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One of last week's stories that made the blogosphere and interweb go boom was the risque outfit that Venus Williams wore to her opening round match of the French Open against Patty Schnyder.
It was an outfit that most people probably expected to see on Dita Von Teese and not on the second ranked player in women's tennis. Williams easily won her match with Schnyder and it appeared that we would be in store for another Williams sister final.
Then in stunning fashion, Venus was upset by Nadia Petrova in the 4th round of the tournament which made the Williams sister final disappear into thin air. Now the question that some people might want to ask, "Did the outfit cause Venus to lose some focus on the drive to the championship?"
Well, it's tough to blame an outfit for a loss but you can't blame Venus for losing a little focus due to the media building this story into something rather over-the-top. It's not everyday that the outfit on a competitor gets more pub than the actual match and with the crazy instant information world that we live in, it's easier and quicker for a story to grow out of control.
One thing that I do know is that Venus should wear whatever she feels comfortable in playing since she is a physically stunning woman. The game of women's tennis has always had that sex appeal from Anna Kournikova to Maria Sharapova to the original tennis goddess, Chris Evert. Venus was just making a statement about how she wants to be perceived not only as a woman but as a tennis player stating, "Whatever I wear, I can still win regardless."
The outfit itself was at best minimally risque if you were to see on the red carpet or at a Paris fashion show but it garnered those headlines due to the person wearing it and the fact that she's an athlete. It's a fine line to step for being a female athlete and a sex symbol, and sometimes those lines can blend together whether we like it or not.
Also to note, Venus Williams is 29 years old, if you had that body, wouldn't you want to show it off? This isn't a Lindsay Lohan/Paris Hilton situation but it sure did have the same media scrutiny following it around.
So at the end of the day, Venus Williams statement to the world was look at me and appreciate me for who I am as a tennis player and as a woman. The only problem for Venus was that the outfit itself took on a life all it's own.
Venus Williams French Open Upset: Was the Outfit to Blame?
