Tennis Random, Random (On Court)

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

I think this is a little harsh. Players have families and any forceful statement they make can be used against family members. Tennis never seems able to find the middle ground.

[Deuce]

So... discrimination is bad... but some forms of discrimination are good? Even necessary?
No.

Kostyuk is way, way out of line in calling for a ban of Russian and Belarusian players and saying that the presence of Russian players at Indian Wells "really hurts". Substitute any other nationality - or skin colour - in there, and she'd be suspended for saying that.
How is this different from Trump saying that Middle Eastern people should be banned from entering the U.S.? Or from chastising Chinese people, saying that they're responsible for COVID-19?
It's all asinine.
When you employ the approach of guilt by association, you are only revealing your own idiocy.

I understand that she and all Ukrainian people are upset and hurt by what's happening in Ukraine - and their anger and pain is extremely justified and understandable. But they need to direct their anger and pain at the proper sources - not just blanketly condemn all Russians simply because they're Russian. That's the definition of discrimination and prejudice.
Someone needs to educate her and tell her that Medvedev and Rublev and Sabalenka are not the ones dropping the bombs on her country.

As for Wimbledon... is the government (sports minister) saying that all Russians are guilty until they prove themselves innocent? It seems so.
If Medvedev has never openly supported Putin (has he?), then he shouldn't need to 'prove' anything.
As ti-amie mentioned above - coming out to vocally condemn the invasion could put them and/or their families at risk.
It would be an inappropriate demand from the British government.

[ponchi101]

Russia is not a democracy. Medvedev, or anybody, that openly speaks out against Putin is endangered.
Also, a case of guilty until proven innocent. Medvedev has to prove that he is not involved with Putin? How do you do that, with he possible exception that Putin says so, and then you have to wonder how much his word is worth.

Kostiuk is asking for something tangible. It is up to sane people in different governments to decide if it is sensible or not. I certainly would not miss Danill at Wimby (I don't miss those strokes ever) but this is a bad precedent. What happens if a Venezuelan athlete supports the Maduro regime? Or a Turkish player backs Erdogan?

[ptmcmahon]

Yes, this is way beyond just not letting them display their flag or show Russia as their country.

[dmforever]

What does "be linked to" even mean?

Kevin

[meganfernandez]

What does "be linked to" even mean?

Kevin

Usually business connections of some sort, or a personal rapport or friendship. Could mean family, but probably not in this case.

[dmforever]

What does "be linked to" even mean?

Kevin

Usually business connections of some sort, or a personal rapport or friendship. Could mean family, but probably not in this case.

It's a pretty loosey goosey term that might be very hard to prove.

Kevin

[meganfernandez]

What does "be linked to" even mean?

Kevin

Usually business connections of some sort, or a personal rapport or friendship. Could mean family, but probably not in this case.

It's a pretty loosey goosey term that might be very hard to prove.

Kevin

To the public, yes. It's possible the Wimbledon officials have something specific in mind. I wonder if they know of some connection - wouldn't surprise me given the exclusivity of the club and the Russian oligarchs in London. Not that I support this requirement at all, but I wonder if it's stemming from something specific.

[ti-amie]

Indian Wells: Fritz wins under the radar, but his girlfriend grabs attention
In front of a largely empty crowd, the American qualified for the Indian Wells semi-finals as he did last year, beating Miomir Kecmanovic (7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1) on Friday. His girlfriend, on the other hand, made the buzz via a video that went viral



RÉMI BOURRIÈRES

It may not seem like it, but this is a day of celebration for American men’s tennis, which has been moribund for far too many years. By reaching the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Open as he did last year in October – when the tournament was moved – Taylor Fritz, who defeated Miomir Kecmanovic (7-6(5), 3-6, 6-1) on Friday, became the first American to reach the semi-finals of Indian Wells since Andy Roddick in 2010 – a long time ago.

But it was a muted party. The lack of celebration could perhaps be put down to the absence of thrills in the match itself, but there was only a very small crowd in the stands to cheer on a man who is a native of California.



