Don't Count Out the Ladies: Why I Finally Started Watching Women's Sports

"Women's cricket isn't really cricket."

I heard that line countless times growing up and eventually believed it. I never really thought about it too much, it was just something you would always hear. Sports generally belonged to men and if a woman's name came up at all it was usually the William sisters, Venus or Serena. As I got older, I realised how much I had actually been missing; Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce sprinting down the track, Billie Jean King dominating the court and Hayley Matthews, sending cricket balls out of stadiums. The women were always there; I just hadn't been looking. This year I made the extra effort to find myself in spaces that women occupy and I can't say that I regret it!

What made me choose women's sports?

If you had the opportunity to see Carlos Alcarez play tennis in person, wouldn't you take it? My first time watching a tennis match started out with excitement to watch one of the greatest players of my generation. But, by the time my husband and I went looking, the tickets were pretty much sold out. As a result, we booked the women's tennis match. 

There were a few key players that we were excited to see like Vicky Mboko and Alex Eala. Then suddenly, the news broke that Serena Williams would make her comeback at this tournament, playing doubles with Vicky Mboko. It was thrilling, even if in the end, we didn't get to see any of the players we’d hope to see.  What we did walk away with was a new favourite: Katie Boulter. (If you want the full story of my HSBC experience, read it here.)

Not long after, I heard that the Women's ICC T20 World Cup was coming up in London. I love cricket! It is one of my favourite sports. The energy around it in the Caribbean makes it infectious; and I hadn’t seen a World Cup match live since the 2007 ICC World Cup when it was held in the West Indies. (If you want to read more about the cricket in the Caribbean experience, read it here.)That alone was enough to seal the deal for me. Watching the women at both events push their bodies to that level, I found myself asking questions that I hadn’t before: why hadn’t I been to more matches like this? Why didn’t I already have a favourite women’s tennis or cricket player? Why had I counted out the ladies in the first place?

The Uncomfortable Answer…

We have been taught to ridicule ladies for the things that make them elite: a sprinter's abs, a tennis player's forearm, and a cricketer's broad shoulders. On a man, the raw power it takes to hit a ball out of a stadium is pure athleticism, and is celebrated without a second thought. On a woman, the same power gets called manly or unattractive - as if it weren't the product of years of discipline and hard work, the same as it is for him. 

Ted Lasso’s fourth season puts a mirror up to exactly this. It is framed around football, but it resonates just as loudly to tennis, cricket and many other sports. The gap in how women’s sports get watched, covered, and taken seriously. In the first few episodes of this season, the show explores how people do not regard the women's team as football players and how little support turned up when it mattered, even for their own inaugural game. 

That struck a chord closer to home as I remember when the West Indies women’s team once played a home series against Australia, and the matches were free to attend. For Nevisians like myself, you might have had to pay for the ferry over to St. Kitts, but the games themselves cost nothing. It was deliberate to draw the locals; however,  the stands stayed empty even though we had Jahzara Claxton, a player representing St. Kitts, out on the pitch. 

Picking up a Racket

I wouldn’t say I was ever discouraged from playing sports. But, I could always remember the smears aimed at women who were athletic. I recently took up tennis myself,  because my husband loves it. After playing for a few months, I realised that it has been one of the best things I’ve done for my body. My body feels lighter, more agile and healthier. I am not going to pretend that I am a high performance athlete, I am not even close. But, the bit that I do play, has me thinking about how in awe I am of the women I watched this year. 

Don't Count Out the Ladies

These women aren't training half as hard, playing half as hard, or caring half as much. The effort is identical. What's missing isn't on the field… it's in the stands.

So next time there's a women's match on, whatever the sport,  don't count out the ladies, you may be surprised.