Female tennis players out of shape!

so what if they look like that? it's a sport not a modelling contest ffs. and they don't always, she's been beaten by several players in her career.
read the above and get a grip.

she doesn't LOOK fit. you'd expect a pro athlete look less flabby. jeez. i would expect a pro footballer to look slightly muscular, a pro swimmer to look slightly muscular, a pro sumo wrestler to look slightly chubby. she is a pro tennis player who should look like she has less body fat because of the nature of the sport, like serena williams

Reply 21

manchesterunited15

Original post by SciFiRory

not necessarily, you can have good physical ability without looking a certain way, just because you can't understand that isn't my fault...

Wayne Rooney and Brazilian Ronaldo are both big guys but still quality footballers for instance.

And both would be even better with more muscle mass and less fat. Rooney has been regularly criticized for being unfit and Ronaldo is known as 'fat ronaldo'.

Reply 22

SciFiRory

16

Original post by manchesterunited15

And both would be even better with more muscle mass and less fat. Rooney has been regularly criticized for being unfit and Ronaldo is known as 'fat ronaldo'.

yet still they are/were among the best in the world...sport isn't all about muscle y'know nor how "fit" you look.

plenty of "fit" looking players aren't anything like as good too.

Reply 23

Phillipsherman

14

Original post by SciFiRory

oh and you have a body fat detector from pictures alone do you? get a grip, they don't have to look like a body builder or whatever to be in shape and good at their sport. it's like suggesting Andy Murray doesn't win more because he isn't anorexic or something, it's a stupid argument based solely on your own stupid misconceptions about what female sports people should look like.

You can clearly see the above picture has a 'muffin top' around her stomach area. This indicates a level of body fat not expected on this type of athlete.

Also low body fat percentage =/= anorexic

I think its more of a case of your misconceptions on what this argument is about. You are getting defensive even though no one is attacking you personally?

Reply 24

manchesterunited15

Original post by SciFiRory

yet still they are/were among the best in the world...sport isn't all about muscle y'know nor how "fit" you look.

plenty of "fit" looking players aren't anything like as good too.

What part of "would be even better" didn't you understand. Yes Rooney is a very good player, but he'd be better if he had a better body. And yes there's fit players who aren't as good as him, but they'd be even further away from him if they were unfit. It's really not that complicated.

Reply 25

Bhumbauze

15

Other than having the stamina to get through a match without crumbling, Tennis is mainly a game of skill rather than raw athleticism. especially in the women's game where they rely less on powerful serves, etc.

The top male tennis players, whilst obviously very fit, have relatively "normal" body compositions. They spend a lot more time practicing elements of the game itself than doing pure cardio or getting "gym buff".

Compare this to the Olympics which is more of a display of raw strength, speed and endurance in the track and field events... less skill, more pure body conditioning.

The reason Williams dominates is because she has a naturally more masculine body than most women. The amount of "gym work" most women would have to put in to achieve her body shape would mean no time for practicing tennis. And, for whatever reason (this is not sexism, just fact) men are better at sports than women. Williams may dominate the female game but she would be out of the male tour very quickly, probably against a fairly low-level player. Is that because she doesn't put in the effort? No. And the same goes for the other female players vs. Williams.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 26

username474976

15

Original post by minimarshmallow

You do see the same sort of pattern in the men's game as well though. Nadal is an amazing player, but Jim Courier pointed out in the French that the level of muscle he has makes him great but also heavier, putting extra strain on his knees compared to the lean muscle of Djokovic and Federer - and he also said that Djokovic has the perfect physique for a tennis player.

How is that the same sort of pattern? You're comparing muscular to lean, the OP is comparing muscular to not lean,

Reply 27

AspiringGenius

15

Original post by SciFiRory

you idiots can't read can you? they don't have to look a certain way to be in shape or whatever.

But the people who look in shape are tending to do better. Strange dat.

Basically, OP is making a point for debate and all you have contributed is "you disgusting sexist, mysogynist etc etc etc".

(btw nice neg :teehee:

)

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 28

Mess.

OP

20

Original post by SciFiRory

awful awful thread, so you are in better shape then these professional athletes are you?

this is just disgustingly misogynistic and crass as a thread, I really hope this is just a very bad attempt at humour on your part.

My physical shape is irrelevant to the discussion. Good start :congrats:

I wonder why you have jumped on misogyny? Did you think it through or just read 'criticisim of female. White knight to the rescue'.?

The point I am making is not an issue of variations of physcially in shape and at their maximum, Nadal compared to Federer etc. I am talking about someone at peak physical fitness (with the ability to match), like Serena, going on tour up against other WTA players who do not appear to be at their physical maximum, like the player in the OP.

I would make the same point about the male players but tbh, I haven't seen a male player in any grand slam with a chubby belly etc.

So the question is, if they are a professional athlete, wanting to get the maximum out of their game, then why are some of the female players not pushing themselves to their absolute physical maximum be that in a lean or muscular manner.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 29

kettlechips

Original post by The Rusty Spork

I do always wonder with the female players, why they aren't in better shape. If I was a professional athlete I wold want to be in the best shape possible. No wonder the female tour is pretty crap when the players never look in great shape.

