Tennis 'ball Models' Court Controversy
Some say that men's tennis has lost its glamour -which may explain why a world tournament in Madrid is hiring long-legged models as ball girls. Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Juan Carlos Ferrero will be among players competing for the public's attention at the ATP Masters Series, as will...
<!-- Copyright 2000 Buzzle.com -->Some say that men's tennis has lost its glamour -which may explain why a world tournament in Madrid is hiring long-legged models as ball girls.
Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Juan Carlos Ferrero will be among players competing for the public's attention at the ATP Masters Series, as will be Elena, Norma, Carolina and 23 others plucked from Spanish model agencies.
The "ball models" were picked in a casting session by organisers who say that, by resorting to the gimmickry of boxing promoters, they are merely recognising that tennis is showbusiness.
"We had to try on some clothes and then answer a few questions about tennis," Carolina told a newspaper before starting work tomorrow.
An ability to look good in a Hugo Boss T-shirt and what As, a sports daily, described as "a knee-length skirt, but with splits" seems to count for more than a knowledge, however small , of what a ball girl does.
"Most are starting from zero. They have had to have it all explained to them from the very beginning," said Julio Nieto, their coach for the past fortnight.
In a sport where ball boys and girls are traditionally tennis-mad children, their replacement with "ball models", three of whom are Brazilians, one a Romanian and another a Colombian, has been ruled out of court by commentators. "This is a bad thing. Tennis used to be above the use of women as part of the show," complained As columnist Juan Mora.
The tournament organiser, Gerard Tsobanian, said he first suggested the idea to the director of the Association of Tennis Professionals, Mark Miles, at last year's final. "We want to do something new. This is not machista ," he told El Mundo newspaper. "We want to have a women's tournament here, too, and for that we would use male models."
"The important thing is not to stop the rhythm of play or distract the player," Mr Nieto stipulated. But, said one amateur called in to train the ball girls:"The truth is, they are a bit of a distraction."
Some say that men's tennis has lost its glamour -which may explain why a world tournament in Madrid is hiring long-legged models as ball girls. Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Juan Carlos Ferrero will be among players competing for the public's attention at the ATP Masters Series, as will...
<!-- Copyright 2000 Buzzle.com -->Some say that men's tennis has lost its glamour -which may explain why a world tournament in Madrid is hiring long-legged models as ball girls.
Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Juan Carlos Ferrero will be among players competing for the public's attention at the ATP Masters Series, as will be Elena, Norma, Carolina and 23 others plucked from Spanish model agencies.
The "ball models" were picked in a casting session by organisers who say that, by resorting to the gimmickry of boxing promoters, they are merely recognising that tennis is showbusiness.
"We had to try on some clothes and then answer a few questions about tennis," Carolina told a newspaper before starting work tomorrow.
An ability to look good in a Hugo Boss T-shirt and what As, a sports daily, described as "a knee-length skirt, but with splits" seems to count for more than a knowledge, however small , of what a ball girl does.
"Most are starting from zero. They have had to have it all explained to them from the very beginning," said Julio Nieto, their coach for the past fortnight.
In a sport where ball boys and girls are traditionally tennis-mad children, their replacement with "ball models", three of whom are Brazilians, one a Romanian and another a Colombian, has been ruled out of court by commentators. "This is a bad thing. Tennis used to be above the use of women as part of the show," complained As columnist Juan Mora.
The tournament organiser, Gerard Tsobanian, said he first suggested the idea to the director of the Association of Tennis Professionals, Mark Miles, at last year's final. "We want to do something new. This is not machista ," he told El Mundo newspaper. "We want to have a women's tournament here, too, and for that we would use male models."
"The important thing is not to stop the rhythm of play or distract the player," Mr Nieto stipulated. But, said one amateur called in to train the ball girls:"The truth is, they are a bit of a distraction."
