LOL I doubt that even registers on the Richter scale as far as getting in trouble this week is concerned - TF's BoiledEgg got cracked by Bally for a quip about her record on clay and Juan Ignacio Chela has probably managed to get into trouble with the whole of the WTA with a sometimes very unfair / sometimes very funny rant about what it takes to be a WTA player:

"Si @gidulko y @paolasuarezOK me lo permiten, me gustaria contarles los requisitos para ser una jugadora WTA
es clave generar 100 milimetros de lagrimas dia por medio #WTAplayer
Fundamental colgar algun peluche en el raquetero
Odiar a todas tus colegas
Nunca entrenar con otra WTAplayer
Darle la espalda a la cancha antes de sacar y acomodar la cuerda 20 segundos
Mantener el grito al impactar por encima de 1500 decibelios
A partir de 4tos de final entrar maquillada a la cancha
El promedio de tiempo de tus partidos no debe exceder los 29 minutos de juego
Cuando entra el coach a la cancha y te habla mirar para el otro lado
Que en alguna etapa de tu carrera te agarre un ataque de acne
Luego de cada punto apretar el puño bien fuerte como si exprimieras una naranja.
Al terminar el partido saludar como miss mundo"

Rough translation:

"If Gisela Dulko and Paola Suarez will allow me, I'd like to tell you about the the requirements for being a WTA player.
The key thing is to generate 100 mm of tears per day on average
You've got to hang a soft toy on your racket [not 100% certain about this one]
Hate all your fellow players
Never train with another WTA player
Turn your back to the court before serving and fiddle with your strings for 20 seconds
Maintain your shriek-on-contact level above 1500 decibels
From the QFs onwards, come on court with make-up on
The average length of your matches must not exceed 29 minutes
When your coach comes on court and talks to you, look the other way
You must have an acne attack at some stage in your career
[RTd] After each point, clench your fist hard as if you're squeezing an orange
At the end of the match, wave as if you're Miss World"

The acne quip seems particularly harsh & unnecessary but the one about the coach is spot on - so many times the players call their coaches on then look away with a face like thunder as if to say "what are you here for, I didn't ask you to come" [er, oh yes you did! ]

Thanks bartman and Stircrazy. I was in a hurry when I did that translation (hence the 'rough') so I hadn't looked anything up - doing a quick search for 'raquetero' it's pretty clear that they do use that to mean the bag in Latin America - I really should have thought of that possibility given how obvious it was that they don't hang things from their actual rackets!

The toy industry in the UK use 'plush' as a general term for soft toys - I had no idea what it meant when I first came across it, though given that it's so similar in French, Spanish and German, I probably should have had an inkling. Of course, being the industry standard term probably means it originated in the US or as an anglicised version of the German word Plüschtier.

Back to the tennis ...

I wonder if they have gone off for rain (either that or Oli is very bored during changeovers because he has just retweeted something ... and I think we can be pretty sure he doesn't have a PR company tweeting for him  - thank goodness!)

Edit: I see that got explained while I was writing - what a pity.

Marcus beat Viola

"Got the win 57 64 64. 2.5 hours on the dirt. Going to absolutely destroy Tesco now. Ooooook bye!"

steven wrote:

---

[...]

Fundamental colgar algun peluche en el raquetero
Rough translation:

You've got to hang a soft toy on your racket [not 100% certain about this one]
 

[...]

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I have to say that I loved Chela's rant, Steven.  Very perceptive!   I thought the bit about the 1,500 decibels was also spot on!   I just wish the bloody WTA would have the guts to do something about it!

Re the translation, I agree with bartman that it's not as rough as you make out.  I can't argue with your "soft toy" for peluche, but I think I'd've gone for "cuddly toy" to get closer to the tone of the, er, observation (IMHO, "soft toy" is a bit too stiff & correct!  ).  Since the Spanish for "racket" (presumably even in Latin America!) is raqueta & in spite of the fact that all the on-line dictionairies which have an entry for it suggest that raquetero means "racket-maker" or "-seller", neither fits the context.  It wouldn't make sense, either, for any of the girls to affix such a potential distraction to the actual tool of her trade (can't recall ever actually seeing one on a racket, either), so I think it has to be "tennis bag".