I read about this during the Open but didn't post it. Did anyone catch
the story about the number one junior player in the world, US player Taylor Townsend, who was denied a wild card into the US Open, denied a wild card into the qualifying bracket and was asked to stay home from the juniors competition because the USTA wanted her to "work on her fitness"? Did I mention she is the reigning girls 16 Austrianian Open champion, number one and from the US? The USTA originally said it would not pay her travel expenses to the US Open but she went anyway at her own expense. US champions Lindsey Davenport, Serena Williams and Martina Navratilova, all of which were large teens reacted with anger. Serena Williams has taken heat from the press and public about her body shape and "fitness".
Quote:"I was not svelte at 15, and I was not fit at 15. If they had told me I could not play, I mean, that could have ruined my career," Davenport said.
"I would have been cut from the USTA program," Navratilova said.
The USTA backtracked hard when the press got wind of it but since a lot of TV commentators are also on the USTA payroll, the coverage on TV was zero. Add to it race (Townsend is black with a body build more Serena Williams than Chris Evert), gender and body image issues and you have a major fiasco for the USTA. Here's a
clip from Good Morning America on one side and an
article in the Wall Street Journal on the other. What could they possibly have been thinking to slam the US's top prospect?
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