tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/australian-open-2012-2124/articlesAustralian Open 2012 – The Conversation2012-01-20T00:03:02Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/49262012-01-20T00:03:02Z2012-01-20T00:03:02ZWhat will Serena wear next? Sport and fashion at the Australian Open<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6995/original/x3r5rdfg-1326776142.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Serena Williams unveils her 2012 Australian Open outfit at Melbourne's Federation Square.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Julian Smith</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Serena Williams creates a stir in the crowd. There is a buzz in the stadium as she is expected to emerge from the rooms out to the net. The excitement is not related to her skill, talent or professionalism: it’s about what she’ll wear next.</p>
<p>Tennis has shifted. What used to be an elite sport embedded in a history of rules about what <em>not</em> to wear and has become a domain for style expression. </p>
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<span class="caption">Serena Williams never fails to cause a stir.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Jason Szenes</span></span>
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<h2>Dressing to win</h2>
<p>It is vital in the modern game that players establish their own advantage in any way possible. I watch with interest the popularity of the Williams sisters’ style, the confidence they exude as they enter the court with a visual representation of the lioness about to take its prey. An “I don’t give a damn” attitude exudes from every seam – “I will wear what I like, how I like it and you will just watch me.”</p>
<p>Like a belligerent teenager who argues when a parent says “you are not going out wearing that”, their attitude screams “try and stop me”. The scene immediately becomes confrontational; Serena and Venus are the provocateurs. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6981/original/fyxfvt42-1326769092.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6981/original/fyxfvt42-1326769092.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6981/original/fyxfvt42-1326769092.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6981/original/fyxfvt42-1326769092.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6981/original/fyxfvt42-1326769092.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1194&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6981/original/fyxfvt42-1326769092.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1194&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6981/original/fyxfvt42-1326769092.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1194&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Sam Stosur opts for a more traditional style.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Paul Miller</span></span>
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<p>The development of tennis fashion has become a force to be reckoned with as part of the psychological edge a player exploits.</p>
<p>Discussions of fashion choice centre almost solely on the female athletes of this premium sport. Rarely do their male counterparts garner the same level of public or media interest with regard to their sartorial decisions. Whether it be dinner party conversation starters or social media channels, the public has become the commentator as discourse flourishes on what they like and dislike. </p>
<p>That could be the overt sensuality of Caroline Wozniacki, Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova, the independent style of the Williams sisters or the traditional interpretations of Sam Stosur and Li Na.</p>
<h2>A sponsor’s paradise</h2>
<p>The current trends in tennis fashion are perpetuated by the influence of media and sponsorship. It’s a sponsor’s dream as the media congregate to capture the moment a female tennis player walks onto the court. The more provocative, outlandish and visually challenging her outfit the better, because their logos will be beamed across the globe onto a television screen or front page newspaper near you. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6983/original/vgv5gxjs-1326769095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6983/original/vgv5gxjs-1326769095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6983/original/vgv5gxjs-1326769095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6983/original/vgv5gxjs-1326769095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6983/original/vgv5gxjs-1326769095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=686&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6983/original/vgv5gxjs-1326769095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=686&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6983/original/vgv5gxjs-1326769095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=686&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Maria Sharapova in Swarovski-adorned Nike.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/John G. Mabanglo</span></span>
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<p>The proliferation of visual imagery that constitutes modern media means the days of all-white, traditional garb no longer have resonance. To gain significant attention outfits need to be bold with a healthy dose of daring. </p>
<p>Maria Sharapova may not have defended her US Open title in 2007, but she won the hearts and souls of her sponsors as her <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/usopen/2320143/Maria-Sharapovas-US-Open-win-taken-as-red.html">Nike dress encrusted with 600 Swarovski crystals</a>, inspired by the Manhattan skyline, was showcased by outlets across the world. </p>
