3 female tennis players who have called attention to difficulties women face playing through their periods pain ft. Eugenie Bouchard
A few WTA players have recently opened up about their struggle to play during their periods. The topic which is often considered taboo is being highlighted by such women athletes in an effort to spread awareness about the issue and prospectively make it easier for female players to compete while menstruating.
Over the years, the issue of women's periods has not been addressed as much as female players would have liked. With the 'all-white' dress code at Wimbledon, many such players were uncomfortable with taking to the court in white undergarments during the Championships. However, in 2023, Wimbledon announced a rule change, allowing women to wear different-colored undergarments while menstruating.
The decision was a relief to several WTA players with 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina sporting black shorts while competing in the first round of this year's grasscourt Major. The WTA players speaking up about the issue have thus caused a positive change amid the issue.
Here is a list of three such players who have spoken out about the problems that female athletes face while playing through period pain.
Three tennis players including Eugenie Bouchard who have spoken up about difficulties women athletes face
#1 Zheng Qinwen
Zheng Qinwen was competing at the French Open final in 2022, chasing her maiden Grand Slam title. However, despite a positive start to the match, the Chinese star lost her form midway through the final and ended up losing to Iga Swiatek.
Talking to the media after the match, Qinwen opened up about her period pain during the match and claimed that it was a 'girl thing'. The Chinese star remarked that she wished she was a man so she can compete at her best throughout the tournament.
“It's just girl things. The first day is always so tough and then I have to do sport and I always have so much pain in the first day. I couldn't go against my nature. I wish I can be a man so that I don't have to suffer from this. It's tough," Qinwen said.
#2 Eugenie Bouchard
Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard spoke about the challenges faced by female athletes during her appearance on the "Not Alone" podcast. The 30-year-old burst onto the tennis scene as a young star but has so far failed to live up to her high standards.
While talking during the podcast, Bouchard admitted that she faced severe period pain during her US Open run. The Canadian further claimed that she was lucky that she experienced menstrual pain on her practice day rather than a matchday because playing through the pain would have been difficult.
"I've definitely experienced period cramps, pain, and I remember having that the day before the US Open in New York. And I was like, thank god this is just a practice day today because if I had to play my match today, it would be really hard. That's just something that we have to deal with. We cannot control the schedule," Bouchard said.
#3 Eva Lys
Eva Lys took to Instagram to talk about the difficulties faced by women athletes while competing during their periods. She wrote in her Instagram story that people need to talk more about the conditions in which female athletes compete.
“We don't talk enough about women having to perform on the highest level while being on their period. Not easy sometimes,” Lys posted.
Lys is currently playing at the Budapest Grand Prix, a WTA 250 event played on clay courts.