Tennis

[laurenj]

No comments on the latest Naomi Osaka drama?

As usual, I feel like she's making a mountain out of a molehill and yet the media surrounding the incident seems inclined to take her side.

No, no one in the crowd should be heckling or shouting mean things, but one person yelling "you suck" should not be the catalyst for an entire unraveling. And asking to take the microphone in the middle of a match, middle of a set even, to "say what's on her heart" is possibly the most ridiculous request I've ever heard. The look on the supervisor's face when the umpire relayed what Osaka was asking for was priceless.

and then after the match, they break with the usual process to let her speak and she starts comparing it to what the Williams sisters went through at Indian Wells, which has absolutely zero bearing on anything that had occurred. Just like when she spun her anxiety about talking to the press as "press conferences are bad for players' mental health and I'm speaking out against that even though no one asked me to," I feel like this is her personal issue that she's trying to expand to something broader than it really was to cover for the fact that she is too fragile to handle anything less than effusive praise.

[Ginger]

The most ridiculous thing I read about it was from Deadspin, who would have us believe that tennis fans all comport themselves like they are at the opera unless there is a woman of color playing:

That’s not supposed to happen. Not because it’s Osaka, but because the “decorum” of a game like tennis doesn’t allow fan behavior in that manner. This isn’t football or basketball. Tennis is supposed to be sophisticated and elegant. Jeering from the stands is unacceptable. Yet, it was allowed to happen.

I seriously question whether that writer has ever attended a tennis match ever. That sounds like it was based on how people behave in the royal box at Wimbledon. A tennis match is a sporting event, and all the usual sporting event behavior takes place (including excessive alcohol consumption, cheering, chanting, yelling, jumping up and down, and yes, sometimes booing and jeering.) The entire stadium booing Serena Williams en-masse for an entire match, as well as her family, was definitely an extraordinary occurrence. But someone occasionally yelling "you suck!" certainly is not.

Naomi seems to be carrying a whole lot of burdens onto the court with her that are all hindering the basic task she is there to carry out, which is hitting the ball with a racket and scoring points. Naomi may think it's a good idea for everyone to watch the video of the Williams family being mistreated by the crowd. But why would she think it's a good idea for HER to watch that? How would she expect that to affect her, except to upset her and get in her head the way it did?

Thinking it would be a good idea for her to take the microphone in the middle of the match to have some kind of teachable moment discussion with the crowd about kindness, or mental health, or Serena Williams, or whatever else was on her mind at the moment shows her mind was not on the game.

It was an utterly bizarre request that would not be indulged for any athlete in any sport. And those members of the media who are acting like there is something unjust about the request being denied are showing that they think of her now more as an activist who is there to "lead conversations", rather than an athlete who is there to play the game. And I think a big part of her difficulties is that she thinks it too.

ETA: Victoria Azarenka also broke down in tears in the middle of her match, and recovered, but went on to lose. She has deleted her social media. Based on some vague remarks she made at her press conference, it's believed that she's upset about Belarus involvement in the war in Ukraine.

[laurenj]

Mar 16, 2022 19:42:13 GMT -4 Ginger said:

The most ridiculous thing I read about it was from Deadspin, who would have us believe that tennis fans all comport themselves like they are at the opera unless there is a woman of color playing:

That’s not supposed to happen. Not because it’s Osaka, but because the “decorum” of a game like tennis doesn’t allow fan behavior in that manner. This isn’t football or basketball. Tennis is supposed to be sophisticated and elegant. Jeering from the stands is unacceptable. Yet, it was allowed to happen.

I seriously question whether that writer has ever attended a tennis match ever. That sounds like it was based on how people behave in the royal box at Wimbledon. A tennis match is a sporting event, and all the usual sporting event behavior takes place (including excessive alcohol consumption, cheering, chanting, yelling, jumping up and down, and yes, sometimes booing and jeering.) The entire stadium booing Serena Williams en-masse for an entire match, as well as her family, was definitely an extraordinary occurrence. But someone occasionally yelling "you suck!" certainly is not.

