Tennis and the vacuum of personality

[Inanimate_object]

There's something about tennis that has suffered in this ultra PC age far more than most sports culture. This sport used to be played by individuals and their individuality, something that lasted even up to Roddick and Safin. But now it's all but gone. It's like the ATP has mandated all its players with the personality of Pete Sampras! Can't think of another sport besides golf that has such a boring line of players. Everyone's terrified of saying anything in press conferences, and end up saying nothing of value. Where is the attitude? The personal investment? I get the whole idea of valuing athletic achievement, but at some point, the sport has to give us people to root for beyond their game.

Djokovic was supposed to be THE guy, before he got good and had his personality stolen. HE was supposed to be the cheeky Serbian who ripped his shirt off and screamed after winning. The guy who said he didn't have to do anything special to beat the greatest claycourt player of all time and who alluded to sleeping with his girlfriend during a live on-court interview.

All we have now are a slew of athletically gifted players who are as interesting as drying paint. Have you ever heard one of Murray, Nishikori, Raonic, Dimitrov, Berdych, Ferrer, Federer or Nadal say anything truly noteworthy or impressive (lets put aside our fanboy hats, please)?

Kyrgios is my lone hope. Lets hope he brings something to the game even Nadal and Federer could not. Are there any players in the top 100 who aren't bores (excluding the whiny ones)?

 

[adil1972]

yes i miss seles and agassi, mc enore, connors, becker

 

[badkitty]

My guess is that it has to do with the top guys making more money from endorsements than actually winning tournaments. As soon as you get a ton of endorsement revenue, then you have to start watching what you say so that you don't offend anyone who might want to buy something from a company that you endorse.

Look at boxers. They make their coin from beating the heck out of someone, not by endorsing high end luxury cars or watches. So when they go into a press conference, there's no filtering whats on their minds.

 

[adil1972]

whats the minimum number of slams a player needs to win to be consider GOAT

 

[DerekNoleFam1]

There's something about tennis that has suffered in this ultra PC age far more than most sports culture. This sport used to be played by individuals and their individuality, something that lasted even up to Roddick and Safin. But now it's all but gone. It's like the ATP has mandated all its players with the personality of Pete Sampras! Can't think of another sport besides golf that has such a boring line of players. Everyone's terrified of saying anything in press conferences, and end up saying nothing of value. Where is the attitude? The personal investment? I get the whole idea of valuing athletic achievement, but at some point, the sport has to give us people to root for beyond their game.

Djokovic was supposed to be THE guy, before he got good and had his personality stolen. HE was supposed to be the cheeky Serbian who ripped his shirt off and screamed after winning. The guy who said he didn't have to do anything special to beat the greatest claycourt player of all time and who alluded to sleeping with his girlfriend during a live on-court interview.

All we have now are a slew of athletically gifted players who are as interesting as drying paint. Have you ever heard one of Murray, Nishikori, Raonic, Dimitrov, Berdych, Ferrer, Federer or Nadal say anything truly noteworthy or impressive (lets put aside our fanboy hats, please)?

Kyrgios is my lone hope. Lets hope he brings something to the game even Nadal and Federer could not. Are there any players in the top 100 who aren't bores (excluding the whiny ones)?

That interview was back in 2006, Nadal had only won one RG at that stage, and Novak was still quite young and raw and not yet PR trained.
But most post match interviews are not worth watching anymore, so most of the time I don't even watch them.
Guys like Monfils still have some semblance of a personality, but he is unusual. Former players like his compatriot Henri Leconte even more so.
If you want to watch tennis for entertainment then only exhibitions and the champions/ legends tour offers this.

 

[Inanimate_object]

That interview was back in 2006, Nadal had only won one RG at that stage, and Novak was still quite young and raw and not yet PR trained.
But most post match interviews are not worth watching anymore, so most of the time I don't even watch them.
Guys like Monfils still have some semblance of a personality, but he is unusual. Former players like his compatriot Henri Leconte even more so.
If you want to watch tennis for entertainment then only exhibitions and the champions/ legends tour offers this.

