Tennis Thread

[Spunkygal]

10 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

Quite a few tennis players at this year's MET Gala - Naomi of course was a co-chair and Serena's attended before. Maria Sharapova and Venus were there as well.

But the youngsters got to attend as well - Emma, Leylah and FAA were all there.  They all looked so adorable. And Ms. Emma rocking Chanel.

Link to Images

The pic of FAA and his GF on his IG page is perfection! 

[blackwing]

20 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

Got distracted by the men's final and forgot to comment on this post. I definitely see signs of "hype negatively impacting a player" in Coco. I definitely think she's starting to feel the stress and pressure of all that hype and expectations. Especially the more tournaments where she doesn't make it deep into the tournament. 

And I do wonder about what impact the success of Emma and Leylah at this year's US Open will have on her. As in she may feel even more pressure to deliver on these huge expectations. Because you know some of the media may start going, "look at how these two unseeded teenagers showed up and just bulldozed through the tournament."

I've definitely believed for a long time that too much hype can be a killer for some of these athletes. Especially as the media landscape continues to change with social media being more and more prevalent. 

I read about Sloane Stephens saying she got death threats after she lost, and Shelby Rogers saying the same thing.  I have to wonder why any professional athlete would subject themselves to social media.  Do they really need the attention that much?  I don't understand why they just don't hire a PR person (especially the bigger names that can afford it) to monitor their social media and respond on their behalf.

I feel bad for Coco.  I hope these young players like her, Emma, and Leylah can stay grounded and not let the hype and fame get to them.  I know a lot of people hate Maria Sharapova, but she is one that found success at a young age.  She rose to great fame and fortune and had endorsements everywhere, ran the torch relay at the Olympics, but I don't think she ever let the pressure crack her.

The Williams sisters as well.  Superstars of the game, able to keep themselves grounded, manage to keep their careers going with incredible longevity yet also use their fame to open doors to their business ventures.  Great role models for today's young players.

I think of other young starlets who had some minor success and then were tapped as future megastars, like Anna Kournikova and Eugenie Bouchard, but they never got there on the court.

As for Naomi Osaka, she is an enigma to me.  Four time major champion yet she seems as fragile as a toothpick.  She quit the French Open because she couldn't handle a reporter's questions, skipped Wimbledon, lost spectacularly at the US Open, and immediately declared that she's going to take a break and doesn't know when she will be back.  She just got back from her own self-imposed break! 

Part of me sympathizes with her when she talks about the pressure and her mental health issues... but the other part of me thinks that she is a professional athlete, paid millions to do what 99.9% of us only dream about doing, and that she should find a way to forge through.  I mean, most of us face pressure at work and in life every single day, and we don't have the luxury of just quitting because our feelings got hurt.

I saw the photos of the tennis stars at the Met Gala, they all looked great.  Seems like this is what is really in Naomi's heart.

[BitterApple]

Emma and Leylah are gorgeous. Felix looked very dapper in his tux.

Serena's outfit was a choice...

I'm whatever on Naomi at this point. Her social anxiety appears to be very selective. 

[blackwing]

2 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

I'm whatever on Naomi at this point. Her social anxiety appears to be very selective. 

Yes... that is what I find odd, she says she gets very anxious when facing the media and that it's not good for her mental health.  Yet she has absolutely no issue with the spotlight of being a co-chair of the Met Gala, amping up her wardrobe, hair and makeup to an 11 like many others there, hanging out with famous actors models and musicians, and facing lots of cameras and media.  Strange.  If she doesn't want to be a tennis player because of "the pressure" then I would think she could just retire and do what she really wants to do.  I am getting tired of the constant coverage of her anxiety.

[Danny Franks]

15 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

Quite a few tennis players at this year's MET Gala - Naomi of course was a co-chair and Serena's attended before. Maria Sharapova and Venus were there as well.

But the youngsters got to attend as well - Emma, Leylah and FAA were all there.  They all looked so adorable. And Ms. Emma rocking Chanel.

Link to Images

Emma looks amazing, and I saw pics of Berrettini that were hilarious because he was so clearly uncomfortable and confused about everything around him at the Gala.

Sadly, losers online are using this already, trying to claim Raducanu will go the way of Bouchard and Kournikova and care more about the celeb lifestyle than about tennis.

[truthaboutluv]

4 hours ago, BitterApple said:

I'm whatever on Naomi at this point. Her social anxiety appears to be very selective. 

I like Naomi in general but I did worry about her eventually losing some of the goodwill and benefit of the doubt some have for her, especially after her most recent meltdown at the Open, and knowing that she'd be following it up by being co-chair at the MET Gala. 