At 24 years old, Fritz should nevertheless garner hopes of an American resurgence. He seems to have reached a real milestone in his career in recent months; after his semi-final in Indian Wells last year (which he lost to Nikoloz Basilashvili), he has since reached the final in St Petersburg, the quarter-finals at the Rolex Paris Masters and the round of 16 at the Australian Open at the beginning of the year, a stage he had never before reached in a Grand Slam. These are performances that have allowed him to break through the wall of the top 20. With a tennis style that is both aggressive and loose, reminiscent in some respects of Mardy Fish, he may have the potential to go even higher.

Fritz has promised much since his youth – probably just as much as his rivals from the class of 1997, Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev, the latter whom he will meet in the semi-finals this Saturday. The 2015 world junior No 1, Fritz became the youngest American to reach a final on the circuit since 1990 (at the age of 18) the following year in Memphis. He won his first – and so far only – title at Eastbourne in 2019, becoming the youngest American to reach the top 25 since (again) Andy Roddick in 2004.

Since then, the son of former American player Kathy May (10th in the world in 1977) has suffered various physical problems, and has not quite fulfilled his potential – perhaps to the point where the American public is clearly no longer enthusiastic about him. Whether they are right or wrong about that, the future will tell.

In the meantime, the facts are there: his girlfriend, the American influencer Morgan Riddle, attracts far more views on her social media than there are spectators in the Indian Wells stadium. In fact, she might actually get more clicks than there are people in the whole country. She has gained a new level of fame through the videos she has taken to posting on TikTok in which she recounts her daily life as what she describes as a “tennis girlfriend”.



One of these videos, posted last month, has gone viral. In this video, the young woman with 226.8 million subscribers uses a very light-hearted tone to describe what the tennis world is like for her, and it’s everything one might imagine: private jets, luxury hotels, magnificent locations, and more. In short, a paradise for an influencer.

In the face of some outraged reactions from purists, Fritz unsurprisingly defended his partner.

“I don’t understand how anyone can get upset about it,” he said. “I’m the one that’s a professional tennis player, I’m the one that does this for a living. I 100 per cent agree with everything in that video.

“It got a ton of people looking at it. Regardless of the reaction people have had from it, I think everyone in the tennis community can agree that it’s good for tennis to kind of almost sell it in a different kind of way, one that she knew her audience would react to.”

Maybe Fritz has a point. But the best way to get people talking about him now is to win his semi-final against Andrey Rublev – and begin to fulfil his promise.

https://www.tennismajors.com/atp/indian ... 92976.html


I understand that there are whispers that both tours are looking to hire her to do their social medial. That's why I put this here.

[ponchi101]

Only thing I would say is: this will not get one single person interested in tennis. What it will get people interested is in BEING RICH. Which I gather is something that does not need any promotion.

[Deuce]

^ This is not a video to promote tennis.
This is a video to promote herself living the 'tennis lifestyle'.

It's much more self-promotion than it is informative or practical.
Heh - self-promotion on 'social media' for a change, huh?...

[meganfernandez]

Only thing I would say is: this will not get one single person interested in tennis. What it will get people interested is in BEING RICH. Which I gather is something that does not need any promotion.

Maybe not directly, in one big leap. Like someone sees this and signs up for lessons or watches Miami all of a sudden. But it raises a lot of awareness and puts the sport higher on a lot of radars. She has something like 300 million followers. It’s great exposure and probably will move some needles.

It’s definitely not directly promoting tennis … which is good for tennis. Not all promotion is on the nose. It gets attention, and it’s far more positive than negative. Here we are talking about it and we are way off the target demo for her or tennis (in terms of growing the sport - we are in). We aren’t talking about the USTA’s “Let’s Tennis!” campaign.

[mmmm8]

There's nothing she said that's detrimental about tennis (except maybe the idea that it's high-class and inaccessible, but that is akin to any elite sports). So, there can only be positives from it getting any attention.

[ti-amie]

^ This is not a video to promote tennis.
This is a video to promote herself living the 'tennis lifestyle'.

It's much more self-promotion than it is informative or practical.
Heh - self-promotion on 'social media' for a change, huh?...

The fact that both tours are even entertaining the thought of this woman running their social media shows how bereft of ideas and understanding of this kind of social media presence the people who run the sport are.