Regardless of how raw he was, that was the most interesting thing Djokovic has ever said. Why do I have to choose between tennis as a sport and tennis as entertainment? Seems to me like the players and the ATP need to put in more effort making a better union of the two.

 

[winstonlim8]

It's hard to demonstrate anything that might be construed as 'having a personality' when you know haters are going to jump all over you for it. Even a simple comment like, "I'd like to be a goat," has all the weirdos crawling out from under their rocks to vilify you.

 

[RF-18]

Tennis is the gentlemen sport.

 

[Inanimate_object]

Tennis is the gentlemen sport.

Elitist attitudes like that are why tennis is quickly sliding into obscurity. Doesn't matter how polite and Victorian your athletes, viewership is declining, thanks in no small part to the bores on tour, trapped in this ridiculous notion of a "gentlemen" sport. Please. Tennis is played by gentlemanly athletes, not athletic gentlemen. Personality doesn't trivialize or demean the sport in any way. Connors' historic run in 1991 is a seminal moment in this sport's history, and it was FAR from gentlemanly.

 

[DerekNoleFam1]

Regardless of how raw he was, that was the most interesting thing Djokovic has ever said. Why do I have to choose between tennis as a sport and tennis as entertainment? Seems to me like the players and the ATP need to put in more effort making a better union of the two.

Certainly not disagreeing with you there.
Novak got a young girl to sing at one of his post match US Open interviews last year as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN3MTUcXBdI

 

[smoledman]

Federer easily has the most personality on court.

 

[AngieB]

All we have now are a slew of athletically gifted players who are as interesting as drying paint. Have you ever heard one of Murray, Nishikori, Raonic, Dimitrov, Berdych, Ferrer, Federer or Nadal say anything truly noteworthy or impressive (lets put aside our fanboy hats, please)

They not only #homogenized the #surfaces, but the #players too! #Shocking.

#PTL #JC4Ever

AngieB​

 

[NaBUru38]

I seriously dislike badditude, so that's a plus for tennis.

But I do enjoy funny jokes, and the Djoker is less so than a few years ago.

 

[chjtennis]

I think we do have plenty of personalities in tennis now. Federer and Nadal are adored by millions around the world. In fact, Federer has been voted by people as the 2nd most trustworthy celebrity after Nelson Mandela a few years ago. That, to me, is a personality never existed in tennis history ever before. Of course, if you are talking about flashy and sometimes fiery characters, we still have the like of Monfils, Gulbis, Tsonga, etc.

 

[Goosehead]

yeah imagine if ferrer suddenly sprouted an interesting personality and stated "I want to be the goat"..

all the weirdo's would be crawling out from under their rocks to vilify him. :neutral: no dice daddio.

 

[Russeljones]

I think players show more of their personality as they get older. Federer is showing more, so are Murray, Serena and Sharapova.

The problem is the missing trailblazer maverick, like a Safin. Someone like that would plug the personality hole right quick.

 

[PMChambers]

Federer easily has the most personality on court.

Really!!! He's as interesting as Djokovic. Federer is generally the least charasmatic of the players. He generally states the "politically" correct and rarely shows emotion other than crying at the end of the match.

The problem with personality in Tennis is it's a sign of weakness and today's pro's have been trained to ignore it. They are trained to not react, think of each point at a time regardless of score. Don't react to opponent or outside influences. And today's players do it better than any in the past. Once a player starts reacting to crowd, score, opponent, etc he/she is stacking the deck against them, only the next point matters. Mac was a bit of an exception where he played angry better than most but he self destructed so many times. Connors used the US crowd as a weapon but it's technically against the rules and would be stomped down today. Lendl was considered to have little personality but the reality was it was Lendl vs World, he had a lot of personality just little backing. Today's players with few exemptions are trained to focus harder and usually go through a lot more semi-pro environment before making it to the pro level. A perfect player is one who players their best shot, one shot at a time which in reality is robotic and boring, it takes the situation out the game, it takes the opponent and crowd out the game. On top of that players are now trained how to be "politically" correct in the media to ensure they're salable and have less outside influences.

