TENNIS PLAYERS (Off-Court Shenanigans)

[JazzNU]

[ponchi101]

Please, Andrey, don't let your godson grow up to have his dad's forehand! Don't!!!!!!
(The kid won't lack teachers. Nice for them).

[3mlm]

Please, Andrey, don't let your godson grow up to have his dad's forehand! Don't!!!!!!
(The kid won't lack teachers. Nice for them).

I think that would be goddaughter, Daria.

[ponchi101]

Please, Andrey, don't let your godson grow up to have his dad's forehand! Don't!!!!!!
(The kid won't lack teachers. Nice for them).

I think that would be goddaughter, Daria.

Ah, I had heard he had a boy. Well, Daria, please don't get that FH either
Txs for the correction.

[ponchi101]

My GF just read me these IG posts. Paraphrase:
BVDZ posts: "This one really hurts".
Rune replies: "I know. Was there last week; about to go up 5-1 to win and then lost. Don't worry, good things will come, you're a hell of a guy".

This kid is almost as maddening as Nick. He pulls some dumb stuff on court, and then, off court, he is reasonable and likeable.
I guess being on a tennis court is a truly difficult thing. And I guess I will still give him some time.

[meganfernandez]

My GF just read me these IG posts. Paraphrase:
BVDZ posts: "This one really hurts".
Rune replies: "I know. Was there last week; about to go up 5-1 to win and then lost. Don't worry, good things will come, you're a hell of a guy".

This kid is almost as maddening as Nick. He pulls some dumb stuff on court, and then, off court, he is reasonable and likeable.
I guess being on a tennis court is a truly difficult thing. And I guess I will still give him some time.

I'm giving him some time, too. Glad you are. No one's perfect. I hope he is hearing the criticisms and working on his attitude on court. He's in a hell of a pressure-cooker for someone his age. Those were nice comments to Botic. I bet it hurt - four match points, served for it twice, and he hasn't yet won a title. Hopefully he'll play better the next time he is serving for a title.

[JazzNU]

My GF just read me these IG posts. Paraphrase:
BVDZ posts: "This one really hurts".
Rune replies: "I know. Was there last week; about to go up 5-1 to win and then lost. Don't worry, good things will come, you're a hell of a guy".

This kid is almost as maddening as Nick. He pulls some dumb stuff on court, and then, off court, he is reasonable and likeable.
I guess being on a tennis court is a truly difficult thing. And I guess I will still give him some time.

That's one line from him, I haven't seen him as someone who is considered reasonable and likable on off court like some of the others with bad reputations on court. Maybe in time that will be the case, but can you point to those who are dismissive of his on court behavior because he's a good guy off court? Who he's friends with off court? I can't.

And it's nice to think he's hearing criticism and taking it in and working on his attitude, but he's not at that point right now. He just finished going at fans directly on social media who were criticizing him.

[ti-amie]

[ponchi101]

My GF just read me these IG posts. Paraphrase:
BVDZ posts: "This one really hurts".
Rune replies: "I know. Was there last week; about to go up 5-1 to win and then lost. Don't worry, good things will come, you're a hell of a guy".

This kid is almost as maddening as Nick. He pulls some dumb stuff on court, and then, off court, he is reasonable and likeable.
I guess being on a tennis court is a truly difficult thing. And I guess I will still give him some time.

That's one line from him, I haven't seen him as someone who is considered reasonable and likable on off court like some of the others with bad reputations on court. Maybe in time that will be the case, but can you point to those who are dismissive of his on court behavior because he's a good guy off court? Who he's friends with off court? I can't.

And it's nice to think he's hearing criticism and taking it in and working on his attitude, but he's not at that point right now. He just finished going at fans directly on social media who were criticizing him.

Sure, but my point is that, like Nick or even Stefanos, he does the crappy stuff and then he does uncrappy things, and for a 19 yo, I will cut him some slack.
He is not (I think or hope) Marcelo Rios, a total idiot on and off court, or Mac when he was 21.
And no, I can't say if he has any friends on tour. Remember I am totally removed from SM.

[ti-amie]

The reason that there were so many questions about Burrage is because if Raducanu loses early Burrage will become the British #1.

16 questions, 58 words: Emma Raducanu shows the strain in bizarre press conference
The Briton has been handed a nightmare Madrid Open draw that leaves her facing a huge challenge to avoid dropping more ranking points

By
Simon Briggs,
TENNIS CORRESPONDENT, IN MADRID
25 April 2023 • 7:47pm

A drained-looking Emma Raducanu showed worrying signs of strain in Madrid, as she dead-batted all attempts to initiate the traditional pre-tournament interview.

Presented with 16 gentle questions – on subjects ranging from her chronic wrist trouble to the recent good form of her friend and compatriot Jodie Burrage – Raducanu offered a combined tally of just 58 words.

After a little less than three minutes, the attempted conversation grew so awkward that a media-liaison official from the Women’s Tennis Association was forced to step in, with a brisk “I think let’s just leave it there.”