I sure hope that Deadspin writer was watching the Nadal/Kyrgios match that just ended, now THAT was an unruly crowd. Strangely, Kyrgios did not ask the umpire for his microphone to speak what was on his heart...

Naomi seems to be carrying a whole lot of burdens onto the court with her that are all hindering the basic task she is there to carry out, which is hitting the ball with a racket and scoring points. Naomi may think it's a good idea for everyone to watch the video of the Williams family being mistreated by the crowd. But why would she think it's a good idea for HER to watch that? How would she expect that to affect her, except to upset her and get in her head the way it did?

Thinking it would be a good idea for her to take the microphone in the middle of the match to have some kind of teachable moment discussion with the crowd about kindness, or mental health, or Serena Williams, or whatever else was on her mind at the moment shows her mind was not on the game.

It was an utterly bizarre request that would not be indulged for any athlete in any sport. And those members of the media who are acting like there is something unjust about the request being denied are showing that they think of her now more as an activist who is there to "lead conversations", rather than an athlete who is there to play the game. And I think a big part of her difficulties is that she thinks it too.

I agree. The media treatment of her is so strange, like they're hoisting her onto this platform and forgiving every thing she does that isn't actually okay. Like, she had an opponent standing there waiting to play, who was up 3-0 and who had all the momentum, and her little stunt with the umpire kept her standing around. There's a shot clock and a time limit on changeovers that should be enforced, but somehow it's okay for Osaka to stall waiting for the supervisor and if she'd gotten her way, she would have interrupted play for even longer. It wasn't the time or place, yet she gets applauded for doing it.

[Ridha]

That sounds cringily self involved. I know of her only vaguely, from that Serena Williams match when SW’s behaviour was appalling, just appalling, on so many levels from cry-bullying, to playing ‘cards’, to just plain unsportspersonlike behaviour. And I felt sorry and liked Naomi there. But then the whole press conference issue the next year was just weird, and this sounds even weirder.

Anyone have a link to the part in the match where she asks for the mike?

[Ginger]

Aug 19, 2008 9:02:06 GMT -4 laurenj said:

agree. The media treatment of her is so strange, like they're hoisting her onto this platform and forgiving every thing she does that isn't actually okay. Like, she had an opponent standing there waiting to play, who was up 3-0 and who had all the momentum, and her little stunt with the umpire kept her standing around.

The tournament indulged her tremendously - from letting her stop play, to letting her commandeer the mic at the end of the match, to letting her skip the press conference again. They are being very accommodating towards her, which is undercutting her ability to blame her ongoing problems on them.

Naomi was upset because she was down two breaks and on her way to getting bageled about 10 minutes after she stepped foot on the court. She was already on the verge of tears when the heckler sent her off on a tangent. While Naomi slumped in her chair wallowing, her opponent was staying warmed up and keeping her footwork going, ready to jump right back into play and get the job done.

I can only assume that she came back from her break because of ancillary reasons, such as pressure from sponsors and managers, because when it comes to the game, she seems completely miserable and unmotivated. And the theatrics are going to continue as long as that remains the case.

[ahah]

I am waiting for a strong tennis commentator to make the point that a large part of being great at tennis is conquering the mental game. Singles is an independent sport where a large part of the challenge is managing a match completely on your own - and Osaka is clearly struggling with the mental part of the game. Mental health and an athlete being strong mentally are NOT the same thing. It's high time someone has the courage to say it out loud. My money is on Martina Navratilova being the one who can figure out how to say it with honesty and compassion.

[laurenj]

Mar 18, 2022 14:20:11 GMT -4 ahah said:

I am waiting for a strong tennis commentator to make the point that a large part of being great at tennis is conquering the mental game. Singles is an independent sport where a large part of the challenge is managing a match completely on your own - and Osaka is clearly struggling with the mental part of the game. Mental health and an athlete being strong mentally are NOT the same thing. It's high time someone has the courage to say it out loud. My money is on Martina Navratilova being the one who can figure out how to say it with honesty and compassion.

