Marion Bartoli Deserves Better Than This.

(Trigger warning)

On Saturday, on the legendary green grass of Center Court at the All England Club, Marion Bartoli delivered an ace to the corner of the service box on championship point to become the 2013 women’s Wimbledon champion. After shaking hands with her opponent Sabine Lisicki, she sprinted in exultation towards the player’s box where her coaches, family and supporters sat. As a 28-year-old veteran of the professional women’s tennis circuit, she was exuberantly, deliriously happy to win her first Grand Slam title.

She was also, apparently, a disappointment to some male viewers, including a commentator from the BBC, John Inverdale. In the lead-up to the match, Inverdale said the following while live on a BBC radio station:

“Do you think Bartoli’s dad told her when she was little ‘You’re never going to be a looker? You’ll never be a Sharapova, so you have to be scrappy and fight’.”

Inverdale’s comment paled in comparison to the slurs hurled at Bartoli during the match on Twitter. The most egregious were compiled by @EverydaySexism into a list of facepalm-inducing horror, such as…

@OliKRatcliffe: Bartoli didn’t deserve to win because she is ugly.

@Gavbrown2: Really hate that Bartoli, would love too smash the wee fat cow!! Irritating me!!

@JayH_96: I want Lisicki to win because she is really fit. Bartoli wouldn’t even get raped let alone fucked.

@RossMackaay: FUCK OF BARTOLI YOU UGLY FAT BALOTELLI WANNABE CUNT

(Bonus bigot points for implied racism against black Italian footballer Mario Balotelli.)

Marion Bartoli toiled for years crafting her tennis game. She spent countless hours on the courts, suffered the injuries big and small that accompany a professional sports career, endured the punishing 11-month tennis schedule year after year, and surely made personal sacrifices to achieve greatness in her sport. It is absolutely outrageous that her appearance is considered at all relevant at this moment, the pinnacle of her tennis career.

It is not Marion Bartoli’s job to arouse or titillate male viewers. It is not Marion Bartoli’s job to wear a short skirt and smile prettily and fit a skewed and sexist beauty standard for professional female athletes. It is Marion Bartoli’s job to kick ass on a tennis court, and that is exactly what she did.

Marion Bartoli did not drop a single set on her march to victory in this 2013 Wimbledon Championship. With her unconventional but punishing double-handed groundstrokes, she demolished Sabine Lisicki in the final. She earned her title through hard work and determination, and she does not owe John Inverdale or male viewers anything.

Too often, female athletes are judged based on their looks instead of their achievements. When Marion Bartoli lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish at the All England Club on Saturday, she deserved the respect and admiration of sports fans everywhere. She deserved better than foolish barbs from an out-of-touch commentator and sexist rants from the Twittersphere. We owe her our respect. She owes us nothing.