The thing is, since this whole saga began at the French Open, I did feel like the real issue Naomi seems to have is that she doesn't like to deal with the tough media questions. In other words, it's fine when she's winning and everything's going great. But when it's not and the media will do their job of asking some tough questions, she balks at that. 

And that's not to say I don't believe that she is an introvert and probably does suffer from anxiety because I sensed that about Naomi as soon as she broke out. It's kind of obvious. And it makes sense for someone who suffers anxiety to become more anxious when being "confronted" if you will, for a lack of a better word. They often don't like uncomfortable and difficult conversations. 

The reality though is that tough media questions are a part of the sport. I know many loathe him, lol but I'm sure that post-match conference wasn't fun for Djokovic after the men's final. I remember watching Rafa's almost defeated face after losing that horrible match to Fognini at the Open where he was up 2 sets and a break in the third. When he was still struggling to get back his form. I'm sure both Djokovic and Rafa would have loved to just go be by themselves for a moment and not have to relive and talk about the match. But it's part of the sport and something everyone deals with.

Now as I said when the drama happened at the French, if Naomi wants to make a case for that rule of players having to do the immediate post-media stuff being changed in some ways (not sure how but it's worth a discussion) for the good of all the players, that's fine. Instead, the way she's gone about the last few months just makes it seem like her focus isn't on tennis but she doesn't want to deal with any weighty questions about that and her form not being what it was. 

 

1 hour ago, Danny Franks said:

Sadly, losers online are using this already, trying to claim Raducanu will go the way of Bouchard and Kournikova and care more about the celeb lifestyle than about tennis.

Well in the immediate post-finals match discussion, Chris Evert did go on about hoping she doesn't get caught up in all the "other stuff" and the focus stays on the tennis. The thing is, its an understandable concern based on what I noted in a previous comment - i.e. the current and constantly changing media landscape. 

With social media and the 24/hr media cycle and how fast hype can build around someone, it's easy to see how they can easily get sucked into that. And let's be honest and acknowledge the shallow - Emma's beautiful, which in business terms, means she's marketable. 

Assuming she has a sports agent, hell yeah they're going to push her "brand" as is their job to do. And not everyone is mentally tough enough to weather that like the Williams sisters and even Maria Sharapova did. So I understand the concern. 

At the end of the day, let's just hope she has the right people around her, the right team and she herself decides her tennis is the most important thing to her and it should be fine. 

Edited September 14, 2021 by truthaboutluv

[CountryGirl]

On 9/12/2021 at 12:39 PM, khyber said:

And that is why the crowd atmosphere at the Wimbledon final between Goran and Pat Rafter was the greatest of all time.  Just a lot of regular tennis fans got in to see the final.

One of my favorite matches of all time. Goran has always been one of my faves. 

[CountryGirl]

I had to go out of town over the weekend and my DVR refused to play back either match so I wasn’t able to watch the Emma/Leylah match until I found a re-airing (although a bit condensed for time) elsewhere last night. 

I was rooting just a tiny bit more for Leylah, but Emma outplayed her and I’m very happy she won. Congrats to both ladies, who were the epitome of poise and grace and just so fun to watch. Despite the scoreboard, that was an exciting match. I see great things in store for them both, with this tournament being only the beginning. 

As for the men’s match, I had to scrounge for highlights. I was eh on Med, but I’m a fan now. He just demolished Joker. Although I think it was about 90% Med and 10% Joker cracking under the pressure. I had to laugh at his crying into his towel. I’ll bet those were some salty tears. As were those that I’m sure the Brothers Mac and Chris Fouler (yes, misspelling intentional). 

LOL at the thought of Rafa and Fed texting back and forth. “Still at 20, eh?” 

I think not beating the men’s record of 20 GS is bothering Joker more than not getting the Calendar Slam. 

All in all, a very satisfying tournament. 

[Rickster]

10 hours ago, blackwing said:

I read about Sloane Stephens saying she got death threats after she lost, and Shelby Rogers saying the same thing.  I have to wonder why any professional athlete would subject themselves to social media.  Do they really need the attention that much?  I don't understand why they just don't hire a PR person (especially the bigger names that can afford it) to monitor their social media and respond on their behalf.

One thing I read in an interview with Rogers was that she said players (maybe just some of them) get “bonuses” related to their social media participation. I’m pretty ignorant of how endorsement deals work these days, but maybe it’s part of deals with sponsors? It could be a good chunk of income to someone like Rogers.

In a different sport, I read earlier this year the PGA had a pool of money to be allocated to golfers based on their social media participation helping to promote the sport. Maybe there’s something like this in tennis?

Edited September 15, 2021 by Rickster

[Crashcourse]

44 minutes ago, Rickster said:

One thing I read in an interview with Rogers was that she said players (maybe just some of them) get “bonuses” related to their social media participation. I’m pretty ignorant of how endorsement deals work these days, but maybe it’s part of deals with sponsors? It could be a good chunk of income to someone like Rogers.

