Summer when women stepped up and stood out in sport... but Konta deserved tough questions
This summer is proving to be a game-changer for women’s sport.
It began with the unprecedented interest in the Women’s World Cup and it continued at Wimbledon where a bright new star of the game, 15-year-old Coco Gauff, dominated the headlines in the first half of the tournament. The viewing figures over the World Cup spoke for themselves and the USA proved themselves worthy winners. Now their impressive captain Megan Rapinoe – with the glorious lilac hair – is using the platform of their success to become a prominent advocate for gender equality, equal pay and respect. I watched the recent speech she made in which she said we needed to work together, love more and hate less. She’s funky, she’s cool and she speaks so passionately, and she is absolutely right to capitalise on the impact and the momentum of her team’s World Cup success.
She shows up, she stands up and she speaks up. We need women like this in sport, and we can’t afford to take our feet off the gas just because some progress has been made.
I met the Lionesses from the England team at Wimbledon last week and I was pumped to be able to talk to them. I always enjoy sharing experiences with women from different sports. They were hugely disappointed not to have won the World Cup and they were also stunned by how many people didn’t expect
them to feel dejected, almost as if taking part should be enough in a women’s game. It means some are not yet seeing them as serious professionals.
That’s why I fundamentally disagree with those who suggested it wasn’t fair for a journalist to put tough questions to British women’s tennis No1 Johanna Konta after her quarter-final loss.
Some claimed the reporter wouldn’t have put such harsh questions to a male player; well I can tell you I’ve sat through many a press conference with Andy and he’s been asked a lot worse. But that’s part of the job.
You have to learn to deal with both victory and defeat and after a match you must account for your performance in front of the press. It’s tough facing the media after a loss but for tennis players it’s an obligation of every tournament they play in. It’s not a choice and players are fined if they refuse. No other sport demands so much media access of its athletes so you have to learn to deal with it.
I remember after one particularly difficult game in which Andy played horribly, losing a match in under an hour, he was asked to explain his poor performance and he admitted, ‘I know, shocking wasn’t it?” And whether it’s down to a bad night’s sleep, or feeling under par, or simply that you were outplayed on the day, it’s important for players to be honest about their performances in front of the press.
I loved the response to Serena and Andy teaming up in the mixed doubles. We rarely get to see the top male and female players play alongside or against each other in tennis. I hope we see more mixed events in future.