(Newswire.net — January 24, 2015) — Eugenie Bouchard is ranked 7th on ATP list, she just won her second match at Australia Open. The first thing sports commentator Ian Cohen ask her on the court right after match is if she would ‘twirl’ around for the crowd. The reason to do that; Bouchard’s eye catching fluorescent yellow panties.
At first, she was confused with the question so Cohen confirmed, “Yeah, a twirl, a pirouette…” Than she twirled followed by the loud cheering of male spectators in the audience.
Bouchard then covered her face to cower blushing cheeks and said Serena Williams is better dressed than she is.
Later on in the press conference, Bouchard said she didn’t mind the question, however social media was flooded with comments that Cohen’s sexist question was way out of the line.
“Personally, I’m not affined, now I think a… it was in the moment of saying and it was… it was funny… um… but yea I mean that’s… it’s just funny how it’s [comment] kind of taking a life of it’s own,” said 20-years-old tennis star.
Though she said the question was “very unexpected,” Bouchard admitted the question was funny.
“An old guy asking you to twirl. It was funny,” she said.
Many tennis fans and feminist took to social media to bash Cohen for what they called sexist remarks. Some asked whether a male tennis star would ever be asked to spin around for the crowd after a winning match.
“We need more people to stand up against sexism. No one is asking @rogerfederer to twirl. Don’t ask @geniebouchard!” Twitter user @marshaboyd said.
American tennis champion Serena Williams defended Bouchard and questioned Cohen’s motivation, FOX news reported. She said Cohen asked her the day before to do the twirl but she refused.
“I didn’t really want to twirl because … I don’t need all the extra attention,” Williams said. “I wouldn’t ask Rafa or Roger to twirl,” she added.
Two champions wouldn’t do it anyway, however Novak Djokovic probably wouldn’t mind. The tennis champion often entertains the audience. Ones, he did ‘Gangnam Style’ dance when asked after the match.
Bouchard beat French player Caroline Garcia 7-5, 6-0 to reach the fourth round at the Open Friday, Reuters reported.