Talk About Tennis 2.0

Yes, but not inside the court.

Leylah is done for the season, a reliable source has told me. Not sure about Fed Cup coming up soon (I forgot to ask ).

No injury - just time to relax physically and mentally after a rather intense month and a half, both on and off the court, with all the attention, playing lots of matches (singles and doubles)...
She deserves to shut it down and just be a 19 year old kid for a while.

Deuce wrote: ↑Thu Oct 14, 2021 4:03 am Leylah is done for the season, a reliable source has told me. Not sure about Fed Cup coming up soon (I forgot to ask ).

No injury - just time to relax physically and mentally after a rather intense month and a half, both on and off the court, with all the attention, playing lots of matches (singles and doubles)...
She deserves to shut it down and just be a 19 year old kid for a while.

Good choice. She deserves it.

Never, ever do polls on Tennis Twitter. Some of these answers are hysterical and fall into the "who is my favorite" category.

Serve: Errani

It's kind of a frivolous question but in our world who is going to be the next woman ordained as the "face of the WTA". Will it be Paula Badosa, Emma Raducanu, or continue to be Naomi Osaka?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course but with our discussion in the other thread about Ons not being "marketable" the way other players have been. Should it be someone who has won a Slam, several WTA 1000's or is just a pretty face?

That will be decided by marketing people, I think. Raducanu has a better chance of dethroning Osaka because of wider geographical appeal. Badosa is more limited in this sense, but if she wins Slams and the other two fade it could happen.

Long detour.
Remember a few months ago, we were talking about young newcomers and we did have a bit of talk about Badosa. And then, poof!, she vanished. We talked about change of coach, new BF, too many changes, etc, but she was gone.
And today, she plays in her biggest final ever. if she wins, she will be "the new face of the WTA".
For about 5 days.
It will really be difficult to find that new, special player. It is not only Badosa that is unexpected at the IW final. The four semifinalists are nowhere near the top ten. The big players were gone early. And with players skipping tournaments left and right, both because of the pandemic and because of personal reasons, who knows who can take that title. Raducanu was/is perfect for that, and I still say that she has a very good career ahead of her simply because of the history of teenage Slam winners, but her first tournament as a big star did not go well.
All I can say with a straight face is what I have said for the last two three years: welcome to absolute parity. The days of Chris, Martina, Steffi and Serena are over. I will give Naomi still the upper hand because she already has four slams and when she plays, she is very good (on hard courts) but one "WTA FACE" is going to be hard to find.

ti-amie wrote: ↑Sun Oct 17, 2021 12:20 am It's kind of a frivolous question but in our world who is going to be the next woman ordained as the "face of the WTA". Will it be Paula Badosa, Emma Raducanu, or continue to be Naomi Osaka?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course but with our discussion in the other thread about Ons not being "marketable" the way other players have been. Should it be someone who has won a Slam, several WTA 1000's or is just a pretty face?

I'l do D, none of the above. But if forced to pick one listed, I'd stick with Naomi or go with Paula. I see Paula's geographical reach as much greater than Emma.

And I still strongly object to comments about Ons' looks and think most haven't bothered to see what she looks like off court. But I especially object to categorizing her with homely Henin. She doesn't have that good looking husband by accident.

Did you take into account that Raducanu might be able to cover Chinese market?

Suliso wrote: ↑Sun Oct 17, 2021 4:21 pm Did you take into account that Raducanu might be able to cover Chinese market?

She speaks Mandarin.

JazzNU wrote: ↑Sun Oct 17, 2021 4:05 pm

ti-amie wrote: ↑Sun Oct 17, 2021 12:20 am It's kind of a frivolous question but in our world who is going to be the next woman ordained as the "face of the WTA". Will it be Paula Badosa, Emma Raducanu, or continue to be Naomi Osaka?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder of course but with our discussion in the other thread about Ons not being "marketable" the way other players have been. Should it be someone who has won a Slam, several WTA 1000's or is just a pretty face?

I'l do D, none of the above. But if forced to pick one listed, I'd stick with Naomi or go with Paula. I see Paula's geographical reach as much greater than Emma.

And I still strongly object to comments about Ons' looks and think most haven't bothered to see what she looks like off court. But I especially object to categorizing her with homely Henin. She doesn't have that good looking husband by accident.

I agree about Ons. Just looked her up she is quite beautiful on her wedding day!

Suliso wrote: ↑Sun Oct 17, 2021 4:21 pm Did you take into account that Raducanu might be able to cover Chinese market?

skatingfan wrote: ↑Sun Oct 17, 2021 4:27 pm

Suliso wrote: ↑Sun Oct 17, 2021 4:21 pm Did you take into account that Raducanu might be able to cover Chinese market?

She speaks Mandarin.

Steve Simon is making noises about reviving the Asian (Chinese) swing.

Suliso wrote: ↑Sun Oct 17, 2021 4:21 pm Did you take into account that Raducanu might be able to cover Chinese market?

Yes. I like Paula's reach more.

And being able to cover the Chinese market isn't exactly the be all and end all in tennis. I personally wouldn't say Li Na was ever the face of the WTA, wouldn't even go so far as to say she was the Top 3. Can Emma potentially help the tennis interest in China increase? Let's hope so, but that's as far as I'd take that thread right now.

Also, American media is not gaga over Emma. That's a British thing, and maybe a Canadian thing. So if she's going to penetrate here, she'll need to do more than the one run.

As I have stated for a few months now, Paula has been getting a lot of attention, over and above what her results warrant, and her run at Indian Wells will help the media already quite favorable towards her to continue hyping her. So I'll stick with Paula if I'm choosing between her and Emma, and it's an easy choice to me.

Rankings of a different kind.

Career Prize Money Rankings as of 10/14/21 - WTA

http://wtafiles.wtatennis.com/pdf/ranki ... _Money.pdf