THE TIME MARIA SHARAPOVA HAND-PICKED MODEL BALL BOYS FOR WTA FINALS MADRID
“I came here to see hot guys and have a good time,” said 19-year-old Sharapova in 2006, while one Spanish newspaper quipped, “This is equality.”
The year was 2006, and it was a different time back then.
The Da Vinci Code swept the box offices, and Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day” dominated the Billboard charts while The Fray figured out “How To Save A Life.” And in the tennis world, the hottest trend of all was, once again, model ball people.
At least, that was the case in Madrid, the tennis tours’ problematic and innovative fave. The ATP's tournament—back then, a men's only, indoor hard-court event held in October—had received a lot of criticism for unveiling a squad of female models serving as ball girls starting in the 2004 edition.
But when the announcement came that the season-ending WTA Finals was moving from Los Angeles to be held in Madrid for the first time, organizers pulled out all the stops in the name of “equality”.
A city-wide casting call was held for the first male model ball boys in all of professional tennis—and who better to lead the selection process than 19-year-old phenom, Maria Sharapova?
“I came here to see hot guys and have a good time,” Sharapova quipped in Madrid, looking out at a roomful of Hugo Boss-clad hopefuls.
Joined by Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and actress Natalia Verbeke, the trio formed a “ruthless, but very funny” selection committee, according to Spanish press. Sharapova put the men through their paces, testing their tennis knowledge too—or rather, their knowledge of her tennis career.
“Who is your favorite women’s tennis player?” Sharapova quizzed a young man named Israel during one standout exchange. Israel hesitated, pondered, and then finally blurted out, “Lindsay Davenport”.
As Spain’s ABC newspaper put it, “Sharapova’s stunned face looked like a caricature” and the packed room burst into laughter.
“A zero,” Sharapova replied, “You’ve just earned yourself a zero.”
Similar failing scores were awarded at Sharapova’s command for missteps like naming Kim Clijsters as a favorite, and not knowing who won Wimbledon in 2004. (Hint: it was Sharapova.)
But the choice to use male models as ball boys was just as controversial and hotly debated as when the men’s tournament used female models.
"That was unfair," said one conservative Spanish newspaper of using male models, before adding, "This is equality." Meanwhile, one headline in The Times lamented “Madrid strikes another blow in women’s quest for equality”.