Tennis Thread

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Behave,like the other member last night.....such blinkered and preconceived opinion isn't healthy and helps nothing.You are already looking for reason to be outraged when none exists.

If that was directed at me, I wasn’t being entirely serious, but seeing as though Piers Morgan went for her with both barrels after Wimbledon and has even tried to take credit for her “turning round her career”, there is already some substance to the theory.

How long was Murray Scottish every time he lost at Wimbledon? It’s how the press works.

 

[KS55]

Seems pretty straightforward, she's told everyone that she's got a massive anxiety problem around the expectations of her on a tennis court that's lead to her being depressed and the press conferences are the most direct form of that, where she has to sit and be grilled about everything that went wrong for half an hour whenever she loses a match.

Doing an interview for a magazine, or getting her picture taken, or embracing a hobby like her fashion line obviously isn't going to be an issue, it's nothing to do with tennis.

Yes, but two questions remain unanswered.
1 Why did she wait until after she had been refused permission to miss a press conference to raise the medical issue? Why raise it in public rather than in confidence with the committee?
2 What is the explanation for her sister posting a piece on her difficulties which did not mention medical issues and was subsequently deleted.?
I am not unsympathetic but there is a whiff of mendacity around the PR handlers, and they still want our money.

 

[Citizen of Legoland]

Yes, but two questions remain unanswered.
1 Why did she wait until after she had been refused permission to miss a press conference to raise the medical issue? Why raise it in public rather than in confidence with the committee?
2 What is the explanation for her sister posting a piece on her difficulties which did not mention medical issues and was subsequently deleted.?
I am not unsympathetic but there is a whiff of mendacity around the PR handlers, and they still want our money.

I suspect she is still learning about her mental state and so her (and her sister's) responses will be varied. I know oldies like me live with the mantra that you should just "get on with it", but modern sportspeople are in a whole new world now with the prize money, the media attention and obligations before you get to social media - and really, they're just kids.

Personally I hate those post match interviews in tennis and many other sports to be fair, it's not what I pay to watch.

 

[domalino]

Yes, but two questions remain unanswered.
1 Why did she wait until after she had been refused permission to miss a press conference to raise the medical issue? Why raise it in public rather than in confidence with the committee?
2 What is the explanation for her sister posting a piece on her difficulties which did not mention medical issues and was subsequently deleted.?
I am not unsympathetic but there is a whiff of mendacity around the PR handlers, and they still want our money.

I suspect she is still learning about her mental state and so her (and her sister's) responses will be varied. I know oldies like me live with the mantra that you should just "get on with it", but modern sportspeople are in a whole new world now with the prize money, the media attention and obligations before you get to social media - and really, they're just kids.

Personally I hate those post match interviews in tennis and many other sports to be fair, it's not what I pay to watch.

Is anyone really surprised she was hesitant to publicly bring up a mental health issue?

Of course if she could have, she'd have just ducked press conferences for a bit while she gets over her issues, but the baying mob wouldn't let her, so she was forced into disclosing a medical condition she should have been allowed to keep private.

Also @KS55 Osaka doesn't care about your money. She's already made more than she'll ever spend and she's shown she's willing to skip tournaments that would pay her 7 figure appearance fees on top of massive prize money until she gets over her mental health issues.

 

[oldius]

I find it strange, in this day and age, that still so many people find it hard to accept or allow someone to suggest that they have a mental health issue. Nobody would bat an eyelid if a player was physically injured but the moment that someone, especially one earning substantial sums, suggests that they need time out, they are castigated in the RW press and by a section of the populous.

We have to be more accepting, in my view. As an educator working with young people, the pressure on them is immense. There is no chance of escape, no freedom to be absent, and constant pressure to conform to the standards of the day that ebb and flow with the mood of the latest celebrity social media post.

Personally, if you need time out and you say that you are struggling a little, who am I to say that you are not?

 

[SWP's back]

Seems like we've found Murray's successor as national tennis icon.

I’m much rather, ermmm watch, Emily.

 

[SWP's back]

Is anyone really surprised she was hesitant to publicly bring up a mental health issue?

Of course if she could have, she'd have just ducked press conferences for a bit while she gets over her issues, but the baying mob wouldn't let her, so she was forced into disclosing a medical condition she should have been allowed to keep private.

Also @KS55 Osaka doesn't care about your money. She's already made more than she'll ever spend and she's shown she's willing to skip tournaments that would pay her 7 figure appearance fees on top of massive prize money until she gets over her mental health issues.

That’s awesome. And she can continue to not do press conferences and she can continue to not play and she can spend the money she’s earned through her natural talent and hard work and I’ll continue to care very little either way.

We must remember however that being worth 7 figures doesn’t really denote someone as being great people or even especially talented, look at Rio or Robbie Savage or @worsleyweb

 

[I'm With Stupid]

How long was Murray Scottish every time he lost at Wimbledon? It’s how the press works.

I always wonder whether that was actually a thing or whether it was just something that got repeated so often that it became accepted as true.

 

[domalino]

We must remember however that being worth 7 figures doesn’t really denote someone as being great people or even especially talented, look at Rio or Robbie Savage or @worsleyweb

And literally no one said that, so not sure why you've felt the need to set us right.

Also - going out of your way to tell everyone how much you don't care about something always sounds unconvincing.

 

[domalino]

I always wonder whether that was actually a thing or whether it was just something that got repeated so often that it became accepted as true.

I think it was disproven ages ago. I think it was a Frankie Boyle joke that people took as fact, a bit like the old John Lennon joke about Ringo not even being the best drummer in the Beatles from A Hard day's Night.

Andy Murray: British or Scottish? How do the press describe him?

The idea Andy Murray is British when he wins and Scottish when he loses is wrong, a linguistics study has found

www.theguardian.com