I also read that about Rogers, and that's why she's on Instagram.

Or maybe it was Twitter, I forget.

[Danny Franks]

9 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

Well in the immediate post-finals match discussion, Chris Evert did go on about hoping she doesn't get caught up in all the "other stuff" and the focus stays on the tennis. The thing is, its an understandable concern based on what I noted in a previous comment - i.e. the current and constantly changing media landscape. 

With social media and the 24/hr media cycle and how fast hype can build around someone, it's easy to see how they can easily get sucked into that. And let's be honest and acknowledge the shallow - Emma's beautiful, which in business terms, means she's marketable. 

Assuming she has a sports agent, hell yeah they're going to push her "brand" as is their job to do. And not everyone is mentally tough enough to weather that like the Williams sisters and even Maria Sharapova did. So I understand the concern. 

At the end of the day, let's just hope she has the right people around her, the right team and she herself decides her tennis is the most important thing to her and it should be fine. 

It's not the honest concern that bothers me, but the two-faced, envious, 'oh man, I can't wait for this to all fall apart', gleeful, fake concern. And don't even get me started on the back and forth between people saying, 'see, immigrants are really valuable' and people saying, 'oh my god, how can you just see her as an immigrant? Why can't you focus on her success?'

Her life already changed quite a bit after Wimbledon - at least in the UK, where she was being invited to the Euro 2020 Final, to the British Grand Prix and doing shoots for Vogue - but her victory in the US Open obviously attaches a rocketship to her and there will be a lot of pressure, both sporting and marketing, that comes with that. The last few days will have been a whirlwind and she probably still hasn't come back down to earth (though by the sounds of it, when she goes home to her parents they'll make sure she does).

I think her team will have her best interests at heart and understand that there's plenty of time to make money and that she'll be able to get rich no matter what she does. I read that she's managed by the same agency who managed Sharapova and I think they did do a pretty good job with a very marketable tennis player.

I don't really know how this sort of stuff works, in the age of social media, but I'd have thought sponsored Instagram posts about Chanel or Nike or whatever, and maybe one or two 'brand ambassador' gigs should be enough for the time being. She doesn't need to be advertising a dozen different companies, no matter how many offers she gets.

It's going to be interesting to see how much tennis she plays through the rest of the year. There's been talk of a wildcard for Indian Wells, which is probably the next tournament she could realistically play in, after going home for a break, and there's the Transylvania Open that she might want to go to, given it's in her dad's home country.

Do you play as many tournaments as possible and risk losses that might be embarrassing while getting more tour experience, or do you keep your powder dry for the Australian Open?

[shok]

13 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

And let's be honest and acknowledge the shallow - Emma's beautiful, which in business terms, means she's marketable. 

Plus she speaks fluent Mandarin which is going to make her a huge star in the other half of the world that the English media doesn't reach. I worry about someone so young and inexperienced dealing with the pressure that this enormous publicity is going to bring her.

[blackwing]

17 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

I like Naomi in general but I did worry about her eventually losing some of the goodwill and benefit of the doubt some have for her, especially after her most recent meltdown at the Open, and knowing that she'd be following it up by being co-chair at the MET Gala. 

The thing is, since this whole saga began at the French Open, I did feel like the real issue Naomi seems to have is that she doesn't like to deal with the tough media questions. In other words, it's fine when she's winning and everything's going great. But when it's not and the media will do their job of asking some tough questions, she balks at that. 

And that's not to say I don't believe that she is an introvert and probably does suffer from anxiety because I sensed that about Naomi as soon as she broke out. It's kind of obvious. And it makes sense for someone who suffers anxiety to become more anxious when being "confronted" if you will, for a lack of a better word. They often don't like uncomfortable and difficult conversations. 

The reality though is that tough media questions are a part of the sport. I know many loathe him, lol but I'm sure that post-match conference wasn't fun for Djokovic after the men's final. I remember watching Rafa's almost defeated face after losing that horrible match to Fognini at the Open where he was up 2 sets and a break in the third. When he was still struggling to get back his form. I'm sure both Djokovic and Rafa would have loved to just go be by themselves for a moment and not have to relive and talk about the match. But it's part of the sport and something everyone deals with.

Now as I said when the drama happened at the French, if Naomi wants to make a case for that rule of players having to do the immediate post-media stuff being changed in some ways (not sure how but it's worth a discussion) for the good of all the players, that's fine. Instead, the way she's gone about the last few months just makes it seem like her focus isn't on tennis but she doesn't want to deal with any weighty questions about that and her form not being what it was. 

