indiana wrote:

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Katie needs to find fitness and form again. As flamingowings indicates that's the main deal rather than the status of her PR.

Even without a PR, while maybe taking a bit longer, good enough she will climb well up the rankings again. At the moment though there is little evidence that being able to have used a PR regularly would in fact have had her back at a much higher ranking since she looks unlikely to win at higher levels. That's at best going to take time.

I really do hope that she can overcome her medical and physical issues, get in a productive fairly intense close season -- as has been said she does appear far too thin. May 2021 see her on a real comeback trail.

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 She also needs to overcome this tendency to get into 3 setters until the medical/physical issues are fully resolved and she is stronger. 

 

Regardless of it "not being her surface" this is nothing but a poor loss (in my opinion).

Yes, and coupled with that she has the misfortune (of her own doing) of having Jeremy Bates in her corner, day in, day out.

Bates is and was a very good player. But he's a singularly miserable, downbeat coach. It's all highly stressed.

Katie is a young, pretty woman who's had a fair bit of bad luck and, IMO, she could do with a younger, more upbeat, fun coach who would lighten the mood, let her lose without looking as though the world will end, and get back to enjoying playing. Katie's mother seems in the thralls of Jeremy too. I think a change would do her good.

I don't think you should keep someone just out of gratitude or because you feel you owe it to them.
She may feel that he's her best option to take her tennis to the top level, and I may be completely utterly wrong. But that's the only thing that she should be making her decision on.

Coup Droit wrote:

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I don't think you should keep someone just out of gratitude or because you feel you owe it to them.
She may feel that he's her best option to take her tennis to the top level, and I may be completely utterly wrong. But that's the only thing that she should be making her decision on.

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 She comes across in interviews as being a nice person but perhaps not someone with the ruthless streak necessary to get to the top.

-- Edited by dodrade on Wednesday 18th of November 2020 01:06:18 AM

-- Edited by dodrade on Wednesday 18th of November 2020 01:06:39 AM

Andy Parker wrote:

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Sad to see so many on here comment on Katie B's looks and whether she is pretty or not - I feel Katie B should be judged on her tennis - when she reached the top 100, the excitement was that she looked likely to become the next big thing in tennis terms, and while looking good always creates media attention, how Katie B looks should be irrelevant to her achievements in the past and to her comeback from injury now.

The idea that she is too skinny is contentious and although it may possibly be true to a a certain extent, there have been countless tall and slim tennis players who have done well over the years - Sharapova, Pironkova, Hantuchova and Capriati would be four obvious examples, and I think a glance at the top of the women's game shows a huge variety of shapes and body sizes, which is both good to see, but also confirms that many players do very well despite being less than perfect body shapes for tennis.

What would the ideal tennis height, size, shape and muscle definition look like I wonder - probably something like Martina Navratilova or Jana Novotna I would guess, but then Serena Williams wouldn't be anywhere near that shape, and she (along with Margaret Court) is the most successful player in the history of women's tennis, so maybe being the perfect height, shape and weight is over-rated in terms of winning tennis matches. Food for thought I think.

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 It's not about body shape, it's about her health. Her weight was never an issue so if people are noticing a drop in weight from an already slim frame then it's acceptable to discuss it. There are some pretty sad stories about female endurance runners destroying their careers and their health by being too thin. I don't think Katie is anywhere close to that but I do know from my sons own battle with his illness how important food is.  As for her looks, it's naive to think that they don't matter when seeking endorsements, particularly if a player isn't at the very top.  Looking at Emma Raducanu you know that if she does reach the heights people are hoping, she is going to absolutely coin it in with endorsements with no effort at all, the same could be said for the 3 blondes and Freya, lucky young women and good luck to them.

Yes, Andy, we all agree that "I feel Katie B should be judged on her tennis".
But, as Emmsie says, it is somewhat naive to think it's the case.
If you end up being the poster girl, the pressure it adds cannot be easy (as flamingowings says)
And, as to the health, well, of course there are some successful players who are pretty skinny. And, yes, there are many different body shapes. And, no, Katie doesn't seem unduly underweight.
But tennis is sport with biomechanics that use so much torque and with such an imbalance and asymmetry in the power generation, that it is a serious problem for many players. And with so much repetitive movement training, and during growing...
And it's not really an argument that just because we have a few skinny players, that it's fine. As someone who was heavily connected with youth tennis, I could quote you numerous young, tall, thin players who have had to drop out of tennis due to repeated injury, often back related. (Numerous others who've dropped out for other medical reasons too, of course, shoulders, ankles, and I've never seen stats on it so I'm not saying the 'tall, skinny, back problems' is the biggest category. But it's certainly up there).
This is no criticism at all of Katie (well, apart from a tiny one re Bates ). I had a little bet on her as a 16 year-old and have loved watching her play. And she works hard and has excellent facilities as her disposal. But the issues and concerns people have raised are valid.

Fran lost 3-6 6-7(3), so just doubles here now.