Dear Gossips,

Serena. The Serena Slam. It happened. She’s 33 years old and it happened …again! Which, as you know, is an extraordinary achievement when you’re 20 and an even more extraordinary achievement at 30+ in an individual sport. But she’s an extraordinary athlete. The most extraordinary athlete.

I guess that’s why, just hours before winning her Wimbledon title, the New York Times published this gross article about Serena’s body? And how she “has large biceps and a mold-breaking muscular frame, which packs the power and athleticism that have dominated women’s tennis for years. Her rivals could try to emulate her physique, but most of them choose not to”.

The article goes on to quote other coaches and female players on tour about their decision to “look like a woman” which, basically, is implying that Serena doesn’t right?

I’m not going to bother addressing that kind of dumbassness because no one does it better than JK Rowling:

 

 

But attributing Serena’s success solely on her body is such f-cking bullsh-t and it undermines her brain. Her strategy. Her problem-solving skills in a match. That’s what saved her when she dropped a set to Heather Watson in the third round. And again when she dropped another set to Victoria Azarenka in the quarters. It’s mental agility and toughness – this is what makes a champion, and it has nothing to do with muscles or athleticism. The fact that Serena almost never gets credited for that part of her game is offensive and also telling. 21 singles titles later and they still have such a hard time admitting that she’s SMART.

Yours in gossip,

Lainey