TENNIS PLAYERS (Off-Court Shenanigans)

[dmforever]

I'm not sure where to post this, but maybe this is the right place. I know that the topic of how tennis players stack up to other professional athletes has been brought up before, but I thought I'd add this to it. I really like Noah Rubin, so I was following his match yesterday. He was the last match scheduled for the second (and last) round of qualies at Winston-Salem. He was up a set and serving at 6-5 and then lost it in three to Pouille. It would have been a really good win for him. But he lost. So then I noticed a couple of hours later that Murray-Kyrgios had been cancelled and Murray had beaten Rubin 0 and 2 or something like that, and Rubin had gotten in the draw as a lucky loser. So I guess he lost his last qualifying match, and either he was the last loser still on the grounds or the highest ranking one still there (his ranking is in the 300's so that seems a stretch, but maybe), and he had to just go right out and play another match. Of course, in a way this is a perk, but in a way, it's asking a pro athlete whose livelihood depends on his performance to compete when he's far from ready. And I get that he could have said no, and that even losing he made a little money and got a ranking point or three, but I don't think that takes away from the fundamental point that pro tennis players have to deal with a lot of challenges.

What other sport does that? I know this isn't common, but still, it underlies one aspect of a pro tennis player's life that other pro athletes never have to deal with. They never start an NBA game at 11 PM, or 11 AM for that matter. They don't play on different continents (with very few exceptions). Their travel is arranged for them. They almost always know what time they will play (with the exception of rain delays in baseball games).

I just thought I'd bring this up because I felt bad for Noah.

Kevin

[ti-amie]

I like Noah too and I was pretty upset that less than an hour after finishing his own match he was drafted to play Murray. I was also annoyed at some fans posting the 2 & 0 score without putting what happened in context.

I consoled myself by thinking that he made some money.

We had a discussion last night/today about when the tournament knew Kyrgios wasn't playing.

[JazzNU]

Ivana Jorovic, Kiki Mladenovic, Danka Kovinic, and Harriet Dart in Chicago

[JazzNU]

Emma Raducanu in Chicago

[3mlm]

There are 4 qualifiers and 4 lucky losers in the draw; Rubin was the 4th highest ranked player who lost in the final qualifying round. While ranked only 306, he was seeded #8 in the qualifying draw.

[Fastbackss]

I'm not sure where to post this, but maybe this is the right place. I know that the topic of how tennis players stack up to other professional athletes has been brought up before, but I thought I'd add this to it. I really like Noah Rubin, so I was following his match yesterday. He was the last match scheduled for the second (and last) round of qualies at Winston-Salem. He was up a set and serving at 6-5 and then lost it in three to Pouille. It would have been a really good win for him. But he lost. So then I noticed a couple of hours later that Murray-Kyrgios had been cancelled and Murray had beaten Rubin 0 and 2 or something like that, and Rubin had gotten in the draw as a lucky loser. So I guess he lost his last qualifying match, and either he was the last loser still on the grounds or the highest ranking one still there (his ranking is in the 300's so that seems a stretch, but maybe), and he had to just go right out and play another match. Of course, in a way this is a perk, but in a way, it's asking a pro athlete whose livelihood depends on his performance to compete when he's far from ready. And I get that he could have said no, and that even losing he made a little money and got a ranking point or three, but I don't think that takes away from the fundamental point that pro tennis players have to deal with a lot of challenges.

What other sport does that? I know this isn't common, but still, it underlies one aspect of a pro tennis player's life that other pro athletes never have to deal with. They never start an NBA game at 11 PM, or 11 AM for that matter. They don't play on different continents (with very few exceptions). Their travel is arranged for them. They almost always know what time they will play (with the exception of rain delays in baseball games).

I just thought I'd bring this up because I felt bad for Noah.

Kevin

The only two I can think of are both in sports that are not as physically demanding.

Golf - there are "alternates" to ensure a full field the players typically have to be on-site (John Daly won a major as the 7th alternate...and if I recall hadn't even gotten to play a practice round)

Auto racing - this is more on the regional and local level - but when there are more cars than openings in the final feature they will post "alternates." These drivers are (supposed) to be sitting in the car, ready, in case one of the A-main cars does not fire. This is usually soon after the letdown of knowing you didn't qualify

[dmforever]

I like Noah too and I was pretty upset that less than an hour after finishing his own match he was drafted to play Murray. I was also annoyed at some fans posting the 2 & 0 score without putting what happened in context.

I consoled myself by thinking that he made some money.

We had a discussion last night/today about when the tournament knew Kyrgios wasn't playing.

I thought about that too. Did they sit on that knowledge to keep a few fans from deciding not to come?

Kevin

[ponchi101]

I think it was even a but worse than that. They had the bad luck of drawing two of their most recognized names together in the first round. So, best use of that match was indeed to make it the marquee match of the night. But then Nick pulled out, so they were left with no real "main dish". And kept it under wraps. Nothing terrible but not the best for fans.

[meganfernandez]

I think it was even a but worse than that. They had the bad luck of drawing two of their most recognized names together in the first round. So, best use of that match was indeed to make it the marquee match of the night. But then Nick pulled out, so they were left with no real "main dish". And kept it under wraps. Nothing terrible but not the best for fans.

Guessing they kept it under wraps because they didn't want people to stay home... or maybe just as likely, didn't want to announce until they had a replacement player to announce along with it.

[Suliso]

Kasatkina and Kontaveit

[Deuce]

I think it was even a but worse than that. They had the bad luck of drawing two of their most recognized names together in the first round. So, best use of that match was indeed to make it the marquee match of the night. But then Nick pulled out, so they were left with no real "main dish". And kept it under wraps. Nothing terrible but not the best for fans.

Guessing they kept it under wraps because they didn't want people to stay home... or maybe just as likely, didn't want to announce until they had a replacement player to announce along with it.

And/or they wanted to sell whatever tickets remained for that court - and, with all due respect to Noah Rubin, 'Kyrgios vs. Murray' will obviously sell more tickets than 'Rubin vs. Murray'.

[ti-amie]

Some nice moody pics posted by Andrey Rublev on IG.

[ti-amie]

And he posted the hotel where he's staying.


TBH I'm shocked posting the link worked so well.

[JazzNU]

And he posted the hotel where he's staying.


TBH I'm shocked posting the link worked so well.

What do you mean?

Quite a few post their hotels. I'm not sure if it's naivete, faith in hotel security, or them not having to pay for the hotel if they give them some promotion.

[ti-amie]

And he posted the hotel where he's staying.


TBH I'm shocked posting the link worked so well.

What do you mean?

Quite a few post their hotels. I'm not sure if it's naivete, faith in hotel security, or them not having to pay for the hotel if they give them some promotion.

I am the worst when it comes to Instagram. I didn't think posting the link would do more than, well, show the link.