 

[Bobby Jr]

There's something about tennis that has suffered in this ultra PC age far more than most sports culture. This sport used to be played by individuals and their individuality, something that lasted even up to Roddick and Safin. But now it's all but gone...

I think some of the reason lies in the fact that the top guys play so much and are so professional year-round that they simply can't arse around and be out there all the time like in past eras. Guys like Federer, Djokovic etc spend their entire year bar a few weeks concentrating on tennis - either playing, practising, fitness/recovery - to a level even Ivan Lendl would be proud of.

Team sports players have life easy compared to tennis players - the onus is not 100% on them every single time their team plays and in most sports their total combined competition/training time would take up less than 1/4 that of what a top tennis needs to do. Even that is being generous for most sports.

 

[Bender]

There's something about tennis that has suffered in this ultra PC age far more than most sports culture. This sport used to be played by individuals and their individuality, something that lasted even up to Roddick and Safin. But now it's all but gone. It's like the ATP has mandated all its players with the personality of Pete Sampras! Can't think of another sport besides golf that has such a boring line of players. Everyone's terrified of saying anything in press conferences, and end up saying nothing of value. Where is the attitude? The personal investment? I get the whole idea of valuing athletic achievement, but at some point, the sport has to give us people to root for beyond their game.



Djokovic was supposed to be THE guy, before he got good and had his personality stolen. HE was supposed to be the cheeky Serbian who ripped his shirt off and screamed after winning. The guy who said he didn't have to do anything special to beat the greatest claycourt player of all time and who alluded to sleeping with his girlfriend during a live on-court interview.



All we have now are a slew of athletically gifted players who are as interesting as drying paint. Have you ever heard one of Murray, Nishikori, Raonic, Dimitrov, Berdych, Ferrer, Federer or Nadal say anything truly noteworthy or impressive (lets put aside our fanboy hats, please)?



Kyrgios is my lone hope. Lets hope he brings something to the game even Nadal and Federer could not. Are there any players in the top 100 who aren't bores (excluding the whiny ones)?

The subject matter and the username of OP is just so ironic :lol:

 

[Backspin1183]

Nadal surprised me when he took out his frustration on the chair umpire in Rio. The chair umpire smiled and tried to take it lightly but Nadal made it very clear he wasn't amused. Of course Nadal wasn't right, but I actually liked it. You don't get to see Nadal have a go at anyone in years.

 

[The Green Mile]

Yes, I would like to see a real top player with a Roddick-like personality. Can be a bit of a d1ck at times, but down to Earth and honest. I never saw McEnroe, Connors and the like live, but if you watch as many matches as I do, entertainment personality-wise is not that rare really.

 

[Backspin1183]

Yes, I would like to see a real top player with a Roddick-like personality. Can be a bit of a d1ck at times, but down to Earth and honest.

He was RodDick. Always interesting that guy. Even now.

 

[makinao]

OP: Is your definition of "personality" a jerk?

 

[Deleted member 733170]

We have Larry David for comedy. Why we need to be amused or shocked by tennis players is lost on me.

Suffice to say we have never been more enthralled with the so called Big 4, than with any other multiple rivalry throughout the ages.

 

[Fedinkum]

Blame those media coaching PR consultants.

 

[King Fed WW]

That is why this guy excites so many of us.

 

[Algo]

That's what tennis has always been about, tho'
The, say Connors to Safin et al, were in the wrong.

I don't care for the a-holes in the game.

 

[snowpuppy]

This is only happening in this is sport I think it is happening in sports in general. I don't that media's complaint of the NBA is too much fraternization between players now a day and (like tennis) gone are the days of raw egos and hype competitiveness. It is after all a much more PC world we live in now so you can't expect this to not affect players. Another reasoning is they offer is the existence of many academies now. There is more so a sense of community growing up being in that sport that you can't help but befriend a lot of other players just growing together.

