Teen Tennis Champ Taylor Townsend Proves America Still Has A Problem With Black Women’s Bodies
Taylor Townsend has a body like Serena…and that’s a problem.
Townsend, the number one junior women’s player in the world, nearly missed a spot in last week’s U.S. Open because U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) told her they weren’t going to finance her appearance in anymore tournaments until she got into better shape.
Like many black, female athletes, Townsend is not stick-thin. At 5’6”, she weighs about 170-pounds. Despite being the top-ranked player on the junior’s circuit and winning the Australian Open earlier this year, the brass at the USTA aimed to pull the teen from the U.S. Open and any other tournaments until she loses weight.
But should she?
Townsend said she was devastated when her USTA coaches told her she couldn’t compete in the U.S. Open.
“It was definitely shocking,” the teen said. “I was actually very upset. I cried. I was actually devastated. I mean, I worked really hard, you know, it’s not by a miracle that I got to number one. I’m not saying that to be conceited or anything, but it’s not just a miracle or it didn’t just fall upon me just because my name’s Taylor.”
After her Australian Open win, the Chicago teen who now lives at the USTA center in Florida, ditched fast food and incorporated running and weight-lifting into her training routine. But the wasn’t enough for Patrick McEnroe, the general manager of the USTA’s player development program. McEnroe explained why the USTA refused to finance Townsend’s slot in the Open.
“Our concern is her long-term health, number one, and her long-term development as a player,” he explained the Wall Street Journal. “We have one goal in mind: For her to be playing in [Arthur Ashe Stadium] in the main draw and competing for major titles when it’s time. That’s how we make every decision, based on that.”
But as the Bleacher Report points out, concerns about Townsend’s health didn’t prevent the USTA from allowing her to play in both the singles and the doubles competition in the Australian Open earlier this year, in which Townsend had to pull a double-header and play twice in one day.
So what gives?
According to Townsend’s mother—a former tennis player at Lincoln University—the USTA didn’t give them any specifics as to why her daughter was denied.
“I actually asked them if they would give me some specifics so that I can help facilitate helping her to understand what they were doing and the reasoning behind what they were doing,” Shelia Townsend told ABC News. “I never was able to get it.”
Instead, Townsend’s mother did what any committed parent would do: she paid the entry fees and financed her daughter’s way into the U.S. Open. With mounting pressure and amid the ire of her coaches, Taylor lost in the semi-finals, but brought home the double’s title with her partner, Gabrielle Andrews, making it her third Grand Slam doubles title this year.
While the McEnroe later said the USTA’s refusal to fund Townsend’s birth in the U.S. Open had “nothing to do with weight; it has nothing to do with body type,” they have decided to reimburse Townsend’s mother, calling the entire situation a “miscommunication.”
Hearing of Taylor Townsend’s predicament conjured of thoughts of Serena and Venus Williams.
For years the sisters and their father have alleged that the USTA continuously overlooked racist incidents, and when the sisters first burst on the scene, Serena was seen as fat, out of shape, and too big to be a serious athlete (and the comments on many articles mentioning Townsend suggest the same).
If Taylor Townsend was overweight and unable to compete on the court, then I would agree that she needs to take some time off and focus on her fitness. But the USTA’s insistence that the teen lose weight, despite the fact that she’s the top ranked player in the world and is playing well (and many of the sport’s legends are outraged at her treatment), shows that some don’t quite understand that not all black women can simply fit into the stick-thin, cookie cutter mold of their mostly blonde competitors.
Hmm…with this situation, I’m leaning towards “the best” outcome for the athlete, her goals and desires. This is the world of an athlete. It is not right, but the rules and regulations for the requirements constantly changes for the athlete to qualify/ compete and especially at a higher level. If a sport is not saturated with minorities, once they begin to excel; more changes are implemented. You have a Venus and a Serena, but more [not] so slender structured BW are participating. The USTA don’t like the “look—body type”, but realized it is best to coined this as a miscommunication to avoid an uproar. To deny her because of weight issues is preposterous. She has the ability and is able to currently compete; she should be allowed to do so.