<h2>Courting controversy</h2>
<p>Tennis has always been at the forefront of provocative fashion. As the sport rose in popularity in the 1800s women wore long white dresses, mimicking the fashions of the day. Bustles and petticoats were the norm on the courts. In Patricia Campbell Warner’s book When the girls came out to play: the birth of American sportwear, former player Violet Sutton reminisced about professional tennis in the early 1900s: </p>
<p>“It’s a wonder we could move at all. Do you want to know what we wore? A long undershirt, pair of drawers, two petticoats, white linen corset cover, duck shirt, shirtwaist, long white silk stockings and a floppy hat. We were soaking wet when we finished a match.”</p>
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<span class="caption">Tennis attire in the 1890s.</span>
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<p>All-white clothing was established as a rule in tennis fashion, born out of practicality and a direct response to being the best colour to avoid visual sweat marks. All-white attire became a symbol of the superiority of tennis as a society sport. </p>
<p>More recently, practicality has reigned over protocol. Skirts have been shortened, petticoats shed and lighter fabrics adopted. As each of these adaptations was embraced, they created a stir not unlike what we see today. In 1919, Suzanne Lenglen won Wimbledon in a knee-length dress with three-quarter sleeves and a bandeau. Women reportedly walked out, calling the display “shocking”. </p>
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<span class="caption">Lenglen’s knee-length skirt caused a scandal.</span>
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<p>Standard tennis controversies over women’s tennis fashion were turned on their head in 1985 when Anne White <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/galleries/then_and_now/white/white01_lg_01.jpg">wore a white unitard</a> to distract opponent Pam Shriver. The outfit covered White from neck to toe, but nonetheless left little to the imagination.</p>
<p>But in 2012, the icons of tennis style are Serena and Venus Williams, spearheaded by Serena in 2002 when she entered the courts for the US Open wearing an outfit described by journalist Lauren Murrow as a “shiny, skintight black bodysuit: the infamous ‘catsuit’.” Ten years later at the Australian Open, her fashion choices are <a href="http://media.smh.com.au/life-and-style/essentials/serenas-simple-style-for-2012-2888861.html">still making headlines</a>. </p>
<p>Traditional tennis whites are gone forever. Now we eagerly anticipate what Serena will wear next.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/4926/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Webster does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Serena Williams creates a stir in the crowd. There is a buzz in the stadium as she is expected to emerge from the rooms out to the net. The excitement is not related to her skill, talent or professionalism…Karen Webster, Associate Professor - Deputy Head of Fashion and Textiles, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/49322012-01-15T18:54:59Z2012-01-15T18:54:59ZAustralian Open: why the tennis works but the Grand Prix struggles<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6942/original/5nbrxvv9-1326593634.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Serena Williams practices ahead of this week's Australian Open.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Mast Irham</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The first real global contest for professional tennis each year is the Australian Open: the preceding international games in Brisbane, Hobart and Sydney are comparative warm up bouts. </p>
<p>Through the months of November, December and January Melbourne rings with the words “the Open” and as the Christmas decorations are pulled down the international sports news media spring up.</p>
<p>The news machine and social-media reach frenzy with announcements of the gladiatorial capacities of sporting warriors soon to face each other in the arenas of Melbourne Park. </p>
<p>They talk of athletic prowess, of the rivalry between star players, of the likely impact of a new coach, and of the hunger for the championship never won. They also tell of personal pains, mysteries, of niggling knee strains, of the possible effects of asthma, and of the need to withdraw for unknown reasons.</p>
<p>But not every event causes such hype among fans and media about the sport, its warriors and Melbourne.</p>
<h2>Tennis in pole position</h2>
<p>Take for example Melbourne’s Formula 1 Grand Prix, which has its own warriors, brings with it the same paraphernalia of gladiatorial ambition and upset and offers the same capacity to trouble or confirm the heroes of sport.</p>
<p>Yet far from the big love-in of the Australian Open, the Grand Prix’s four days in March is often noticeable for its writhing, vitriol and argumentative news footage. But why?</p>
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<span class="caption">The Grand Prix has glitz and glamour but struggles to form a genuine connection with Melbourne.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Gero Breloer</span></span>
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<p>The Australia Open has grown with the city. It has a home in the city. There are few people in the world that will remember the first game in 1905 (or its grass court roots). But the event remains grounded, physically and emotionally. The modern grounds are part of the Melbourne and Olympic Park development, a testament to Melbourne’s crowning glories – as host of the Olympics of 1956 and the Commonwealth Games of 2006, respectively. </p>