 

[sureshs]

There's something about tennis that has suffered in this ultra PC age far more than most sports culture. This sport used to be played by individuals and their individuality, something that lasted even up to Roddick and Safin. But now it's all but gone. It's like the ATP has mandated all its players with the personality of Pete Sampras! Can't think of another sport besides golf that has such a boring line of players. Everyone's terrified of saying anything in press conferences, and end up saying nothing of value. Where is the attitude? The personal investment? I get the whole idea of valuing athletic achievement, but at some point, the sport has to give us people to root for beyond their game.

Djokovic was supposed to be THE guy, before he got good and had his personality stolen. HE was supposed to be the cheeky Serbian who ripped his shirt off and screamed after winning. The guy who said he didn't have to do anything special to beat the greatest claycourt player of all time and who alluded to sleeping with his girlfriend during a live on-court interview.

All we have now are a slew of athletically gifted players who are as interesting as drying paint. Have you ever heard one of Murray, Nishikori, Raonic, Dimitrov, Berdych, Ferrer, Federer or Nadal say anything truly noteworthy or impressive (lets put aside our fanboy hats, please)?

Kyrgios is my lone hope. Lets hope he brings something to the game even Nadal and Federer could not. Are there any players in the top 100 who aren't bores (excluding the whiny ones)?

Roddick was a whiny character. What personality did he have beyond whining? He definitely was most politically correct and was friends with everyone. One of the first people to support gay athletes through some organization called Athlete Ally (along with Mardy Fish)/

It is not about political correctness. That takes a lot of gut one way or the other. Contrary to what you may long for, abusing women and gays is simply not considered "personality" any more, and actually never was. It is as much personality as the guys who used to insist that smoking in closed spaces was the mark of a real man who loved freedom.

A really politically incorrect person is someone like Murray who hires Mauresmo or someone like Nadal who refuses to play in slippery blue cr*p because some ego-filled billionaire fart was trying to force him too. Rather than looking for idiotic statements and actions, look deeper. And if you want wife beaters, rapists, and PED consumers, there are other sports you should consider.

 

[Russeljones]

Roddick was a whiny character. What personality did he have beyond whining? He definitely was most politically correct and was friends with everyone. One of the first people to support gay athletes through some organization called Athlete Ally (along with Mardy Fish)/

It is not about political correctness. That takes a lot of gut one way or the other. Contrary to what you may long for, abusing women and gays is simply not considered "personality" any more, and actually never was. It is as much personality as the guys who used to insist that smoking in closed spaces was the mark of a real man who loved freedom.

A really politically incorrect person is someone like Murray who hires Mauresmo or someone like Nadal who refuses to play in slippery blue cr*p because some ego-filled billionaire fart was trying to force him too. Rather than looking for idiotic statements and actions, look deeper. And if you want wife beaters, rapists, and PED consumers, there are other sports you should consider.

Roddick was too macho for you, it seems.

 

[heninfan99]

The players are simply reflecting what society likes these days. That is all.

But Serena and Simon often say things off the script.

 

[winstonlim8]

I wonder if the way tennis pros are forced to play nowadays is a telling factor. Back when there was a variety in the styles of play, there were personalities galore, even if some weren't all sweetness and light. Rare indeed was the 'disciplined defensive counterpuncher' with 'personality' if I remember those days correctly...

Of the current pros, I'd say Djokovic is the best example of that (a disciplined defensive counterpuncher with personality). Back then before him, there was Agassi...but in general, all the 'disciplined defensive counterpunchers' I can recall watching on television were sort of "meh" to put it kindly. Lendl and Chang come to my mind immediately.

 

[Hollywood401k]

I don't think there's any grand decline in personality in the game, but I do think the big guns have largely embraced Federer's PC approach. And they've been holding onto the top spots for an eternity. When new players eventually arrive at the upper echelons of the sport, I think we'll see some varied personalities again.