No wonder Serena Williams finds it so easy when she looks like this

So why don't the other female players get in the best possible shape? Is it through wanting to still look 'womanly'?

The thing about womens' tennis is there's a lot of running around, you need stamina, but you dont actually need to be pure muscle to play at a fairly high level. So you can have good cardiovasular ability but not be skinny and still be pretty fit.
One of the reasons Serena Williams is so much out in front is because she has so much power, but her strength is the exception. Most people would find they would lose some of the lightness on their feet if they gained muscle weight.

Thin doesn't always equal fit. And tennis isn't a sport that requires pure muscle power

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 30

manchesterunited15

Original post by kettlechips

The thing about womens' tennis is there's a lot of running around, you need stamina, but you dont actually need to be pure muscle to play at a fairly high level. So you can have good cardiovasular ability but not be skinny and still be pretty fit.
One of the reasons Serena Williams is so much out in front is because she has so much power, but her strength is the exception. Most people would find they would lose some of the lightness on their feet if they gained muscle weight.

Thin doesn't always equal fit. And tennis isn't a sport that requires pure muscle power

Posted from TSR Mobile

All of that is true, but it doesn't change the fact that having a flabby belly is definitely not helpful.

Reply 31

Idle

2

Original post by SciFiRory

awful awful thread, so you are in better shape then these professional athletes are you?

this is just disgustingly misogynistic and crass as a thread, I really hope this is just a very bad attempt at humour on your part.

I would say it's the opposite of misogynistic in the sense he isn't encouraging them to be super skinny and anorexic but muscular and more powerful, something you wouldn't typically associate someone who hates women with doing.

Women naturally have higher body fat than men, personally I agree to an extent that if the first woman lost some of the fat she is carrying she would probably be a better tennis player, a smaller body-weight makes it easier to last the long matches due to not having to move the excess weight which isn't providing any real benefit and she'd most likely be quicker because it's obviously easier to move a weight which is smaller. That isn't encouraging her to be anorexic, she needs to still be strong and powerful enough to hit the ball hard. Serena Williams probably weights more however that extra weight is muscle which enables her to hit the ball harder and move quicker, making the advantages of the extra weight outweigh the negatives.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 32

dav14

5

Guys entitled to opinion. But that Kvitova looks a bit round lol

Lisicki is a babe, shes playing that Moose Serena today. I hope the real woman wins lol

Reply 33

Rascacielos

19

Original post by awkwardchild

Genuinely asking, what sort of body types are top female tennis players supposed to have? I assume the ideal body type for tennis would be lean and slightly muscular for eg, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka?

The interesting thing is, looking at Maria Sharapova, she is extremely slim and has very little muscle in her arms (at least in comparison to Serena Williams). Yet nobody criticises her shape, partly because she's the epitome of what many women want to look like and what many men want women to look like, and partly because she wins so many titles. The OP is a bit hypocritical if you ask me.

Reply 34

username858757

14

Original post by SciFiRory

awful awful thread, so you are in better shape then these professional athletes are you?

lol

I assume that you're better at football than Torres and Andy Carroll then?

Original post by Rascacielos

The interesting thing is, looking at Maria Sharapova, she is extremely slim and has very little muscle in her arms (at least in comparison to Serena Williams). Yet nobody criticises her shape, partly because she's the epitome of what many women want to look like and what many men want women to look like, and partly because she wins so many titles. The OP is a bit hypocritical if you ask me.

1. Slim and relatively little muscle sounds like a better combination for tennis than not being slim but still having relatively little muscle like the women in the OP's photo.

2. Noone is criticizing Serena William's shape and I doubt many men are attracted to her.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 35

minimarshmallow

18

Original post by maskofsanity

How is that the same sort of pattern? You're comparing muscular to lean, the OP is comparing muscular to not lean,

I am watching Kvitova right now, she's not lean like Djokovic is lean, but she's not terrible. Her legs are slender, she just has big boobs and a little bit around the middle.

Edit: Also, she isn't as big around the middle now as she is in the photograph in the OP. I'd be interested to see how much 'flab' she had when she won Wimbledon...

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 36

Kylewalker346234

12

I can tell from your insightful signature that you value Women for their talents and personality so much.

Reply 37

hajinator

10

Misogyny isn't looking at a woman's form, it's putting them down and thinking they are inferior for it, and that they must have one shape or they're worthless. OP isn't putting doing this, he's just asking why less fit women at the top flight of tennis lose fat and gain a bit more muscle to rise even higher in the ATP ranks.

Reply 38

username474976

15

Original post by minimarshmallow

I am watching Kvitova right now, she's not lean like Djokovic is lean, but she's not terrible. Her legs are slender, she just has big boobs and a little bit around the middle.

Edit: Also, she isn't as big around the middle now as she is in the photograph in the OP. I'd be interested to see how much 'flab' she had when she won Wimbledon...

Still, she's not lean. You were comparing a muscular physique to a very lean one which isn't the same. You would need to find a male player who is not lean nor muscular for a valid comparison.