Talk About Tennis 2.0

ti-amie wrote: ↑Fri Apr 14, 2023 12:14 am

I can't help but feel her money has maybe dried up and this is why she's trying to play again. I have nothing to back this up except a feeling.

I doubt very much that her money has dried up.
I figure she made much more money showing off her ass over the years than she made on the tennis court.

I think it's pathetic that someone like her is getting WildCards over much more deserving youngsters.
And Protected Ranking? Seriously? Her 'protected ranking' should honestly be about #237.

Owendonovan wrote: ↑Fri Apr 14, 2023 2:37 am ...

I can't help but feel her money has maybe dried up and this is why she's trying to play again. I have nothing to back this up except a feeling.

She is still signed for apparel and racquets, so her income must not be zero.
And it must be very, very hard for anybody to accept that you are washed up, in something that you have done all your life and in which you were very, very good (lousy players do not have a year like her 2014), at her young age.

Owendonovan wrote: ↑Fri Apr 14, 2023 2:37 am [
I can't help but feel her money has maybe dried up and this is why she's trying to play again. I have nothing to back this up except a feeling.

You are correct on this. Her money has never fully dried up, but there was a period there where she sort of transitioned away from tennis and tried to be just a regular social media influencer and it was very clear her profile is intrinsically tied to tennis and the offers weren't coming in the way she thought. Nike dropped her and she wasn't signed immediately by someone else, whether that was lack of interest or she thought the offers were too low, not sure. After not taking off, she started posting about tennis again and interest picked up somewhat. She signed with New Balance after that. But during that period away from tennis and to this day, her IG posts are surprisingly lacking in non-tennis sponsorships for someone who clearly thought she had that type of profile. You'd think every other thing she posts was something related to a brand she promotes, but that just isn't the case.

I think this might be her likability and not necessarily having done a ton of legwork to attract the right brands. Poor management is potentially behind this, she should be doing better given her number of followers (assuming those aren't smoke and mirrors). Domi is someone who has fewer followers than her, but is a much more successful and appealing social media influencer in her own country in particular, attracting brands before she retired and many after as well. Her profile is tied to tennis, but her transition was seamless. So Genie's plan wasn't bad or unheard of, but I'm not sure her fanbase actually likes her in the way that is necessary to be a successful influencer.

JazzNU wrote: ↑Thu Apr 06, 2023 6:36 pm

Fastbackss wrote: ↑Thu Apr 06, 2023 2:23 am I just listened to interview with Reilly Opelka (Shapiro) and he had some pointed comments on doubles. Needs to be blown up as is - had a suggestion of a format that for most tournaments is just 3 days.
Said it doesn't justify the costs and that go into it (for lesser tournaments like 250's) and that doesn't sell tickets.

Not saying I agree but it was interesting to hear his opinion (on many subjects, frankly). Was a good listen

This feels like a "be careful what you wish for" to me. Getting rid of doubles or greatly reducing it would reshape the sport in ways that singles players such as Opelka haven't fully thought about if I had to take a guess. Also, I don't think Reilly has ever lacked for financial support in any appreciable way, so he speaks from a privileged point of view on several fronts.

Speaking of Shapiro's podcast, he had another one where he interviews Brad Gilbert, who was taking questions from the crowd. Some expected amusing vignettes, but unexpected was it being "edited by Megan Fernandez ".

Is that our Megan branching out to even more tennis media???

Fastbackss wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 2:07 am

JazzNU wrote: ↑Thu Apr 06, 2023 6:36 pm

Fastbackss wrote: ↑Thu Apr 06, 2023 2:23 am I just listened to interview with Reilly Opelka (Shapiro) and he had some pointed comments on doubles. Needs to be blown up as is - had a suggestion of a format that for most tournaments is just 3 days.
Said it doesn't justify the costs and that go into it (for lesser tournaments like 250's) and that doesn't sell tickets.

Not saying I agree but it was interesting to hear his opinion (on many subjects, frankly). Was a good listen

This feels like a "be careful what you wish for" to me. Getting rid of doubles or greatly reducing it would reshape the sport in ways that singles players such as Opelka haven't fully thought about if I had to take a guess. Also, I don't think Reilly has ever lacked for financial support in any appreciable way, so he speaks from a privileged point of view on several fronts.

Speaking of Shapiro's podcast, he had another one where he interviews Brad Gilbert, who was taking questions from the crowd. Some expected amusing vignettes, but unexpected was it being "edited by Megan Fernandez ".

Is that our Megan branching out to even more tennis media???

Someone finally caught it! Thanks. Yeah, I started editing them in January. I'm a big fan of the podcast and casually acquainted with Craig through media, and he needed someone in a hurry and I'm freelancing. I'm not cutting much. It has been fun to get a sneak preview. There was one recently that he didn't want to "release" at the end because the person is too esteemed and it might have sounded disrespectful. I think it was John Lloyd. We skipped "you are released" at the end.

Way to go, Megan!

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 18, 2023 3:53 pm Way to go, Megan!

Thanks! I'm earning about $5 an hour, by the way. MAYBE. It just takes me way too long. I need to figure out what I'm doing wrong and work a lot faster. I think I am fussing over the edits too much and not just cutting out the ums and overtalk and the obviously boring answers. But I'm not doing it for the money.

Earlier today Genie Bouchard posted a tweet (now deleted) that said "There's something about playing dopers in Madrid"

This tweet is still up though.

The replacement tweet. Is this really better than the one that was deleted?

Well okay then. I didn't remember her match again Maria was in Madrid, just remembered she played her soon after she came back.

As for the tweet, I'm guessing her reps are trying to work on her likability and a quote tweet looks better than her original one to them. She's not bringing it up, she's just engaging in the conversation being had.

JazzNU wrote: ↑Thu Apr 27, 2023 8:35 pm Well okay then. I didn't remember her match again Maria was in Madrid, just remembered she played her soon after she came back.

As for the tweet, I'm guessing her reps are trying to work on her likability and a quote tweet looks better than her original one to them. She's not bringing it up, she's just engaging in the conversation being had.

I really don't know if his tweet garnered her response but it seems like it did. Based on responses I don't think she garnered any new fans.

It garnered so few fans it is no longer available.
Genie, just play. Let the racquet do the talking (or, in her case, the whispering).

ti-amie wrote: ↑Thu Apr 27, 2023 8:58 pm
I really don't know if his tweet garnered her response but it seems like it did. Based on responses I don't think she garnered any new fans.

An uphill battle for her every time. She's a known quantity at this point and most of us are largely uninterested in the overall product.

The guys at ESPN are reporting that, starting in 2025, there will be no more line judges at ANY ATP tournament. It will all be electronic.