<p>Between these major great events, in 1985, the Victorian government decided to build a national home for tennis. Built in 1987 the Rod Laver Arena – the battle ground of many Australian Open finalists, was at its centre. It remains the centre of the Australian Open.</p>
<p>Following negotiations between the Formula 1 Grand Prix supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, and the then Victoria Premier, Jeff Kennett, the Grand Prix arrived in Melbourne in 1996. This followed ten years of residing in Adelaide. Like the Australian Open its presence in Melbourne parkland helps determine much of its attraction. </p>
<p>Albert Park has a history in which sport is certainly significant. However its impact on the natural and community resources have received far more vociferous complaints from the public than anything related to the Australian Open. It is these complaints and increasing comments on cost, noise and displacement that have been picked up by news media. </p>
<h2>Where does Formula One fit into the narrative?</h2>
<p>So why, in a city in which sport events are so key to its identity, has F1 Grand Prix been so difficult to adjust to? </p>
<p>Melbourne has a brand and it is a strong one. The brand is the result of a story that people understand. It has resonance. Sport is a core theme in that story. As part of that theme of the city story, the Australian Open resonates well. It is my belief, and there is much research to support me, that the liveability and attractiveness of any city rests within the story it tells. </p>
<p>The Australian Open and many of Melbourne’s other great sport events have a beginning (see above), a middle (often a physical legacy, such as a stadium) and an end (the event we experience each year). The Formula 1 Grand Prix story isn’t (yet) such a well constructed tale.</p>
<p>The F1 Grand Prix didn’t start here (some say it was forcibly removed from its Adelaide home). There isn’t a physical legacy to see (it is temporary, as are most of the structures it requires) and the end is still unsure. To be grounded it needs all the elements of a story. </p>
<h2>The final lap?</h2>
<p>The future of the F1 may be as short lived as the 2015 agreement that has been made by Bernie Ecclestone and the Victorian government. It could be shorter. Or a better story construction may be found and the event be better managed for arrival in the minds, memories and imaginations of the audience and residents. It could be a more resilient part of the Melbourne story. It could be a strong Melbourne brand element. </p>
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<span class="caption">Four time Australian Open champion Roger Federer takes questions from the media ahead of this year’s event.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/How Hwee Young</span></span>
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<p>Until then, all eyes will be on the skirmishes of the Australian Open – a true marketing success. Inside the grounds, the gastric, retail and entertainment experience offered to the public complements the tennis. It offers the right tipple for a mixture of taste preferences. </p>
<p>They match the main dish experience, the competitive sport itself. It’s a favourite, and it speaks of the exertion, the bravado and the passion that the populace understands. It’s like being back at home, right. My home, right. </p>
<p>It’s Melbourne.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/4932/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin Robertson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The first real global contest for professional tennis each year is the Australian Open: the preceding international games in Brisbane, Hobart and Sydney are comparative warm up bouts. Through the months…Martin Robertson, Lecturer in Event Management, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/49192012-01-12T19:32:48Z2012-01-12T19:32:48ZAustralian Open: returning a 200km/h serve is easy when you know how (but not really)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6896/original/nw5c7j2x-1326332697.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Last year's Australian Open women's runner-up Li Na in action at the Sydney International this week.</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s summer of tennis is a great opportunity to see the world’s best players up close, hitting hard and serving big. Many elite players hit first serves at over 200km/h with great precision and massive amounts of spin. </p>
<p>But a 200km/h serve gives an opponent just one third of a second to assess the ball’s flight and produce a well-timed return. So how do the professionals return a ball that most of us would never even see?</p>
<h2>Blink and you’ve missed it</h2>
<p>Understanding the battle between serve and return has been of interest to sports scientists for many years. Anticipatory skill research has focused on what information a receiver can use in advance of the serve being struck to determine its likely direction. </p>
<p>It shows skilled players use both situational probability – strategic information based on server preferences related to the score – and the biomechanical elements of the server’s technique to predict the likely service direction.</p>
<p>Skilled players are sensitive to tactical patterns in the game as awareness of specific event probabilities buys them additional time to prepare a response. </p>
<p>For instance, a recent experiment presented tennis players with video sequences of a simulated match where a server’s first serve in the first point of each game was manipulated so it was served to the same location. </p>
