Imagine finding the sport of your dreams, something you can channel your energy into, something you looked forward to everyday that meant everything to you. Now imagine being shot down constantly during this sport by fans, coaches, and other players. Sadly, this is a reality for many women in athletics.

    So what are some inequalities that have turned up in official sports? There are many examples of unfairness to women or men in different sports, some of them not as obvious as others.

    On September 19th 2018, Serena Williams played a tennis match against 20 year old Naomi Osaka. Williams got three points taken away from her throughout the game which caused her to lose to Osaka. Her first point was deducted for receiving coaching signals, for breaking her racket, and then the last one that cost her the game was for calling the umpire a thief. Williams wasn’t as upset from losing as she was from the umpire being sexist. Williams’ evidence of sexism from the umpire was her experience of seeing male tennis players have much worse outbursts at umpires and not be penalized for it. Whether or not the umpire was intentionally being sexist is unknown, but many have perceived the point reductions the same as Williams did. Regardless, Williams feels she deserves an apology from the umpire.

     French tennis player Alize Cornet changed her outfit during a ten minute break during a game on August 28th 2018. When Cornet got back to the court, she realized her shirt was on backwards. Cornet removed her shirt and put it back on the right way, briefly revealing her black sports bra underneath. Immediately, the umpire announced that she would be receiving a penalty for this. However, male tennis players remove their shirts during matches from time to time without penalty. After receiving major backlash, officials from the organization say that Cornet did not actually break any rules.

    The same week that Cornet was slapped with a penalty for her brief shirt removal, Serena Williams’ outfit was banned. Williams’ wore a catsuit styled bodysuit to the 2018 French Open, she claimed the outfit made her feel like a “Wakanda warrior princess”. The president of the French Tennis Federation, Bernard Giudicelli, claimed that the outfit would be banned and never allowed again. Giudicelli even said “you have to respect the game and the place”. Fans, media, and other athletes rushed to Williams’ side and defending the outfit because of the health reasons for it. Williams had been having problems with blood clots and the catsuit was supposed to prevent these. The outfit wasn’t revealing, didn’t restrict her movement, and didn’t seem to impact the game in any negative way. So why restrict what female tennis players can wear, especially when it’s to support good health?