Ms. Taylor being a young athlete with futuristic aspiring goals as a tennis player; in order to arrive to the next level, she will have to strive for a healthier lifestyle just as any other athlete would. The less weight (depending on your sport-position) and healthy eating habits are prerequisites for becoming a better athlete. In addition, Ms. Taylor is 16. By the time she becomes older, she will be better prepared to compete in the future by starting now (especially if the weight requirement officially changes).
I do agree the USTA need to understand all athletes can’t be a “Slim Susie”. As far as Ms. Taylor to become the best she can be and to obtain her goals; if it is toning up and eating healthier, then I hope she does so. It would be great to have the Venus and Serena legacy continue.
5’6 and 170?? #1 ranked junior tennis champ or not, she’s a fattie. she shouldn’t be expected to be stick thin either, but good lord there’s a happy medium in there, somewhere. i’m 35 years old, 5’5 and 137 and i’m hardly as active as she is. in fact i think i need to drop a few pounds..but we’re not talking about me.
drop some poundage little lady, and you’ll soar.
If you knew nothing about Townsend, and only saw her picture, I doubt if you would have guessed that she is 5′ 6″ 170 lbs. She has a bit of a stomach, but she is not especially fat. The point I have been making is that this young woman has the body of an elite athlete, which means she likely has greater muscle density than the average woman. She is probably someone who has a mesomorph body type, which means that although she can build muscle easily, she will probably always have a layer of fat too.
She cane reduce the fat, but she will not have lithe, “athletic” looking body. We need to understand that people come in all sorts of shapes, and that great athletes can come in many shapes too.
Thank you. So many of these comments seem to know nothing about actual health and body density as the spout off about their hw stats.
I’m 5’6″ and healthy (healthy BMI, low body % percentage) but that doesn’t mean I can’t see more to her weight than just “she’s a fatty.” We have no idea how much of that 170 lbs is muscle mass and not fat. Looking at photos of her on google images, she looks toned and fit.
A 35 year OLD woman comparing herself to a kid huh?
You got some very low self esteem.
You are very useless. I am sorry, I’m might be judging you from just this one comment, but given the context, it is strong evidence towards the fact that you are very useless.
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All this talk about “health concerns” and not a single paper to back it up. 170 at 5’6″ is technically overweight according to BMI… which, while useful for some purposes, I mostl disregard as a whole lot of bunk. Look it up.. BMI has no real medical or scientific basis behind it. It’s based on one random white dude’s opinion of what looks “normal” at certain heights and weights with 0 regard for bone density (HIGHER in black people), muscle mass (HIGHER for men), build, etc. Does she have high cholesterol? Blood pressure? Diabetes, heart disease? You can’t just randomly point to a height and weight and say that someone is unhealthy. From what I’ve read, there’s not a single piece of evidence that she is UNHEALTHY. And if she’s physically active enough to kick butt in tennis, I’m going to bet that her cardiovascular health is better than 99% of most Americans.
If people can be naturally underweight, then why can’t people be naturally overweight? Some people are just bigger, period. I look much smaller than my BMI suggests, because although I’m barely 5’1″, I’m a pear-shaped woman and I have muscular thighs and calves. At my so-called “ideal” weight, I look emaciated. Until someone actually provides an iota of evidence that this girl’s weight has actually caused her health issues, everyone judging needs to STFD and STFU.
The bias on display by the USTA is that they withheld funding for the top rated junior women’s player and then gave a half ass explanation. For that alone Patrick McEnroe should be heavily criticized. Whatever opinions they had about the player’s physique and conditioning is something that should have been able to be handled privately. In my limited opinion, Taylor Townsend is probably not as physically fit as she needs to be but in watching major women’s tennis she is not alone.
Other than the top 4 or 6 women players in the world most will never come close to winning a major championship. Either they are not skilled enough, fit enough or a combination of both. Many have gotten to that level based on their athleticism or their skill but cannot put it together to make that jump to the next level. It is a shame because when you view many of the early rounds of the majors you see players who should not be in the competition and are there primarily to round out the numbers not because they have any chance of ever winning. The wide disparity in skill and fitness between the top players and the rest of the field is undervaluing the whole women’s game.
The tennis establishment’s history with the Williams’ sisters will make it hard for them to be given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to how they relate to black players on any issue. The dearth of top American tennis players is stark proof of their failings in developing and nurturing youth talent to the professional levels. Major tennis today requires top flight athletes with skill I doubt they will find many of those on the country club circuit.