Canadian tennis pro Eugenie Bouchard is a long way from home at the Australian Open in Melbourne–but she didn’t know she’d also be traveling back in time. During an on-court interview after a win, the man asking Bouchard questions included this one: “Can you give us a twirl?” A twirl? “Like a pirouette, here you go,” he responded, turning Bouchard around so the crowd could look at her from all angles. Graciously, Bouchard twirled, and then covered her face with her hands in embarrassment.
WTF? But it didn’t come out of the blue. The same guy asked Serena Williams to twirl after her first round win and Serena obliged happily. Serena very often twirls for the crowd after a win, without any provocation. The interviewer no doubt concluded that this was customary behavior for North American women athletes wearing little dresses. ”I don’t know, an old guy asking you to twirl. It was funny,” Bouchard good-naturedly said afterwards. Crikey, she might have added, had she been a native. Bouchard was a finalist at Wimbledon last year. She is due for the kind of success that will have her twirling–if she wants to, dude–on her own.