Navratilova has already weighed in on air:

Tennis icon Martina Navratilova, a Tennis Channel analyst, addressed the situation on-air, advocating for tournaments to remove fans who are disruptive and disrespectful.

“I would get rid of these fans,” Navratilova said. “I would point them out and I would get rid of them. But as a player you just somehow have to deal with it or don’t play forever or for now. Just take care of yourself first.”

Navratilova also said that it’s unfortunately part of the sport and that players cannot take that kind of behavior personally.

“I would just call them out,” the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion said. “The next time you get heckled say ‘Hey, say it to my face and let’s have a talk.’ It might be after the match, but I want to see you after the match. They are going to shut up, most likely they are not going to stand up and say that was me. So you just need to own it and get on the positive and get on the offensive in that situation and don’t take it personal, most of all.”

Basically same sentiment from Andy Murray

It was interesting to me to hear his full comments because there were multiple written news reports that had headlines like "Andy Murray rips Indian Wells crowd for heckling" and others that made it sound like he was blaming the crowd and not acknowledging that Osaka was oversensitive, but in his full remarks, it's clear that he did have an opinion on her collapse in the face of what was extremely mild heckling. This is where I'm finding the media response strange, they seem to be deliberately twisting stories to make it sound like everyone is having this "poor Naomi, of course she fell apart with that mean heckler..." reaction and they're really not.

That sounds cringily self involved. I know of her only vaguely, from that Serena Williams match when SW’s behaviour was appalling, just appalling, on so many levels from cry-bullying, to playing ‘cards’, to just plain unsportspersonlike behaviour. And I felt sorry and liked Naomi there. But then the whole press conference issue the next year was just weird, and this sounds even weirder.

Anyone have a link to the part in the match where she asks for the mike?

Here you go

And yes, I will always have sympathy for Osaka in that first US Open win, the crowd was absolutely terrible with the booing because they were backing Serena. But Osaka has the power now, she's now the big name, and she pulled some nonsense here against a lesser known player. You wouldn't see number 89 in the world going up to the umpire and asking for the microphone and they would never be allowed to speak to the crowd after losing.

[ahah]

Thanks for the clips! It seems odd to see Murray asking to make off the record comments in a press conference on camera - but I think he nailed it as far as being honest and compassionate goes. It seems the all know if they say any more, they will be blasted for victim blaming.

[Ridha]

Watching that clip has changed my mind on Andy Murray a lot too. I’ve not followed him in recent years but I do recall that he always came across as a sour puss and had a perma pissy “over it” vibe to me. I’m pleasantly surprised that he took the time to really engage with the question and the reporter and give an answer that he was clearly really thinking about.

Based on my earlier impressions (don’t know if they were off base, or if I just caught him in a snapshot of his personality when he was off, or if it was accurate but he’s changed) I would have thought he’d give pretty pat going through the motion answers and give an impression of being irritated by questions. It’s really nice that he gave no sign of talking down to the reporter but treated it as an interesting topic. It’s also brave that he somewhat stuck his head above the parapet; although I thought he walked a great line between some empathy and bluntness, I think it could have easily been twisted into an unsympathetic sound byte that he questioned her capability to play.

[ahah]

I don't think you're wrong about the sourpuss attitude that Murray had early in his career. But he has grown SO MUCH and has become one of my favorite players on tour based on his attitude and the things he says in interviews. The first time I really remembering noticing the change was a few years ago at Wimbledon when a reporter was framing a question about a US man being "the first American" at that stage in the tournament for several years, and he corrected the reporter quietly saying he was the first American MAN, and that Venus and Serena's accomplishments should not be ignored. Since that time, he's continued in many different ways really engaging with thoughtful answers, and challenging the premise of questions when necessary. I think that having to fight physically as much as he has to simply have the capacity to play has really helped him to mature and appreciate being there. He's become a great spokesperson for the game.