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(CNN)The aftermath of “Twirlgate” continued to rumble at the Australian Open on Friday, with Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard saying she was fine with being asked to spin – when men were being asked to “flex their muscles and stuff.” “.
After her second-round win over Kiki Bertens on Wednesday, a male interviewer had asked Bouchard, 20, for a whirl.
Cue riot on social media.
As it turned out, Bouchard’s request for more equality had already been granted before she pirouetted in court.
In a video posted to the Australian Open website on January 19, 14-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal – known in part for his muscular physique – was urged to bare his chest.
The question did not come from a man or woman, but from what appeared to be a tablet device, as part of a series in which tennis players are quizzed on a variety of topics as they navigate in a car made by one of the event’s sponsors Melbourne are driven.
The exact question to Nadal was: “Women love it when you take off your top. Can you do it now?”
“I have to do it now?” replied Nadal, who was sitting next to his PR manager.
He then removed his sweatshirt and began removing his t-shirt before leaving it on.
“I’m kidding,” he said with a smile while the t-shirt stayed on.
Nadal’s interview didn’t garner much attention, but Billie Jean King, the 12-time Grand Slam winner and longtime advocate for equality, took note of Bouchard’s question – and was far from amused.
And in a tweet published on Thursday, King wrote: “The Australian Open interviewer telling the women to turn on the court is out of line. “It’s really sexist. If you ask the women, you must also ask the guys to spin. Let’s focus on the competition and performance of both sexes and not on our looks.”
Amid the controversy, Bouchard kept her trademark cool after ousting Caroline Garcia Friday.
“Personally, I’m not offended,” Bouchard said. “No, I think it was a matter of the moment and it was funny. But yeah, I mean, it’s just funny how it’s taken on a life of its own.
“I’ll just try to focus on my tennis.”
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