Anyone for tennis? Well luckily for you Wimbeldon, the two week tennis-athon, is back on Monday with all the balls you can imagine! Before it all kicks off we caught up with Britain's number one tennis player, Heather Watson, to talk about her style on court, her BFFs on tour and why other sports need to catch up with tennis's treatment of female athletes...
*Grazia Daily: The WTA was such a trailblazer for feminism, but do you still think it has a way to go? *
*Heather: *I do. We have come a long, long way and the tour wouldn’t be possible without people like Billie Jean King. It’s amazing what they did for us, today, and we should never take it for granted. Women’s tennis is just going to keep getting bigger and more popular. I think that there are a lot of women tennis fans who love watching women’s tennis, its more exciting as its quite unpredictable.
***Grazia Daily: ****Tennis is the only sport where women and men get paid the same- do you look at other sports and think they need to change their approach to female athletes? *
Heather: I feel like in terms of news coverage we have a long way to go- there are far less articles written about women’s sport. That still needs to improve. As these other sports get more popular they should be given the right amount of space. I have actually seen a number of male tennis players here tonight and that wouldn’t usually happen so things are changing. I feel like male and tennis players are coming together more and working together.
***Grazia Daily: ****Who is your number one crush on tour? *
Heather: Roger Federer always gives me the butterflies. Even my dad told me he gets nervous around him.
***Grazia Daily: ****How does your style transpire onto court? *
Heather: I am now with New Balance with is super cool and its only going to get cooler. I am so excited for my fashion on court at the moment. I love fashion and I love combining it with my love of tennis. I am really not afraid to do anything, I have even dyed my hair crazy colours before and worn ridiculous dresses with feathers poking out. I love anything that is a bit different to be honest.
***Grazia Daily: ****How much do you collaborate with New Balance on what you wear on court? *
Heather: They have a great design team and I have been lucky enough to meet them all. One thing I love about working with New Balance is that they ask for my thoughts on what I want to wear and I have never had before. It makes for a unique collaboration.
***Grazia Daily: ****Would you ever design your own collection? *
Heather: I would love to design my own range- I already have so many ideas.
***Grazia Daily: ****Who are you go to girl pal on the women’s tour? *
Heather: I am very close with Madison Keys and Laura Robson. It’s quite hard for us to get time to go out all together but when we do its wild. We leave the court to one side and go out. We all got ready together tonight and when we can’t go out we have quiet dinners and just chat loads. We are individual sports players so we need that support network as our families can’t go everywhere with us.