 

[Inanimate_object]

We have Larry David for comedy. Why we need to be amused or shocked by tennis players is lost on me.

Suffice to say we have never been more enthralled with the so called Big 4, than with any other multiple rivalry throughout the ages.

Maybe because tennis exists for more than the purist amateur tennis players and aspiring keyboard counterpunchers. Its a sport. It exists to entertain.

As for being enthralled with the Big 4? Nonsense. We can admire their vast skill, but they have the personality of a wooden fence. Any one of Jimbo, Mcenroe and Agassi had more individuality than the entire current top 20 put together. Nadal, Djokovic Murray, and the likes can go on some hot streak at the US open - but no way it even compares to 91 and 05 runs of Jimbo and Agassi, and not because of a difference in skill. They're all zombies now.

 

[Inanimate_object]

OP: Is your definition of "personality" a jerk?

Take a transcript of all the post-match press conferences of any of the top 20-30 players. Tell me with a straight face that they don't all sound exactly the same. I don't need my tennis players to be jerks - but I'd rather if they weren't zombies.

 

[TheMusicLover]

Blame those media coaching PR consultants.

This. Tennis, like all top sports generating tons of $$$$$$$$$$$$$, is a business nowadays (more than ever before I mean).
Add the influence of the internet, where any player showing the slightest audacity to say anything on the verge of being 'impolite' will find him/herself getting virtually ripped to threads, and there you have it.

Well there's still guys around like Fognini.

And to all those who never had the opportunity to see Jimbo, JohnnyMac, Nasty and the likes play, I really wonder if you'd enjoy it.
Yes, the vids on YouTube appear to be entertaining, but they could really be a massive pain in the ***** for both the opponent and the crowds.

 

[Mainad]

All we have now are a slew of athletically gifted players who are as interesting as drying paint. Have you ever heard one of Murray, Nishikori, Raonic, Dimitrov, Berdych, Ferrer, Federer or Nadal say anything truly noteworthy or impressive (lets put aside our fanboy hats, please)?

Murray and Federer DO have a sense of humour!

 

[JonC]

Plenty of new personalities :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji-dZMRiLRQ

You have everybody's favorite Monfils who likes to give up in deciding sets if he's down. But people think he's sooo exciting because he's "athletic" and a FABULOUS dancer.

Then there's the exciting Kyrgios who thinks it's fine to stick his racquet over the net into his opponents face. But people love his wild haircut and hystrionics.

Who pushes guys like Kyrgios? The same people who want to infuse pop-culture garbage into tennis. Oh, you say it's because he beat Nadal.....well, what about Stakhovsky? Where's his media blitz?

Want to fix tennis? Spread out the prize money and let a guy ranked 400 earn a living. That will attract and keep some decent personalities. What we don't want is to bring in more pre-made hip-hop poster boys.

 

[JonC]

Yes, I would like to see a real top player with a Roddick-like personality. Can be a bit of a d1ck at times, but down to Earth and honest. I never saw McEnroe, Connors and the like live, but if you watch as many matches as I do, entertainment personality-wise is not that rare really.

Roddick was not much of a personality - he was a whiner.

 

[TheMusicLover]

Roddick was not much of a personality - he was a whiner.

Eh, NO. Roddick was, and IS a true personality.
I don't know about too many 21-year olds saving people from a blazing fire in a hotel. Do you?

Roddick did just that. Look up Rome, hotel fire, 2004.

 

[Deleted member 733170]

Maybe because tennis exists for more than the purist amateur tennis players and aspiring keyboard counterpunchers. Its a sport. It exists to entertain.

As for being enthralled with the Big 4? Nonsense. We can admire their vast skill, but they have the personality of a wooden fence. Any one of Jimbo, Mcenroe and Agassi had more individuality than the entire current top 20 put together. Nadal, Djokovic Murray, and the likes can go on some hot streak at the US open - but no way it even compares to 91 and 05 runs of Jimbo and Agassi, and not because of a difference in skill. They're all zombies now.

