Manatees? I must’ve missed this.
Who was fat? Martina Navratilova? Billie Jean King? Chris Evert?
There’s much more at work here than the attractiveness of the players. The US Open has offered equal prize money to men and women for 30 years now, since back when the women were “manatees.” I think the changing economics of sports and changing culture have an awful lot to do with this, not just looks.
I made fun of her a lot too, but Anna didn’t suck. She was often in the Top Ten in the world, and was one of the best doubles players.
Your assessment of Sampras’s playing is flat-out incorrect. He was a serve-and-volley player. He didn’t stand at the baseline, he came into net on almost every point.
Andre Agassi, on the other hand, DOES stand back and hit from the baseline all day - but he’s been the biggest star on the tour for his entire career. There’s more at work here than styles of play.