Yes, I think that is the crux of the issue.  Naomi can't handle criticism. She acts like the media are so intrusive and that this is suddenly a new issue for her.  But she has won four grand slam tournaments, and it's not like dealing with the media is something she has never done before.  She claims that she has felt this way for a long time, but there was never any discussion about "mental health" until the French Open and she just couldn't handle being asked about why she lost.

As you mentioned, dealing with media is part of the sport, and it's not just tennis, it's literally every single professional sport that is covered by media.  Media are always asking athletes tough questions when they or the team lost.  "What happened today?  What do you think you could have done differently?  Did they just play better than you, or were you off your game?"  Every athlete has had to answer these questions.  I'm not sure why Naomi thinks that she is exempt from this.  As you say, she is fine when she is winning and the press gives her adulation, but the minute they ask her tough questions she throws up her hands and says "you people are causing me anxiety.  Mental health!  Time out.  I'm leaving".  I don't understand why she seems to think that because she is a four time slam winner that she can be above this all and not have to talk to the media.

It seems to me that her love is really fashion, and perhaps she wants to be a designer one day.  But even in that industry, people will have opinions and she will face scrutiny there too.  The media could have opinions that her spring line is terrible, etc.  Unless she wants to take her money, retire somewhere and live out of the public eye, I think dealing with people is always going to be an aspect of her life.

[BlackberryJam]

Naomi likely pays a lot of money to her team, which should include a PR person. They should be guiding her a little better.

There is an important conversation to be had about mental health and professional sports. There is real value in pushing for some level of change in how press conferences are handled. And I admire a woman trying to take that on. 

At the same time, approaching it as mentioned above, which appears to be, "I'm fine with the press and attention, unless that press and attention is in anyway critical of me. Then it needs to stop and my mental health needs respected." Tennis, and all sports, are part of the entertainment business, and it is a business. People get criticized in business all the time. Not just athletes, but employees getting reviews, or just criticized by clients, supervisors and co-workers every single day. There are ways to do it respectfully. That's the conversation we need to be having. 

[CountryGirl]

On a lighter note, this has me laughing so hard:

[Crashcourse]

12 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

I think her team will have her best interests at heart and understand that there's plenty of time to make money and that she'll be able to get rich no matter what she does. I read that she's managed by the same agency who managed Sharapova and I think they did do a pretty good job with a very marketable tennis player.

I read that both of her parents are in "finance," and I guess that's how Emma became interested in studying finance and economics.  Although it's not clear what her parents' specific occupations are, I think that they'll be able to help her manage her money.  

[I Want My MBTV]

On 9/14/2021 at 2:55 PM, CountryGirl said:

One of my favorite matches of all time. Goran has always been one of my faves. 

same and while I understand people hate Novak I like that he brought Goran onto his team and I missed seeing Goran in the box.   He's another one from that time period that aged really well.  

[NUguy514]

Given that Ivanisevic loved the throw around the f-slur with impunity and given that Pat Rafter is one of my all-time favorites and one of the true gentlemen of the game, I will always be very, very, very sad the 2001 final went the way it did.

[Danny Franks]

4 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

Given that Ivanisevic loved the throw around the f-slur with impunity and given that Pat Rafter is one of my all-time favorites and one of the true gentlemen of the game, I will always be very, very, very sad the 2001 final went the way it did.

I loved Rafter, and was so gutted when he lost that final. He was such a fun player to watch, and I didn't really get into the whole Ivanisevic hype that year, I just wanted Rafter to have a run as the top player on the tour.

[khyber]

 Rafter sweated like a MFer and didn't continually leave the court to change into fresh clothes. 

[Humbugged]

On 9/14/2021 at 9:04 PM, truthaboutluv said:

I like Naomi in general but I did worry about her eventually losing some of the goodwill and benefit of the doubt some have for her, especially after her most recent meltdown at the Open, and knowing that she'd be following it up by being co-chair at the MET Gala. 

The thing is, since this whole saga began at the French Open, I did feel like the real issue Naomi seems to have is that she doesn't like to deal with the tough media questions. In other words, it's fine when she's winning and everything's going great. But when it's not and the media will do their job of asking some tough questions, she balks at that. 

And that's not to say I don't believe that she is an introvert and probably does suffer from anxiety because I sensed that about Naomi as soon as she broke out. It's kind of obvious. And it makes sense for someone who suffers anxiety to become more anxious when being "confronted" if you will, for a lack of a better word. They often don't like uncomfortable and difficult conversations. 

The reality though is that tough media questions are a part of the sport. I know many loathe him, lol but I'm sure that post-match conference wasn't fun for Djokovic after the men's final. I remember watching Rafa's almost defeated face after losing that horrible match to Fognini at the Open where he was up 2 sets and a break in the third. When he was still struggling to get back his form. I'm sure both Djokovic and Rafa would have loved to just go be by themselves for a moment and not have to relive and talk about the match. But it's part of the sport and something everyone deals with.

