[pov]

It seems to me that there are more players who are chubby, plump or in some way less than athletically-toned. I noticed that Oudin has joined those ranks.

Edit (I forget that this is TF a forum in which many deal witha anything but the specifics)So . .

- Built, muscular, even "thick" are different than chubby or fat.
- One can have reasonably high cardiovascular fitness and have a poor muscle/fat ratio.
- One can have toned legs and still be chubby.

My contention is that there are more chubby/plump players now than ever before. With today's rackets it takes less muscle to generate power.

[NashaMasha]

Oudin joined it long ago ...... Even Vika is becoming more and more Petra-like

[Melange]

maybe Vika and Cake couldnt keep up their big training binge. its not easy only drinking healthy coke. Woz also getting bigger.

[Ferg]

You simply wouldnt last these days on the tour if you werent incredibly fit. They arent chubby, they just have different body shapes. Not everyone can be skinny and naturally athletic.

[vesanto]

I always find it weird how tennis players that apparently are not so toned or slim can get some nice results. I mean, tennis is a quite physically demanding sport and I always gets impressed on how they can do it.

[Juju Nostalgique]

Mariaan de Swardt

[Beat]

Originally Posted by vesanto

I always find it weird how tennis players that apparently are not so toned or slim can get some nice results. I mean, tennis is a quite physically demanding sport and I always gets impressed on how they can do it.

looks can be deceiving. i'm absolutely sure that for example bartoli - who is often ridiculed on this board - is extremely fit and could outlast any of us.

[effedcamel]

while I don't agree with OP, to counteract his point - Sharapova has actually clearly toned-up and gotten skinnier since shoulder surgery

[beanbean]

anyone or just me thinks Petra's belly is very sexy？

[supermod]

Originally Posted by beanbean

anyone or just me thinks Petra's belly is very sexy？

No. I don't like her hunchback either.

[debopero]

Originally Posted by Beat

looks can be deceiving. i'm absolutely sure that for example bartoli - who is often ridiculed on this board - is extremely fit and could outlast any of us.

Yeah, I agree with this. Players like Bartoli and Kvitova may look out of shape, but they are actually quite fit. I mean, Bartoli plays a considerable amount of three set matches and I can't think of too many that she's lost due to fatigue.

[Shvedbarilescu]

Originally Posted by Beat

looks can be deceiving. i'm absolutely sure that for example bartoli - who is often ridiculed on this board - is extremely fit and could outlast any of us.

Absolutely.

Although I think even she might have hit a wall over the last couple of months. But then any of us on this board would have hit that wall at least two years ago with her work rate.

(Actually any of us on this board wouldn't have even been able to make it to the starting gates in terms of what Marion has done TBH.)

[Aravanecaravan]

A lot of people who watch these girls from the time they are teenagers through their 20's don't understand that women's bodies go through a great deal of change as they get older. No girl of 15-16 is going to keep the same shape as when she is 21-22, let alone 25 or 30. Human physiology doesn't work that way. Puberty hits, metabolism slows down. Even among women in general, some will have genetics that allow them to gain or lose weight easier, or carry it different places, making it easier or harder to lose. It's not the same for all women. You can't just come out with a blanket criticism like that and expect it to be valid.

On the other hand, it's probably true that as a general rule, society today is fatter or less lean today than ten, twenty, thirty years ago and that would likely include some athletes too.

But yeah, I imagine practically any of them could leave almost any of us saying "WTF!" late in the third set. If we had the game to make it that far against them.

[Excelscior]

Originally Posted by beanbean

anyone or just me thinks Petra's belly is very sexy?

The Petra belly thing is sooo overrated (besides being cute/sexy to many people such as you).

People who've seen Petra in person says, she doesn't have one. It's just the Camera that adds the extra pound relative to some of her ultra skinny contemporaries.

She also couldn't be part of "the fattening of the WTA", cause Petra has actually lost a lot of weight from several years ago, and has kept it off.

Lastly, not everyone has the same body type that plays the game. And some players are better athletes, have more stamina and/or more power than others, though they may not look the same or be as cut.

[Shvedbarilescu]

Originally Posted by debopero

Yeah, I agree with this. Players like Bartoli and Kvitova may look out of shape, but they are actually quite fit. I mean, Bartoli plays a considerable amount of three set matches and I can't think of too many that she's lost due to fatigue.

They're not too many, agree, but there are certainly a handful.