Raducanu’s uncooperative mood was unexpected, as the one area where she has remained poised and confident since her triumphant drive to the 2021 US Open title has been in her dealings with the media.

Normally, she is bright, talkative and engaging during press conferences. At this very tournament 12 months ago, she entertained a group of reporters with an anecdote about her A-levels, before adding cheerfully that “Even when I’m losing, I find it a great challenge to pick myself back up.”

But Raducanu’s world-weary demeanour on Tuesday made one wonder whether her recent run of three straight defeats – stretching back to Indian Wells six weeks ago – has tested that resilience to breaking point.

This is an important tournament for her, as she stands to forfeit 110 of her 740 rankings points if she were to lose her first-round match. A fourth straight defeat would constitute the worst sequence of her professional career, while also sending her sliding just outside the world’s top 100.

A three-figure ranking could potentially impact on her sponsorship deals. Many players have ranking-linked clauses in their contracts, although it is unknown whether this applies to any of Raducanu’s eight endorsements.

Either way, she could do with a morale-boosting win when she faces world No 73 Viktoriya Tomova on Wednesday afternoon in the unusual high-altitude conditions of Madrid. Not that a deep run here seems plausible, given that the winner of that first-round match will go on to face the dominant world No 1 Iga Swiatek in their next outing.

It was Swiatek who began Raducanu’s mini form-slump – which has involved losses to three successive grand-slam champions – when she delivered a 6-3, 6-1 beating in the fourth round of Indian Wells. And Swiatek has only gathered strength since then, having celebrated the return to her favoured clay by lifting the Stuttgart title on Sunday.

Asked about her draw here, Raducanu replied listlessly “It is what it is.” She was equally unforthcoming about her chronic wrist trouble (“We’re managing it”) and Jelena Ostapenko’s performance in thrashing her 6-2, 6-1 in Stuttgart last week (“She played a great match.”)

In all, she averaged three-and-a-half words per question, with the longest answer coming to an enquiry about her three-set defeat at the hands of Bianca Andreescu in Miami a month ago. “Yeah it was a good trip in America, tough match,” said Raducanu. “But yeah, moving on.”

How effectively she is moving on remains to be seen, because this interview suggested someone who is beginning to feel trapped on the never-ending carousel of the professional tennis tour. Raducanu practised with Poland’s Magda Linette at Madrid’s Caja Magica on Tuesday morning, but there must be some question about whether she feels completely ready to compete.

In March, Raducanu said that she had deleted Instagram and WhatsApp from her phone in order to insulate herself from the negativity of social media. Even so, she may still be feeling the weight of criticism from those who expect her to play world-beating tennis every week.

The most frequent barbs tend to concern her sponsorship commitments, which continue to be highly visible. Only in the last week or so, she has appeared in the new British Airways safety video – where she was filmed stowing a passenger’s luggage in the rack – and in a Vodafone campaign that boasted “the world’s first 5G hologram coaching session” between Raducanu and a pair of young hopefuls.

Both these clips were broadcast to her 2.5m Instagram followers, presumably by a third party who is now handling her account. But while Raducanu the corporate icon keeps plugging away, the real-life 20-year-old behind the hoopla is beginning to look like a shadow of her former, carefree self.


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2023 ... drid-open/

[JazzNU]

I've never thought her endorsements were an issue. Thought they may have aided in the blind devotion of the British commentators talking about her like she was the second coming a bit and fueling their hopes, but they haven't seemed like a distraction. Maybe if she was off more it would seem that way, but really, she was playing in tournaments pretty regularly before this season's injury, she just wasn't winning a ton. The coaching thing seemed like a much bigger issue that was being dismissed pretty quickly by her team. And the history of the MTOs and retirements also seemed like an issue.

[ponchi101]

I've never thought her endorsements were an issue. Thought they may have aided in the blind devotion of the British commentators talking about her like she was the second coming a bit and fueling their hopes, but they haven't seemed like a distraction. Maybe if she was off more it would seem that way, but really, she was playing in tournaments pretty regularly before this season's injury, she just wasn't winning a ton. The coaching thing seemed like a much bigger issue that was being dismissed pretty quickly by her team. And the history of the MTOs and retirements also seemed like an issue.

Agree. It was expected that ANY British woman that would win a slam would be given all the endorsements in that country.
But she is not like, for example, Krejcikova. Sure, Barbora won RG and then dropped a bit with her results, but it was not this inability of winning any matches.
When she won the USO, I said that no female player had ever won a Slam as a teenager and never won another. But with the constant injuries and the lack of wins, maybe that possibility is becoming more plausible.

[JazzNU]

The reason that there were so many questions about Burrage is because if Raducanu loses early Burrage will become the British #1.

16 questions, 58 words: Emma Raducanu shows the strain in bizarre press conference
The Briton has been handed a nightmare Madrid Open draw that leaves her facing a huge challenge to avoid dropping more ranking points

She withdrew before the match began today.

[Owendonovan]

She might have to pull away from her family to save her tennis career.

[ti-amie]

She might have to pull away from her family to save her tennis career.

Does she want to have a tennis career?