Now as I said when the drama happened at the French, if Naomi wants to make a case for that rule of players having to do the immediate post-media stuff being changed in some ways (not sure how but it's worth a discussion) for the good of all the players, that's fine. Instead, the way she's gone about the last few months just makes it seem like her focus isn't on tennis but she doesn't want to deal with any weighty questions about that and her form not being what it was. 

 

Well in the immediate post-finals match discussion, Chris Evert did go on about hoping she doesn't get caught up in all the "other stuff" and the focus stays on the tennis. The thing is, its an understandable concern based on what I noted in a previous comment - i.e. the current and constantly changing media landscape. 

With social media and the 24/hr media cycle and how fast hype can build around someone, it's easy to see how they can easily get sucked into that. And let's be honest and acknowledge the shallow - Emma's beautiful, which in business terms, means she's marketable. 

Assuming she has a sports agent, hell yeah they're going to push her "brand" as is their job to do. And not everyone is mentally tough enough to weather that like the Williams sisters and even Maria Sharapova did. So I understand the concern. 

At the end of the day, let's just hope she has the right people around her, the right team and she herself decides her tennis is the most important thing to her and it should be fine. 

Yes she has the same agent as Sharapova and Li Na (who thanked him for making her a ton of monney when she won the Australian)

On 9/15/2021 at 6:22 AM, Danny Franks said:

It's not the honest concern that bothers me, but the two-faced, envious, 'oh man, I can't wait for this to all fall apart', gleeful, fake concern. And don't even get me started on the back and forth between people saying, 'see, immigrants are really valuable' and people saying, 'oh my god, how can you just see her as an immigrant? Why can't you focus on her success?'

Her life already changed quite a bit after Wimbledon - at least in the UK, where she was being invited to the Euro 2020 Final, to the British Grand Prix and doing shoots for Vogue - but her victory in the US Open obviously attaches a rocketship to her and there will be a lot of pressure, both sporting and marketing, that comes with that. The last few days will have been a whirlwind and she probably still hasn't come back down to earth (though by the sounds of it, when she goes home to her parents they'll make sure she does).

I think her team will have her best interests at heart and understand that there's plenty of time to make money and that she'll be able to get rich no matter what she does. I read that she's managed by the same agency who managed Sharapova and I think they did do a pretty good job with a very marketable tennis player.

I don't really know how this sort of stuff works, in the age of social media, but I'd have thought sponsored Instagram posts about Chanel or Nike or whatever, and maybe one or two 'brand ambassador' gigs should be enough for the time being. She doesn't need to be advertising a dozen different companies, no matter how many offers she gets.

It's going to be interesting to see how much tennis she plays through the rest of the year. There's been talk of a wildcard for Indian Wells, which is probably the next tournament she could realistically play in, after going home for a break, and there's the Transylvania Open that she might want to go to, given it's in her dad's home country.

Do you play as many tournaments as possible and risk losses that might be embarrassing while getting more tour experience, or do you keep your powder dry for the Australian Open?

She currently on at a 1 year roll on deal with Nike/Wilson for $100,000 each (that will be going up no doubt ) ,somebody no doubt will be offering her a car deal though  as her dad was driving her about 

And she had to pull out of a lot of the 125/250 games as she now sat at 23, I doubt she will go back for IW  but I can see her doing the Transylvania Open so she can see her Grandma who she has not seen for nearly 2 years (and f the Mail and the Mirror for turning up at a 88 yr old door to look for quotes)

Edited September 20, 2021 by Humbugged

[Humbugged]

22 hours ago, Humbugged said:

Yes she has the same agent as Sharapova and Li Na (who thanked him for making her a ton of monney when she won the Australian)

She currently on at a 1 year roll on deal with Nike/Wilson for $100,000 each (that will be going up no doubt ) ,somebody no doubt will be offering her a car deal though  as her dad was driving her about 

And she had to pull out of a lot of the 125/250 games as she now sat at 23, I doubt she will go back for IW  but I can see her doing the Transylvania Open so she can see her Grandma who she has not seen for nearly 2 years (and f the Mail and the Mirror for turning up at a 88 yr old door to look for quotes)

Well she got herself a deal with Tiffany

 

 

[Danny Franks]

23 hours ago, Humbugged said:

Yes she has the same agent as Sharapova and Li Na (who thanked him for making her a ton of monney when she won the Australian)

She currently on at a 1 year roll on deal with Nike/Wilson for $100,000 each (that will be going up no doubt ) ,somebody no doubt will be offering her a car deal though  as her dad was driving her about 

And she had to pull out of a lot of the 125/250 games as she now sat at 23, I doubt she will go back for IW  but I can see her doing the Transylvania Open so she can see her Grandma who she has not seen for nearly 2 years (and f the Mail and the Mirror for turning up at a 88 yr old door to look for quotes)

She's a big petrolhead and McLaren have been praising her online, leading to people suggesting they make her a brand ambassador. I'm not entirely sure that giving an eighteen year old a £150,000 supercar is a good idea, no matter how much she might like it.

