“Peak misogyny!” – Tennis Twitter ACCUSES Madrid Open of sexual discrimination after ball girls were spotted wearing ‘extra revealing’ clothes only during men’s matches

The short skirts and crop tops of ball women are instigating fans to get answers from the Madrid Open.

“Peak misogyny!” – Tennis Twitter ACCUSES Madrid Open of sexual discrimination after ball girls were spotted wearing ‘extra revealing’ clothes only during men’s matches

Image Credit: Left - Daily Express, Right - The Telegraph

Madrid Open which has been going on for almost 2 weeks today, might be at the fag end of the tournament, but the issue on Ball girl’s clothing is just gaining traction. If you have been watching the tournaments you would have noticed that the night matches ball girls’ attire is strikingly different from that of matches during the day or during women’s matches. The ball girls dress up in itty bitty skirts with body-hugging crop tops at night. Whereas during the day the ball boys/girls wear a regular fitting t-shirt with shorts or skirts.

Recently a tennis fan did a walkthrough on the history of ball kids at the Madrid Open event on a Twitter post. Apparently, in 2004, the ball kids were completely replaced by scantily clad attractive models. They were such a treat to the eye that even professional players found it hard to concentrate. Andre Agassi had said that he found it hard to concentrate with such attractive women running around at the court. These women models were removed when women objectification issue were raised against the tournament. But only removed to be subsequently replaced by ball men who were models too.

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This post was made in response to Feliciano Lopez who is the ongoing tournament director. Lopez attempted to justify the difference in cake sizes for Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz. And rubbished that it was due to the preferential treatment of men players over women players. Then how would Lopez explain what’s going on with the ball women’s clothes at Men’s night matches and other matches? It is a puzzling question that has riled up tennis fans. Today is the final match between Carlos Alcaraz and Jan Lennard Struff at the Madrid Open.

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Tennis fans are not very impressed the clothes situation at the Madrid Open

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Image Credit: The Sun

Many fans were excited to see this post as they finally found someone calls out this stark occurrence in the Madrid Open. Some were glad to look into the history of the ball kids at the tournament and others thought this kind of objectification should end. But mostly people are looking out for answers, on why such differences and who takes these decisions.

Sharing a wide spectrum of reactions online, here’s what fans have to say:


Many tennis fans believe the attires at Madrid Open don’t mess with their viewing experience at least. It doesn’t matter to them who is collecting the balls or what they are wearing. But the fact remains that the less they notice ball kids the better it is.

Of course, there is also a section that agrees with look for the ball girls and thinks these insinuations are much ado about nothing. Some even went to the length of saying that the women wear even shorter skirts than the ball girls, and no one complains then to the big brands sponsoring them.

Usually, such issues have no place in tennis, as usually, we see a similarity in rules across the board for Ball kids/men/women. They are supposed to be as unobtrusive as possible. Inclusiveness in the Ball Kids role is becoming important. In US-based tournaments, one can see that they have made some changes. Shape, size, age, and color are not a problem. If a person is adept to do the job well they are recruited. Hope this inclusivity trend catches on rather than a noninclusive one.

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