingly the 37-year-old doesn’t think the headlines caused by the incident had a negative impact on the world of tennis. Arguing the complexity of the issue was one that attracted more to the sport.
“We do so well in tennis; our sport is so well behaved. You see the UFC guy [the boxer Conor McGregor] throw a railing, or in other sports they spit and swear at each other on a regular basis.” He said.
“I dove into the situation with Serena on so many levels, to understand [from the perspectives of] the umpire, Osaka, Serena, the crowd.”
Williams was later fined $17,000 for her behaviour at the US Open. She hasn’t played a competitive match since the final back in September.
Federer will return to action at the ATP Finals where he will be bidding to win a record seventh title. The tournament will get underway on November 11th.
