For the first time in a long time, people are talking about tennis.
Unfortunately, any racket-heads out there hoping for some positive coverage of their beloved fuzzy-balled game will be sadly disappointed. There is a youth tennis shitstorm going down right now and it’s not a good look for the sport.
The NextGen ATP Finals is an eight-man tournament that pits the world’s top 21-and-under men’s singles players against each other. On Sunday, they held a party for the official draw in Milan.
Two round robin groups of four were made among the players in attendance, which seems innocent enough until you see how these groups were chosen.
The ATP NextGen Milan draw ceremony made players select models to determine their groups. Stunningly uncomfortable, cringeworthy and trashy. pic.twitter.com/g63OfK5IOK
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) November 5, 2017
Players took turns selecting a model on stage, each of whom had the letter ‘A’ or ‘B’ hidden on their body. That letter would then correspond to the group they would slot into.
After the player had handpicked their model, they walked down a catwalk arm in arm. The model then unveiled the hidden letter to the crowd.
Unsurprisingly, the draw has received its fair share of criticism.
Awful. https://t.co/ECMf0tA7WC
— judy murray (@JudyMurray) November 6, 2017
Nah you shouldn't have to follow @nextgenfinals on IG to see misogynistic draw ceremony w/ women presenting themselves to men, disrobing: pic.twitter.com/zooGW1CQvn
— TroubleFault (@troublefault) November 5, 2017
I didn't realize one of the changes the #NextGenATP is trying out is the objectification of women. That draw ceremony was really offensive.
— JT (@iamjt520) November 5, 2017