<p>Skilled players were able to pick up the occurrence of this event (cue) by the end of the first set. In contrast, lesser skilled players were unable to detect this pattern. Awareness of this information results in the skilled player being able to prepare their return before the ball has even been tossed.</p>
<h2>Biomechanical tactics </h2>
<p>The use of these tactical probabilities is reinforced in comments made by professional players. For example <a href="http://www.justingimelstob.com/">Justin Gimelstob</a> surmising how <a href="http://www.andyroddick.com/">Andy Roddick</a> defeated <a href="http://www.andymurray.com/">Andy Murray</a> in a past match: “In the past he was too dependent on his serve up the T on the Ad(vantage) side, yesterday he kept one of the best returners off balance by mixing up his spots which allowed him to use his favourite serve up the T on the Ad - when he needed it - for free points”.</p>
<p>In order to understand how the biomechanical elements of the server’s action may provide anticipatory information, scientists have employed a novel approach to control how much of the service action a receiver sees before being required to select their response. </p>
<h2>Seeing it before it happens</h2>
<p>For example, through the use of customised goggles that provide visual snapshots of a server’s action, the receiver may see the service action up to the point of racquet-ball contact but don’t see ball flight. Or even more challenging, the receiver’s vision is masked when the ball reaches the peak of the toss. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6895/original/fc42tbky-1326332352.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6895/original/fc42tbky-1326332352.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6895/original/fc42tbky-1326332352.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6895/original/fc42tbky-1326332352.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6895/original/fc42tbky-1326332352.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1032&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6895/original/fc42tbky-1326332352.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1032&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6895/original/fc42tbky-1326332352.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1032&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Leading players like Novak Djokovic can’t return the ball with his eyes closed - but comes very close.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Justin Smith</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The logic behind this approach is that if return of serve prediction can be maintained above guessing levels under these restricted viewing conditions the player must be cueing into useful information that can forecast the service outcome.</p>
<p>Research has consistently revealed that skilled players are able to accurately predict service direction some 300 milliseconds before the serve is actually struck! </p>
<p>This finding suggests that skilled players can interpret where the ball is going to be hit based on the mechanics of service action. For instance, the location or height of the ball toss and angle of the racquet as it’s thrown toward the ball seem to be most informative. </p>
<h2>Hiding the serve</h2>
<p>As these elements occur well before the ball flies off the racquet it provides the receiver more time to plan their return stroke. In contrast, lesser skilled players are reliant on ball flight information and consequently are left with little time to prepare an appropriate response. The net result in such instances is being “aced” or, at best, a rushed response.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6898/original/q2wzrxch-1326333251.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6898/original/q2wzrxch-1326333251.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=722&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6898/original/q2wzrxch-1326333251.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=722&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6898/original/q2wzrxch-1326333251.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=722&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6898/original/q2wzrxch-1326333251.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=907&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6898/original/q2wzrxch-1326333251.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=907&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6898/original/q2wzrxch-1326333251.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=907&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pete Sampras learned to mask his serve by choosing where to hit the ball once it had been tossed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Srdjan Suki</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Not surprisingly, the best servers in professional tennis are those that stay one step ahead of their opponents by disguising these cues. Famously Pete Sampras’ coach during training used to call what serve Pete had to hit as he tossed the ball. The result of such training was a consistent action that provided little anticipatory information to a receiver. </p>
<p>And so the challenge continues for receivers and researchers alike.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/4919/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Damian Farrow does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia’s summer of tennis is a great opportunity to see the world’s best players up close, hitting hard and serving big. Many elite players hit first serves at over 200km/h with great precision and…Damian Farrow, Professor of Sports Science, Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living (ISEAL), Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.