I don't think she'll play much more tennis this year. Surely not IW, because she'd have to be getting ready to fly out any time in the next week or so, and I think her focus is on coming to terms with how her world has changed and trying to keep her feet on the ground. Not only that, but I think she'd need a wildcard for IW and that doesn't really benefit her when she could just wait for tournaments she'll be seeded in.

1 hour ago, Humbugged said:

Well she got herself a deal with Tiffany

 

 

I mean, she looks great. I think people already speculated there was a Tiffany deal in the offing when she wore their jewellery after the final. That one's a no-brainer - upmarket jewellery brand based in New York wants gorgeous young sportswoman who made her name in New York to wear their stuff.

Also, perusing newsnow.co.uk, it's depressingly clear that the right wing tabloids are going to keep printing stories about her - how much money she can make, what friends and family have to say, who she might be dating - and will just be setting her up for a fall the next time she loses. The Daily Hate, of course, is already printing candid photos of her just trying to go about her daily business. They really are fucking awful.

[Humbugged]

9 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

She's a big petrolhead and McLaren have been praising her online, leading to people suggesting they make her a brand ambassador. I'm not entirely sure that giving an eighteen year old a £150,000 supercar is a good idea, no matter how much she might like it.

I don't think she'll play much more tennis this year. Surely not IW, because she'd have to be getting ready to fly out any time in the next week or so, and I think her focus is on coming to terms with how her world has changed and trying to keep her feet on the ground. Not only that, but I think she'd need a wildcard for IW and that doesn't really benefit her when she could just wait for tournaments she'll be seeded in.

I mean, she looks great. I think people already speculated there was a Tiffany deal in the offing when she wore their jewellery after the final. That one's a no-brainer - upmarket jewellery brand based in New York wants gorgeous young sportswoman who made her name in New York to wear their stuff.

Also, perusing newsnow.co.uk, it's depressingly clear that the right wing tabloids are going to keep printing stories about her - how much money she can make, what friends and family have to say, who she might be dating - and will just be setting her up for a fall the next time she loses. The Daily Hate, of course, is already printing candid photos of her just trying to go about her daily business. They really are fucking awful.

Her in a McLaren 720

She just got her license and she said she wanted a motorbike one to go with it

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_5gPVoAzS6/

[Danny Franks]

I shudder to think of how much the insurance would be on a McLaren 720 for a newly qualified teenager. Probably a good chunk of her US Open winnings.

I would also think her team will strongly encourage her to not get a motorcycle licence. All it would take is one careless driver or oblivious pedestrian or lapse in concentration to cause disaster.

[Humbugged]

2 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

I shudder to think of how much the insurance would be on a McLaren 720 for a newly qualified teenager. Probably a good chunk of her US Open winnings.

I would also think her team will strongly encourage her to not get a motorcycle licence. All it would take is one careless driver or oblivious pedestrian or lapse in concentration to cause disaster.

She drove motocross when she was younger (and karted) and then had to stop so she wants her license and getting a normal driving license is still a danger for the one careless driver,an oblivious pedestrian or a lapse in concentration which would still might cause disaster.Best to just stick to her dad driving everywhere until she is 30

Edited September 21, 2021 by Humbugged

[Danny Franks]

1 hour ago, Humbugged said:

She drove motocross when she was younger (and karted) and then had to stop so she wants her license and getting a normal driving license is still a danger for the one careless driver,an oblivious pedestrian or a lapse in concentration which would still might cause disaster.Best to just stick to her dad driving everywhere until she is 30

Riding a motorcycle on the road is far more dangerous than driving a car. If you crash a car, you have a big, metal protective box around you, complete with airbags. If you crash a motorcycle... well, there's a reason that doctors call them "donorcycles."

Edited September 21, 2021 by Danny Franks

[khyber]

Naomi is out of Indian Wells to the surprise of no one. 

[Humbugged]

On 9/22/2021 at 10:21 PM, khyber said:

Naomi is out of Indian Wells to the surprise of no one. 

So the BeeB is showing the 4 winners from 2 weeks ago at a homecoming parade on Friday . So Emma , Joe Salisbury with his two Doubles titles (Mens/Mixed) and Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett who won the Wheelchair Doubles . And London Zoo named a penguin after her    lol

And the LTA  have been releasing a whole bunch of stuff she has done for them over the years on Youtube

[truthaboutluv]

Simona Halep and Darren Cahill end coaching relationship. With this news coming right on the heels of her getting married, I wonder if that's a sign that Simona may not have many more professional playing years left in her. 