Well, they have a lot more personality than any actuary, statistician or consultant I've ever met.

Though share with us the names of all these other athletes, who double up as comics and entertainers who have conjured up the ability to keep the likes of you amused.

Was Becker or Sampras or Borg or even Agassi endowed with a charisma which you seem to suggest is lacking?

 

[JonC]

Eh, NO. Roddick was, and IS a personality.
I don't know about too many 21-year olds saving people from a blazing fire in a hotel. Do you?

Roddick did just that. Look up Rome, hotel fire, 2004.

He did a lot of whining on the court - not the kind of personality I admire. I saw him yell at the top of his lungs at a line judge for getting a foot fault called on him at a charity event.

My bother was in the bathroom with him in a club - a girl walks in and he says, "you're the only one here who I'd let hold my $%$". Real poet athlete there.

 

[SoCalJay]

Eh, NO. Roddick was, and IS a true personality.
I don't know about too many 21-year olds saving people from a blazing fire in a hotel. Do you?

Roddick did just that. Look up Rome, hotel fire, 2004.

The fact that he was heroic in an emergency situation off the court doesn't mean he wasn't a whiner as a professional tennis player.

 

[TheMusicLover]

The fact that he was heroic in an emergency situation off the court doesn't mean he wasn't a whiner as a professional tennis player.

My point is just: be careful on judging anyone - on their public persona, or who they appear to be when it really counts. It may well be difficult to discriminate on occasions.

For your information: I never was a Roddick-fan. I found him as much as a jock, a whiner, like all of you - until I found out that he might well be a rather decent guy, taking actions when it really counted, and where many might have failed.

 

[TheMusicLover]

The fact that he was heroic in an emergency situation off the court doesn't mean he wasn't a whiner as a professional tennis player.

Oh, I am the first to agree on that. Back in 2003, I sort-of detested the guy.
I changed my mind though, not that shortly thereafter.

 

[Inanimate_object]

Well, they have a lot more personality than any actuary, statistician or consultant I've ever met.

Though share with us the names of all these other athletes, who double up as comics and entertainers who have conjured up the ability to keep the likes of you amused.

Was Becker or Sampras or Borg or even Agassi endowed with a charisma which you seem to suggest is lacking?

Oh goodness me, a personal dig. Thank god I am not a global icon whose sport's relevance depends heavily on my drawing power. That would not do for you or me.

Don't pretend as if sports is some ultra serious grim landscape. Lebron James, Shaq, Ovetchkin, Bryzgalov, Patrick Roy, Usain Bolt, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Zinedine Zidane and David Ortiz are just some of the athletes who have made names for themselves beyond their skill. They get people to watch.

Andy Murray is a better player than Andy Roddick in almost every conceivable way. And I'd bet a hefty amount that Roddick had way, way more fans.

Oh and Agassi had personality to spare.

 

[eldanger25]

I agree with a lot of this. The top guys are corporate specimens - sometimes with ridiculous consequences (like when Federer lost the support of a nation for holding up a jersey at the behest of his Nike overlords). However silly and inconsequential we find it, I bet somebody at Nike lost his or her job for that one - emerging Pakistani market and what-not. And Fed's already apologized too.

It'll turn I think - hard to imagine Kyrgios hiring an image consultant, or prostrating himself before the mighty Kia at every trophy presentation, etc.

 

[Sirius Black]

Your username is Inanimate_Object and you're complaining about a lack of personality?

 

[Inanimate_object]

Your username is Inanimate_Object and you're complaining about a lack of personality?

Thank goodness neither you nor I have to endure me as a high-profile tennis player (to say nothing of my perfectly mediocre skill)

 

[Man of steel]

People need to look at quotes from the wta97-2003 era when hingis, cap, WS, davenport and other top players. They used to shade each other so much in interviews. Best time on the tour. Hingis was the master at giving shade.