I've been amused by the images on television of ball boys holding umbrellas to provide shade for the players in the breaks between games at the French Open. It makes me think of the days of the Raj in India.
I went looking for a photograph of the scene rather than simply stealing the photograph involving Roger Federer that tennis aficionado wcs has provided in his excellent blog.
I found the above photograph of what looks like Rafael Nadal's younger brother shielding the tennis great at the US Open. Apparently the days of the Raj live on in New York too. The French ball boys hold their umbrellas with arms fully extended which must get very uncomfortable whereas to judge by this photograph the American ball boys get to snuggle up with the players.
Choices!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the plug! I took that Federer shot last year from our seats in Center Court. It was raining, so the light was dim.
ReplyDeleteI think the ballkids do a great job. They're fascinating to watch live.
In Madrid, they replaced the ballkids with lanky female models. It's not the same at all. At least not for me.
And for the record, no, I'm not a pedophile, just not an admirer of lanky female models. ;)
I am a fan of Roger. I love watching him play tennis. I actually just love watching him!
ReplyDeleteThe boy in this photo does look like a relative of Nadal's. It does seem a bit archaic that they don't have permanent shades. Even in Paris the sun can produce a fair bit of heat.