If Kurnikova had made her debut in this day and age, she would have met with a lot of winks, whistles and ridicule, but would have been more determined defenders in journalism and social media of all kinds, then it is possible that she will not be labeled as she was 20 years ago.
While watching pop singer Britney Spears' latest documentary, Framing Britney Spears, pulled me back to the early days of the century, when the tabloids were staring at her 24 hours a day, and the hottest topic on TV was asking her if she thought she was better suited to be a mom or an idol star.
Looking at britney, whose face is full of impatience and restraint, reminds me of my encounter with another young female star who is also unhappy. It was in the press room of the 2002 US Open, facing Kurnikova, who had just been swept 6-3, 6-0 by an unknown opponent at Armstrong Stadium.
At that time, every game of Kurnikova was crowded and the atmosphere was warm. This Russian girl is the most famous, sought after, most charming, most popular and most ridiculed female athlete in the world. She missed the U.S. Open the previous year with a foot injury, and this year she was lackluster at the French Open and Wimbledon, both of which were eliminated in the first round. The current defeat has undoubtedly added another depressing stroke to her this season.
In 2000, Couva filmed for Sports Illustrated
The audience was, of course, full of her loyal fans, but there was also an undercurrent of relentless scrutiny, expecting this lovely creature to fall on the stage. In this game, Kurnikova made a lot of double mistakes under nervousness, and coupled with the wrong choice on the key points, it was difficult for her to reverse the loss. "I made a million mistakes," she said after the game, "and I don't think anybody would think it was a good game, especially for me." ”
It's an admirable blunt self-assessment for a young girl, but she's not so easy to get out of. After every defeat on the field, Kurnikova had to answer for her financial success. One reporter asked: "You should see the newspaper reports about you, and it always says, 'She got a huge amount of sponsorship, but she didn't get anything on the field.'" Does that put a lot of pressure on you? Someone else in the back asked, "Do you think you're trying hard enough?" At the end of the press conference, a reporter asked: "From a business perspective, are you worried that if you don't win, the photographers who are advertising endorsements and swarming around will leave?" ”
"Great," Kurnikova replied almost sharply, "it's great that they all left!" ”
In June 2000, Kurnikova attended a women's underwear brand event in Eastbourne, England, which she endorsed
She was only 21 at the time, but it was her last game at the US Open. At that time, you can believe that she was really tired of the lingering photographers and the gaze of the people who couldn't go anywhere; tired of being a capable athlete who couldn't win a singles title on the Tour; tired of the whistles that smoked every time she took off her coat; tired of the audience's flirtatious shouts at her during the game; not to mention the ridicule of all aspects of society, such as playing cards with her name as a nickname, describing someone who looked cool and played well, but always couldn't win.
Both Britney and Kurnikova were born in 1981 and both rose to fame as gifted girls in the late 1990s. Kurnikova, 16, reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 1997, and Britney's breakthrough single "Hit Me Baby One More Time" sold well in 1998. It was the pinnacle of lace media, and the Internet was just emerging.
Britney's documentary reminds us that this was also the era of the Clinton sex scandal, and the pornography fetish in the public sphere reached a new height. The Washington Post wrote: "Many media outlets— from lace tabloids to mainstream newspapers— will describe the details of women's intimate lives like Britney in a very private way, and then despise or even denounce them." Like Britney, Kurnikova once declared herself a virgin, and Newsweek wrote in a 1999 article titled "The Virgin Teen Queen": "She wore a thin, cicada-like dress with strong boyfriends in tennis, but 18-year-old Kurnikova declared herself as pure as her white tennis suit." 'I'm not going to let anyone look at my room,' she said. ”
In August 2000, at the Akula Classic, male fans painted oil paint with the letters of Kuwa's English name on their bodies
From the beginning, Kurnikova was the subject of men's magazines and entertainment media, not sports. When she was 16, she was listed on the "50 Most Beautiful Women" list, and a few years later, she was called "the sexiest woman in the world." But the more she was hyped up for her beauty, the more she was slammed as a tennis player. ESPN put her on the biggest loser list in the past 25 years and at one point listed her as the most overrated athlete in history.
Another article reads: "Her prestige is a product of an era when every man had a dozen goddesses. Kurnikova can be used in this day and age as proof that women's sports are not worth taking seriously. ”
The ideas brought by the youth magazine were widely circulated in those years, and the sexy image of WTA players was further enhanced. At that time, there was a Miami Open that launched a promotional advertisement with The image of Kurnikova, "Come to See Anna's Serves and Curves" (look at Anna's serve and curve, curve has both the trajectory of the ball and the curve of the body). One issue of Tennis magazine headlined WTA's season ahead of its career: The Bold and the Beautiful. One of the Tour campaign ads in New York was titled "Riot Girls" and subtitled Jennifer Capriatti hot. In 2000, an issue of Sports Illustrated used the image of Kurnikova lying on a pillow as the cover, subtitled: She may not win the French Open, but who cares? Anna Kurnikova is an example of how, in today's enlightened age, a sexy body is as important as a skill.