Edited September 24, 2021 by truthaboutluv

[theatremouse]

She and Darren done this dance a handful of times already though so I'm not sure that particular split means much regarding her career as a whole.

[Danny Franks]

Cahill might be getting a call from Emma Raducanu, who is on the lookout for a new coach after splitting with Andrew Richardson. 

The media, of course, are trying to milk drama out of this (especially the Mail, which is now obliquely criticising her for being ruthless and cruel) but apparently Richardson was only doing the job as a summer gig because he's the head tennis coach at a boarding school in the UK and coaches his young son, so was never going to be a full time tour coach.

[truthaboutluv]

5 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

The media, of course, are trying to milk drama out of this (especially the Mail, which is now obliquely criticising her for being ruthless and cruel)

Just British trash media doing what they do best. It's very telling that right after Emma won, when the commentators were analyzing the match and what's to come for her, Chris Evert, in saying that she hopes the focus remains on tennis and Emma keeps her joy for the sport, also added her concern for Emma over how vicious the British media is. Her exact words were vicious. Let's all hope Emma doesn't have the same mental struggles like Naomi because when things start to not go well on the court, they will come for her. 

But I did see many comments calling out some of the media's phrasing and pointing out as you did, that this was never meant to be a permanent situation. Because another facet of this crazy feat Emma pulled off is the fact that she only just turned Pro. It was only her second major tournament. So it's not surprising that she didn't yet have a full-time, permanent team. And now with her incredible rise, she is going to need someone full time that can give her their complete focus and attention. 

[BitterApple]

The media really sucks. All the clickbait headlines inferred the coach was no longer good enough for Emma now that she's playing at an elite level. I'm glad the situation has been clarified. 

[CouchTater]

Is anyone watching the Laver Cup?  Team Europe (so strong, I think 5 of their players are in the top 10?)  is cleaning the World Team's clock.  LOL.

Even without the Big 3 and Tier 2 2 (just made that up for Wawrinka and Murray 😝) the European team has really overmatched the World team.   

Edited September 26, 2021 by CouchTater

[Crashcourse]

13 hours ago, CouchTater said:

Is anyone watching the Laver Cup?  Team Europe (so strong, I think 5 of their players are in the top 10?)  is cleaning the World Team's clock.  LOL.

Even without the Big 3 and Tier 2 2 (just made that up for Wawrinka and Murray 😝) the European team has really overmatched the World team.   

I'm watching and I feel kinda guilty being an American and rooting for Team Europe. 😄

Kyrgios being on the World Team spoiled it for me.

[Crashcourse]

Aaaannnddd Team Europe just won! 😊

(And on a purely shallow note, Berretini is hot. 😍)

[Crashcourse]

And Bjorn's got nice hair!  

McEnroe could at least try to smile.  Damn.

[TVbitch]

I was enjoying watching Med awkwardly try to hug people. He's such a nerd. I didn't see the whole thing, what was the ONE point Team USA had?

[Just Here]

Indian Wells:  On the women's side, Kim Clijsters is back, with a wild card spot, while Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez, seeded 17th and 23rd, respectively, are in action for the first time since the U.S. Open final.  The seeded American players are Coco Gauff (15th), Jessica Pegula (19th), and Danielle Collins (22nd).

Clijsters played in last week's Chicago Fall Classic, losing in the singles round of 64.

Here is Tennis.com's write-up on the women's singles draw:

[Danny Franks]

If they both win their second round matches, Emma Raducanu will play her idol, Simona Halep, in the third round.

That will be a match worth watching, although Halep is far from her best at the moment, after her injury troubles.

[TVbitch]

I'm sure she will work on her tennis/celebrity balance, but Raducanu did not look prepared at all. 

Edited October 9, 2021 by TVbitch

[Medicine Crow]

So pissed off with TSN!!!  They ran women's & men's tennis on TWO channels UNTIL TODAY!!  Now the pikers are only broadcasting women's tennis on ONE channel.  Jerks!!!  Does anyone else have other channels to suggest (that I don't have to pay for)???

[Spunkygal]

8 minutes ago, Medicine Crow said:

So pissed off with TSN!!!  They ran women's & men's tennis on TWO channels UNTIL TODAY!!  Now the pikers are only broadcasting women's tennis on ONE channel.  Jerks!!!  Does anyone else have other channels to suggest (that I don't have to pay for)???

Do you have any of the Bally Sports channels? I’m getting matches on Bally’s Sports Southwest. It used to be Fox Sports Southwest until Bally’s bought them out or merged or something. 

