I think my issue with the sledging etc is that it was entirely performative, showing off to the other boys, rather than actually about supporting their own team. At one point, during a change of ends, Judy was having a chat with 2 female doubles players while Dan was literally screaming at the top of his voice right next to her at people across the court. Why is it that Dan, Liam and Andy get to decide what the tone of the event is, rather than say Jo, Eden and Beth? You sense Jo would hate it, so I dont blame her for not coming whatsoever!
That might well be the case. Remember back in 2017 in the Fed Cup tie in Rumania where Jo was reduced to tears by the abuse she got from a section of the crowd in her match with Cirstea. She was actually watching play one day last week(Wednesday or Thursday) a non playing day for her because the camera panned in her on and the commentator mentioned her name.
Indeed. And not that Jo's history should decide the tone either - here a not uncommon team tennis tone, at least outside the UK, that may hopefully benefit others.
I think my issue with the sledging etc is that it was entirely performative, showing off to the other boys, rather than actually about supporting their own team. At one point, during a change of ends, Judy was having a chat with 2 female doubles players while Dan was literally screaming at the top of his voice right next to her at people across the court. Why is it that Dan, Liam and Andy get to decide what the tone of the event is, rather than say Jo, Eden and Beth? You sense Jo would hate it, so I dont blame her for not coming whatsoever!
100% agree with jb288. I have spoken at length with one of the players who very much did not enjoy the atmosphere and said that her view was shared by the majority of her team. The lack of an unbiased referee was a huge mistake. I, for one, do not wish tennis to go the way of football.
Most of the players entered into the spirit of the event, thankfully so a competitive spirit. I wondered what people thought of the idea behind the teams and whether there is a better way to define or frame the team selection? Personally I didn't align with either team necessarily, I didn't pick a favourite as such, more I enjoyed the match ups and competition between the players, particularly Evo & Kedders. I thought about England v Celtic or North v South, something which would allow the players to belong to either or and deliver that partizan edge necessary for a friendly.
As a fan of American college tennis it is a big part of the team thing and many subs seem to be selected for their ability to just sit and grate on the opponents. It gets very annoying to me. It is almost always the men who act up and many act like juvenile idiots while the women do support their teammates and have a better sense of decency.