Yes, I certainly hope we continue to hear quite a bit one way or another from Naomi. To grow and become more marketable beyond current close followers there has to be more surrounding the WTA tour than 'just' the tennis, especially with a fairly anonymous to outsiders current WR 1.

As indicated I have seen nothing to change my mind that post match interviews and PCs ( though yes more delayed if players wish this ) should not be part of things.

PaulM wrote:

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I like the idea of looking at the rule that requires you to do press within 30mins of the match though. Extend that out to 90mins would help.

But whilst there are chunks of Naomi's statement I agree with and understand, I also take a pretty hard-line view that being a professional athlete is ultimately just a job. That means there are things in the job description you might not really want to do but are part of the deal for getting the paycheck. If you just want to play tennis go do it in your spare time and find another way to earn money. If you want it to be your career then accept that has add-ons.

 

You can set boundaries as a player, and she's powerful enough in the sport for them to be followed. And actually when you are being asked stupid questions I think the best thing is to call them out, not run away from them. I personally liked how Jo spoke to the press when they were asking her crappy questions about her mentality - she made them look like idiots. Other players have done similar in the past. And stopping doing press doesn't stop them writing about you!

 

And of course she's not shying away from the public eye at all, she's just saying she only wants to do media stuff in terms which are fully controlled by her and her team and don't force her to encounter anything contrary or challenging to her mindset and focus. Which I guess is fine, ultimately it's her brand that makes her the big dosh, and if there's a risk doing normal press allows something to be said or done that doesn't fit with the narrative she's cultivated for herself and she can afford the fines why bother.

She's still going to be an important, inspiring and advocating figure even if she doesn't do press after her second round match. But I think it is sad for the sport.

There's a whole other conversation I think about the way mental health is being trivialised as an issue to avoid things that you don't like, might upset you, or don't correlate with your existing world view. But not for here, not for now.

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 Excellent points, PaulM

HarryGem wrote:

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Andy Parker wrote:

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Sorry to see Harriet go out, but the positive is that she made the 3rd qualifying round on clay.

She must have a chance of going through as a Lucky Loser if any from the main draw pull out, as she will be one of the highest seeds to fall in the final qualifying round. If my memory serves me correctly, the 4 highest ranked losers in the final qualifying round go into a draw where one is selected, if there are any withdrawals, and if there are 2 withdrawals, then 2 of the 4 go through, and if 4 then all go through.

Anwyay I am pleased that even if it wasn't her day today, that she won 2 matches and got valuable ranking points and prize money.

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 If it is 4 then she's going to be out of luck as Govortsova 27 seed, Friedsam 7, Zvonereva 1 and Tomova 16 all lost today. If it is 5 then she would be in the hat and knowing her luck this year would probably be one of those chosen.

I agree re. the two good wins, some points and a bit of cash to go with them but there's no getting away form the fact that today was a big disappointment

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Disappointing from Harriet.

So Zvonareva lost? Just read a tweet from Jo Durie saying she was 6-2 5-1 up......ouch!!! 

PaulM wrote:

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I like the idea of looking at the rule that requires you to do press within 30mins of the match though. Extend that out to 90mins would help.

But whilst there are chunks of Naomi's statement I agree with and understand, I also take a pretty hard-line view that being a professional athlete is ultimately just a job. That means there are things in the job description you might not really want to do but are part of the deal for getting the paycheck. If you just want to play tennis go do it in your spare time and find another way to earn money. If you want it to be your career then accept that has add-ons.

 

You can set boundaries as a player, and she's powerful enough in the sport for them to be followed. And actually when you are being asked stupid questions I think the best thing is to call them out, not run away from them. I personally liked how Jo spoke to the press when they were asking her crappy questions about her mentality - she made them look like idiots. Other players have done similar in the past. And stopping doing press doesn't stop them writing about you!

 

And of course she's not shying away from the public eye at all, she's just saying she only wants to do media stuff in terms which are fully controlled by her and her team and don't force her to encounter anything contrary or challenging to her mindset and focus. Which I guess is fine, ultimately it's her brand that makes her the big dosh, and if there's a risk doing normal press allows something to be said or done that doesn't fit with the narrative she's cultivated for herself and she can afford the fines why bother.

She's still going to be an important, inspiring and advocating figure even if she doesn't do press after her second round match. But I think it is sad for the sport.

There's a whole other conversation I think about the way mental health is being trivialised as an issue to avoid things that you don't like, might upset you, or don't correlate with your existing world view. But not for here, not for now.

-- Edited by PaulM on Thursday 27th of May 2021 08:05:26 PM

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 100% this