Hard Hits in Women's Tennis Industry Causes a Racket

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Hard Hits in Women's Tennis Industry Causes a Racket

From sunrise to sunset, I constantly hit fuzzy balls over the net. At age eight, my plan was to be a professional women's tennis player, so I figured that I needed to start training now. Wanting to be just like Martina Hingis, I loved to watch how she could hit the ball with such pace and accuracy. Some of the best women athletes drive themselves to participate in this grueling sport, and, although tennis was once not the most popular sport, I still wanted to be one of these women. Throughout history, women competing in sports has been debated, and women were once excluded from sports entirely. Luckily, I was not born in this era.

Within the last century, women have made complicated advances towards being created equal in sports. Broer discusses how women were once degraded from playing sports since the physical activity was considered unlady-like and masculine, but times are changing. When women tried to participate in athletic competitions, they were labeled as inferiors to the men and were thought to be unfeminine. The reason for this was the difference in upbringing of men and women. Men were taught to show evidence of physical strength and control; while on the other hand, women were expected to develop physical attributes and domestic abilities (201-223).

Women broke through these stereotypical thoughts of being homemakers during the second part of feminism. This was precisely when doors began to open, and playing courts were allowing the shift in sports. Women's tennis was gaining national and global attention. The combination of elegance and athleticism in tennis was thought to be perfect for women. Women were only allowed to play in mixed gender tournaments....

... middle of paper ...

...ky.com. 2002 Aug 1. 2004 March 17.

<http://www.twincities.com/mld/kentucky/sports/other_sports/3775992.htm>.

Smith, Lisa. Nike is a Goddess: the History of Women in Sports. New York:

Atlantic Monthly Pr., 1998: 135-149

"Special Report: Women and Minorities in Tennis". Tennis Industry. 1997

March/April. 14 March 2004. <http://www.tennisindustry.com/mar_apr1997/news.html#Women1>.

Tennis Channel Quotes. 10 March 2004. 10 March 2004.

<http://www.thetennischannel.tv/quotes.php>.

"The Tennis Channel". Lexisnexis. 8 Jan. 2004. 15 March 2004.

<https://web.lexisnexis.com/universe/document?_m=bd9aacf99e3b88fe751f9ce1a8f28998&_docnum=1&wchp=dGLbVtzzSkVA&_md5=4194a3fcba6e3f0903bb26231282f86c>.

"Two-handed or One-handed Backhand?" United States High School Tennis

Association. 17 March 2004. <http://www.ushstca.org/HSTMAG/202twohand.htm>.

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