[Medicine Crow]

3 minutes ago, Spunkygal said:

Do you have any of the Bally Sports channels? I’m getting matches on Bally’s Sports Southwest. It used to be Fox Sports Southwest until Bally’s bought them out or merged or something. 

No such luck, but thanks for the info!!!  It's Thanksgiving week-end here in Canada & usually the programming is sports-heavy, but not today.  Bummer!!!

[TVbitch]

Can you stream from a computer to the TV? You can watch pretty much any match online. 

[Spunkygal]

8 minutes ago, Medicine Crow said:

No such luck, but thanks for the info!!!  It's Thanksgiving week-end here in Canada & usually the programming is sports-heavy, but not today.  Bummer!!!

I’m sorry! But happy Thanksgiving! 

[truthaboutluv]

3 hours ago, TVbitch said:

I'm sure she will work on her tennis/celebrity balance, but Raducanu did not look prepared at all. 

I wouldn't say she seemed unprepared - just a bit flat and never really fully settled. She was misfiring all over the place and hitting some wild forehands. Hence the high number of errors. 

The comments on some official tennis IG accounts were predictable, with many tennis fans who are still salty asf that Emma won the title because, and I quote, "Leylah deserved it more because she beat three Top 10 seeds en route to the Finals" gloating over Emma's loss. 

There was much scoffing of Emma's being an obvious flash in the pan and "just another pretty face." Because oh yeah, another thing many seem salty asf about - all those endorsements and media attention. 

One wrote an entire long diatribe over how none of this was done when Iga won the French and it's only because "people think  Emma is prettier."

I was heartened to see some push back pointing out many key factors - one, The French Open is not often a media spectacle as The US Open tends to be, two, while Iga was unseeded, she was a Top 50 player when she won the French Open and had already been on the tour for a year or two, versus Emma's turning Pro this year. And the US Open literally being only her second major tournament ever. 

But I already suspected the Emma hate was coming from reading around online right before the women's final and after. So it's not at all surprising to see the knives sharpened and claws out by some.

Edited October 9, 2021 by truthaboutluv

[Medicine Crow]

2 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Can you stream from a computer to the TV? You can watch pretty much any match online. 

Sadly, no.  Thanks anyway.

[Danny Franks]

3 hours ago, TVbitch said:

I'm sure she will work on her tennis/celebrity balance, but Raducanu did not look prepared at all. 

This will be a learning experience for her but I think it was less the celebrity appearances (of which she really didn't make many, just a couple of Zoom interviews, a movie premier and an event with the doubles and wheelchair players who won at the open and a load of kids) and more the coaching upheaval and lack of practice.

I originally said I didn't think she'd go to India Wells, just because I thought the turnaround from the US Open then back home then back out to the US would be too short, without her having had time for everything to really sink in. 

I think she might also have to consider whether it's sometimes better to skip tournaments, as other players do.

1 hour ago, truthaboutluv said:

I wouldn't say she seemed unprepared - just a bit flat and never really fully settled. She was misfiring all over the place and hitting some wild forehands. Hence the high number of errors. 

One point I thought was worth mentioning is that apparently the India Wells courts are quite a bit slower than the US Open courts. That's something else she's going to have to get used to - different courts having different quirks and other players being more able to adapt to them, using their experience.

1 hour ago, truthaboutluv said:

The comments on some official tennis IG accounts were predictable, with many tennis fans who are still salty asf that Emma won the title because, and I quote, "Leylah deserved it more because she beat three Top 10 seeds en route to the Finals" gloating over Emma's loss. 

There was much scoffing of Emma's being an obvious flash in the pan and "just another pretty face." Because oh yeah, another thing many seem salty asf about - all those endorsements and media attention. 

One wrote an entire long diatribe over how none of this was done when Iga won the French and it's only because "people think  Emma is prettier."

I was heartened to see some push back pointing out many key factors - one, The French Open is not often a media spectacle as The US Open tends to be, two, while Iga was unseeded, she was a Top 50 player when she won the French Open and had already been on the tour for a year or two, versus Emma's turning Pro this year. And the US Open literally being only her second major tournament ever. 

But I already suspected the Emma hate was coming from reading around online right before the women's final and after. So it's not at all surprising to see the knives sharpened and claws out by some.

The glee on Twitter from some people (mostly rando nobodies) was rather depressing to see. But that's Twitter and people taking glee in the misfortunes of others as though they were personally invested is nothing new.

Emma Raducanu will be fine, it's just that she's a very inexperienced player without a settled coaching team and with barely any time on the tour. In a way, it might be better for her to get all this vitriol and backlash out of the way sooner rather than later. And this experience will make her even more determined to practice and improve.