Kurnikova during the Nick School
In retrospect, Kurnikova was more than just an innocent victim of her time, and from today's point of view, she should have ignored a campaign titled "Only the Balls Should Bounce." It looks like she should push away the appearance fee for some of the events and focus more on the game, so that it's entirely possible to win a singles title, even at a lower level. In this way, her pressure will be much less. In tennis columnist John Wessam's book Venus Envy, about the "promiscuous girl" era, he mentions a scene in which a photographer told her during the filming of Kurnikova, "Hold on for one more second and I'll make you beautiful." Her response was, "I'm beautiful enough, so you can shoot quickly." ”
Kurnikova has long been critical that the pursuit of glitz and money makes it difficult for her to focus on training. Looking at her glorious resume as a teenager, winning the Under-18 Orange Bowl championship at the age of 14, ranking first among teenagers, and Nick Politerini hand-picked future stars, a generation of ball queens seems to be taken for granted, but Kurnikova firmly denies this logic.
In the 1997 Wimbledon women's singles semifinals, Singis defeated Kurnikova 6-2, 6-3
Answering reporters at a press conference after the first round of defeat at Wimbledon in 2002, she said: "I did not participate in as many 'extracurricular activities' as you called, and 99% of those rumored things had to be trusted." ”
Although her doubles partner, Sighis, has also criticized her level of commitment, there are some things in life that she can't control. Eventually, Kurnikova withdrew from professional tennis at the age of 22 due to back injuries and spinal injuries. At 1.73 meters tall, she is not a type with physical advantages, and her contemporaries Davenport and Williams sisters are obviously much taller and stronger. Moreover, the lack of obvious offensive weapons is even more difficult to imagine the difficulty of becoming a first-class weapon. According to Politerini, Kurnikova's biggest regret is that her coach did not forge a forehand for her that could be used as a weapon. In this way, she can only become a player who wins with skill, as she once did in the world number one ranking in doubles. Compared with her successor, the next Russian beautiful girl player, Sharapova, she is still slightly lacking in tenacity and courage.
In the 2002 US Open, Kurnikova partnered with Singis in the women's doubles competition
Federer and Serena Williams are still in the ranks of the strongest players at the age of 39, and it's hard to imagine Kurnikova being their peer. She didn't get the chance to change and grow on the field and in the eyes of the audience.
Kurnikova is not the last female player to receive too much attention because of her appearance. When Sharapova won her second Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2006, the background music given to her by Nike ads was still a praise for beautiful girls. Ivanovic's match was also filled with the eyes and shouts of the disciples. When Bouchard came to prominence, the New York Times gave her the headline that Bouchard could be the future of women's tennis, and all she needed was to keep winning.
The controversy over sexiness and related issues in professional sports cannot stop, nor will the phenomenon of being concerned because of looks. It's just that today in 2021 is still very different from twenty years ago. Now, Serena's achievements and status are no less than Ali's; Naomi Osaka is also often in fashion magazines, but her most influential decoration is still the words and deeds of the "black noble" movement; 16-year-old Gauff has been able to speak out for social issues very maturely. Now, social media of all kinds allows players to effectively control their stories and images, which their predecessors never had before. If Kurnikova had made her debut in this day and age, she would have met with a lot of winks, whistles and ridicule, but would have been more determined defenders in journalism and social media of all kinds, then it is possible that she will not be labeled as she was 20 years ago.
In 2010, Kurnikova competed with her old partner Singis at Wimbledon
Of course, Kurnikova's fate was not bad. After all, she made a lot of money by playing tennis, and she was married with three children. Nor did she have a strange family like Britney's. Twenty years later, when I look at Kurnikova's career, there are two scenes that will jump into my mind, both of which happened at the US Open.
It was a night game at Arthur Ashe Stadium, and there was a group of baseball lads in the stands on the top floor, each with a big letter on each T-shirt, which combined to be "Kurnikova". During the break, they jumped up and down singing her name aloud. There wasn't her game that night, and if my memory is correct, she didn't participate in that tournament, but it didn't stop the lads from singing for her.
The second scene comes from the much smaller, now-demolished grandstand. Kurnikova, whom some journalists describe as a "mediocre player," is completely different in doubles, where her doubles matches are extremely creative and watchable. She has won a number of high-level tournament titles, including two Australian Opens and two year-end finals (with Singis). Freed from the anxiety and stress of the singles arena, she was able to play a relaxed state that was difficult to replicate in singles. It is said that tennis is a lonely sport, and for this girl who bears too much attention, the pressure is undoubtedly doubled.
She wasn't playing alone in this game, it was a mixed doubles game. Of course, the noise and whistles in the audience were as loud as ever, and the disciples were eager to reach into the stadium. But the atmosphere is relaxed, and so is Kurnikova. She exchanged glances and high-fives with her partner Milnie, and apparently she enjoyed the situation. She did not make double mistakes, returned the ball accurately and fully combined, the front of the net processing was crisp and clean, and the bottom line and midfield could frequently penetrate the opponent. Kurnikova and her partner gave the audience a good game, and she also won. (Reprinted from tennis.com)
Text/Steve Tigno Compiled/Huang Zilin