Week 20 - Italy F8 ($10,000) - Santa Margherita di Pula (Clay)

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

RE: Week 20 - Italy F8 ($10,000) - Santa Margherita di Pula (Clay)

RJA · Hall of fame

Yes, poor little Oli. The LTA are not only providing him everything he could ask for in his bid to become a top tennis pro but he also gets to travel the world, visiting some lovely places and staying in nice hotels without having to pay a penny for it. He really should reflect on how lucky he is rather than moaning that this week's pocket money isn't quite as much as he would like.

wolf · Tennis legend

I think some people need to get a life rather than abuse a player for a tweet that didn't abuse anyone and has absolutely nothing to do with anyone on here.

RJA · Hall of fame

wolf wrote:
I think some people need to get a life rather than abuse a player for a tweet that didn't abuse anyone and has absolutely nothing to do with anyone on here.

Nobody is abusing him. Merely pointing out that he has very little to complain about.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

wolf wrote:
I think some people need to get a life rather than abuse a player for a tweet that didn't abuse anyone and has absolutely nothing to do with anyone on here.

As I said, I was criticising his tweet, not him. And, I repeat, I know that it's easy for tweets or posts to come across in a different light than they were intended.

However, the tweet DOES have a lot to do with everyone on here because the money Oli is receiving (and it's not negligible, quite the reverse) is public money.

The LTA receives a large amount of money from Sport England (lottery and Exchequer funded), sales of Wimbledon rights, LTA licences etc. This is money that is coming directly from the pocket of the majority of the people on this forum.

As such, it's not surprising that people feel strongly that he should feel somewhat grateful (which I expect he does, in reality) and not kvetch and moan when he is so much better off than most other players.

Tennis36 · Masters Series Champion

have you thought that maybe he was just making the point in general, he may not of been complaining, just saying it how it is...

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Tennis36 wrote:
have you thought that maybe he was just making the point in general, he may not of been complaining, just saying it how it is...

Yep, fair point.

thefollower · Improver

anything he gets given he does not ask for! i am sure he is more than grateful for what he recieves. I dont know if anyone has noticed but he is also down to play a futures in madrid in a few weeks time which suggests he isnt going to play on the grass. which means that unless he has had a fall out with the lta, he is choosing to make it more on his own rather than take the wcs that he feels he doesnt deserve, but would surely recieve. the money at futures level is terrible, and he never once has come across ungrateful to the people who fund him! there have been players who have not put in the hard yards in the past but he doesnt strike me as someone like this! he may not have a perfect atitude on court but he has never got in any trouble off the court!

steven · Tennis legend

Yes, I took it that he was backing up the general comments about Futures prize money being derisory rather than just moaning on his own behalf.

He does have a tendency to open his rather large gob (or at least to fire up his tweeting fingers) without fully engaging his brain and working out how his comments might be taken by people, but most of the time (not all, obviously), I rather like that about him, even if it might not be in his own best interests sometimes.

RJA · Hall of fame

thefollower wrote:
anything he gets given he does not ask for! i am sure he is more than grateful for what he recieves. I dont know if anyone has noticed but he is also down to play a futures in madrid in a few weeks time which suggests he isnt going to play on the grass. which means that unless he has had a fall out with the lta, he is choosing to make it more on his own rather than take the wcs that he feels he doesnt deserve, but would surely recieve. the money at futures level is terrible, and he never once has come across ungrateful to the people who fund him! there have been players who have not put in the hard yards in the past but he doesnt strike me as someone like this! he may not have a perfect atitude on court but he has never got in any trouble off the court!

I mostly agree. I have nothing against Oli, far from it, he seems like a nice lad and I am sure that he is grateful for the support he receives. His tweet however did him no credit and if he was trying to raise a wider point he made a very bad job of doing so.

As for his Spanish futures event. It takes place the week before the first grass court event. I am sure he will be over here and that he will get his fair share of wild cards.

thefollower · Improver

RJA wrote:
Yes, poor little Oli. The LTA are not only providing him everything he could ask for in his bid to become a top tennis pro but he also gets to travel the world, visiting some lovely places and staying in nice hotels without having to pay a penny for it. He really should reflect on how lucky he is rather than moaning that this week's pocket money isn't quite as much as he would like.

with respect RJA, this is no way to talk about a young guy who is sacrificing a lot. sure there are perks. and sure he gets things paid for when he travels but it is essentially his job and i dont think you would be too pleased if you got paid that much for a weeks work and then got spoken about like this for supporting an arguement that is very well known to be a big problem in tennis!

Priesty · Challenger level

I don't think Oli's background is excessively privileged - I remember reading in an article a few years ago that his mum, who was a single parent, had to slog away at her tennis coaching business for hours a day and 7 days a week to be able to afford to keep him on the Junior Circuit. She also had to rely on some of his acting income that she had saved, so I think he's probably well aware that money doesn't grow on trees.

Not sure I'd compare him to Kasiri either - as I recall he did very little in the seniors after reaching the junior Wimbledon final. At least Oli has a couple of futures to his name.

KK · Club Coach

I don't think he was particularly poor either. I read they had a house in Wimbledon with a tennis court in the garden. Perhaps they bought it before house prices in London shot up, but that would be worth several million now.

steven · Tennis legend

Jaggy1876 wrote:
Does Golding come from a well off background? By some of the things he tweets I'm guessing he does therefore money more on his mind than tennis. I have to say I feel there are a lot better and more deserving younger players of LTA backing. We all know the money is shocking at lower end of the game. Time to stop moaning and get winning otherwise don't bother.

Interesting logic ... I would have thought the opposite, i.e. that players who don't come from a well off background would (understandably) be more likely to worry about money.

indiana · Tennis legend

I think Steven possibly has it about right. Oli's tweet was a bit crass and unthinking, but like many folk I think he has a tendency to tweet without thinking how it will could come across, and I think it was indeed possibly meant more generally and a kind of off the cuff support re poor futures prize money.

If he was really seriously complaining personally, then folk have some point, but I think just as much as some players might benefit by thinking before tweeting, some forum members might think more before venting re tweets and consider more other interpretations.

In my view some folk here have a tendency to be far too judgemental and analytical re max 140 character tweets bashed out quite quickly such as previously trying to read all sorts of things to some guy saying he didn't want to spend a weekend in Edinburgh.