Tennis

Soldato
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I'd think it was more weird if she stuck with the first one she found.

Some players have coach trials but really you don't know how the coach is going to perform or if you will enjoy or get the most out of the sessions until a little while in. No different from dating really.
 

fez

fez

Caporegime
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I mean, shes gone from a bit of a nobody to a superstar overnight and like a lot of young sport stars they struggle with the huge influx of money, fame, attention and people trying to manipulate them. Is she truly a future star or was this just a flash in the pan.

Since the win she hasn't really been setting the world alight..
 
Caporegime
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Other than looks, she's no different than Swiatek and look at her career now she's had time to mature and learn her game. Couldn't buy a win after her French Open title and now she's world number 1 two years later.
 
Soldato
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I think I’d always written this year off for Raducanu in my mind. The US Open was a bit lightning in a bottle and was always going to prove hard to follow up.

Throw in the trappings of fame and having to deal with stalkers and all sorts of weirdos out of nowhere on top of trying to play top level tennis is a lot for a youngster to handle.

Wimbledon will be a massive circus for her this year as well. Expectations will be way over the top.

Not really the same but I remember Justin Rose coming 4th at the open when he was like 17 as an amateur the fame and expectation on him when he turned pro was mad, he missed like 20 cuts in his first 20 tournaments! Didn’t end up having a bad career :)
 
Soldato
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Lol. It's her first year on the tour, Even younger players have been on the tour longer. Plus she had COVID before the Aus open. She said her aim is just to get through the tour this year without injury. She seems extremely injury prone so that is first thing she needs to fix. Otherwise I reckon she's a solid top 20 WTA player with potential for more.

Swiatek made quite a lot of unforced errors in their meeting in Stuttgart, but Emma held her own considering Swiatek has won 4 tournaments in a row and been handing out 6-0, 6-1 beat downs to most of her opponents.
 

fez

fez

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My point was that for every athlete that goes from a one hit wonder to being a future star there are probably a dozen that remain a one hit wonder. These days its harder than ever when you go from a nobody to a superstar within days. Staying focussed must be almost impossible.
 
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My point was that for every athlete that goes from a one hit wonder to being a future star there are probably a dozen that remain a one hit wonder. These days its harder than ever when you go from a nobody to a superstar within days. Staying focussed must be almost impossible.
The pressure must be even more immense these days too, with social media.

Wimbledon will definitely be interesting but my expectations are already much lower, as I have been a bit taken aback at how poorly she has played, since winning the US open.
 

fez

fez

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The pressure must be even more immense these days too, with social media.

Wimbledon will definitely be interesting but my expectations are already much lower, as I have been a bit taken aback at how poorly she has played, since winning the US open.

Shes also earned a lifetimes worth of money in about 2 months. Apparently about $18m dollars.
 
Soldato
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Hopefully she will be given guidance on how to look after all that money too.

I'm still in shock about Boris Becker going to jail for all his tax avoidance and so on!

Don't her parents by work in mid-high level jobs in finance? I'm sure they will help in terms of getting the right financial people onboard. No doubt a company will be created somewhere like Monaco to manage her image and sponsorships, with prize Money then being taxed in the country its earned. I remember the UK causing a fuss when it wanted tax athletes on their sponsorships and endorsements whilst playing tournaments in the UK, rather then solely the prize money they earned. IIRC it was a reason why a number of high profile male players didn't play Queens.

----

Back to the Tennis, there's only 1 top 10 seed left in the Madrid Open now not counting Raducanu. I don't expect her to win it, on her first time on clay (Stuttgart doesn't count, very different clay surface), but IF she can get past her next opponent, then things will get interesting.

I'd love to see an Anisimova Vs. Raducanu match up. Both pretty big hitters. Anisimova has been ranked well below her level for a while now.
 
Associate
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On the men's side of things Alcaraz looks like he could be the real deal, he's soared up the rankings. Too early to say he's a GS contender yet but hopefully he'll get there and won't go the way of Zverev (great in the 1000's etc, underwhelming in Slams).
 

fez

fez

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I think she will probably fade into obscurity for the most part but she is set for life already so as long as she has good people around her she will be fine.
 
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I don't imagine that all the extra expectation and pressure will be helping her perform.

I do feel sad though because it would have been so nice to have someone else to properly root for again, and who seemed to have that aggressive and winning attitude.

I always found watching Andy Murray too stressful!
 
Caporegime
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She seems very delicate and has become a laughing stock. Splitting with her original coach never did seem like a great idea either.
Delicate? She's only 19 and she's playing her first full year of tennis. Most players her age would've had a couple of seasons on tour by now and would've experienced the same injuries she's experiencing at an earlier age.

Also, who's laughing at her? A few muppets on the Internet and Daily Mail readers :D

She had no coach after the US, he wanted to stay at home and coach his kid and took the decision out of her hands.
 
Man of Honour
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Delicate? She's only 19 and she's playing her first full year of tennis. Most players her age would've had a couple of seasons on tour by now and would've experienced the same injuries she's experiencing at an earlier age.

Also, who's laughing at her? A few muppets on the Internet and Daily Mail readers :D

She had no coach after the US, he wanted to stay at home and coach his kid and took the decision out of her hands.

Excuses. Get back to me when she stops feigning injury when she’s losing.
 
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