Abject Poverty of Tennis Journalism

This entry about the wading pool depth of mainstream tennis journalism has been on the mind for some time. The overall low standards of media in its various guises, isn't just restricted to tennis it cuts across all spheres. We now live in the instant gratification, 24 hour news cycle where we need to hear tomorrow’s news and latest trends yesterday.

A positive aspect with the technological advancements, now we have some high quality tennis blogs dedicated to tennis on various subjects that aren’t covered at all by the mainstream press or at best superficially. It’s a brilliant they exist because without these mediums it would almost be impossible to believe there were any players on the ATP that weren’t in the top 4.

Discourse

Mass media dictates that they have to get the most amount of information to the largest audience within the shortest time. To achieve this everything is condensed into soundbites and clichés without going into further detail or leaving it open for further exploration. This leads only to superficial knowledge of the respective issues, not a strong basis to build and form opinions on any subject.

Mainstream tennis journalism is a faithful disciple of the above if it was possible it would follow it 150%. There are numerous examples of this style of reporting. Easiest example to use is the common line “This is the Greatest Era ever of men’s tennis”. This is peddled as fact without acknowledging how this consensus came about. It’s like tennis began in 2005 when Rafael Nadal became a serious challenger to Roger Federer, nothing came before it and nothing will come after it. Whether people want to believe the greatest ever tag is their prerogative, at least report or acknowledge at least how we came to the current status quo.

To anyone who followed tennis before 2005 it’s clear that surface homogenisation has had a major impact on what we see now on the ATP. To someone who started following tennis after 2005 how would they know about this, since their main reference point is after 2005? Surface homogenisation was done by the ATP to reduce the differences between the respective surfaces, while this has been a successful business decision from the ATP. Look we can market these top 4 guys as they’re nearly always there at the later stages of the main events. As a result they can get more money when they negotiate the TV rights, sponsorships bringing more money for the ATP and not necessarily using it in the right manner. The surface homogenisation, has taken away other aspects of the sport which were required from the bigger differences between the surfaces. Movement is the biggest challenge these days and something Roger Federer said himself in relation to the achievements he and Nadal have had. "Anyway, every surface is very similar today, otherwise we couldn't have achieved all these things on all these different surfaces so quickly, like him and myself". Yet, none of the major journalists really delved into this topic.

Lack of Critical Thinking

Tennis while being a niche sport has many vested interests and the lack of critical thinking or investigation of the issues in tennis by the prominent journalists is apparent to any individual with a functioning brain cell. Drugs in professional sport are a problem and tennis is no different, yet it has only got some recent coverage with a well overdue biological passport being introduced. No, it’s not about sending reporters undercover deep on the tennis tour to find out who is taking those special supplements, nor is it like TENNIS HAS A STEROID PROBLEM, who thinks anyone with big biceps is juicing. Whatever his style of reporting, he is bringing to attention an issue the mainstream tennis press haven’t or won’t covered in relation to the lax testing procedures from the authorities. As they don’t have a vested interest it’s easier him to write about this.



Lack of critical thinking

Journalism is at its best when there is critical thinking, well researched and written articles irrespective of whether reader agrees or disagrees with the diagnosis. It helps form opinions gaining from different sources and its best it will encourage further reading or research which can only be beneficial. It’s the same useless narrative about the top 4 players with a slightly different take depending on the surface.

In an ideal world it would be great if the articles were unbiased, though in an ideal world in the words of the Maderian philosopher Cristiano Ronaldo I wish “I was rich, good looking and successful”. As humans we all have our biases,, but the key is to not them dominate what is written, something Bodo (Bozo), Wertheim (Worthless), Cronin, Tignor, Harman” are brilliant at in their articles.

Duplicity

Another personal gripe is the old line “where are the personalities in the game” from the mass media. This one is as obvious as wearing a skullcap at Mecca in its duplicity. The players don’t say anything interesting because they’re media trained to give dull, bland answers and don’t give them anything.



Mainstream tennis journalists

Majority of journalists ask boring questions without thought behind them and the experience is as pleasant as have root canal with Justin Bieber blaring from the speakers. To counter that when a player gives an honest answer, the media take it out of context to suit their agenda, get more hits on their website without giving the correct context. Fortunately the internet wasn’t around when Yevgeny Kafelnikov made the comment about “tennis players being underpaid” this went around and was hammered for it. Naturally the full context wasn’t given when he made the comment was made in comparison with golfers that tennis players are underpaid. Nikolai Davydenko is another example of this, the classic syndrome of the media wanting it both ways.

With a lack of critical thinking, well researched and poorly written articles as the standard for mainstream tennis reporting. The question arises why do the majority of tennis fans put up with fodder served up as analysis? Maybe, the masses of tennis fans are happy to be spoon fed drivel about the top 4, health of the game without further inspection of why this is the dominant ideology.

As a consequence the abject poverty of tennis journalism is allowed to continue with the passivity of the readers. There is no incentive to improve standards, as those in the tennis media are operating on the AC/DC principle give them the same stuff all the time. Essential difference is AC/DC bring energy to their work, these guys are as energetic and engaging as a bear in hibernation.

Thankfully the DIY aspect in tennis writing community is active with the blogosphere. Sure, there is some absolute garbage out there, though they aren’t alleged respected tennis writers who get paid for writing shit. This medium has had the best researched and written articles for example about the conflicts of interest within agency groups & the ATP, the schedule, financial struggles for players on the ATP outside the chosen few, Davis Cup, gambling and doping issues, why players are making later breakthroughs.

While there are outlets and some hope for improvements. An Irish freelancer Stephen Kelly nailed it accurately “If there is a bad NFL journalist, all his colleagues know enough about the NFL to know he sucks. This is not the case in tennis. Most media outlets only have 1 or 2 people covering the sport. It’s not enough if you want more coverage than the big 4. It’s a minority sport so fewer complain about bad commentary and journalism”.

This post has been a long time coming, not sure it will get any better any time soon but would like to thank Stephen, Joey, Jay, FootSoldier, Jimmy, Jesse, Michelle, Denys, Nathii and others that I have forgotten who helped with this post and fighting the good fight against sloppy, tepid and tedious narrative that passes for mainstream journalism.

Nick Kyrgios wins first Challenger Title

In the battle of the elements the tournament was able to be completed on time in between the various showers and rain delays. Personally I thought Stephane Robert would win the event after coming through the tough section which had Millman and Barton, but fell to the youngster Nick Kyrgios who had a very busy day playing 7 and a bit sets on one day winning the singles and finalist in the doubles.



Nick Kyrgios

Australia has done well in the past in relation to junior success, though in recent times they have not made the breakthrough to the top tier of the seniors. Kyrgios pronounced “Kyr-ios”, yes the g is silent is the number 1 junior in the world. He could be a GS champion or he could end up as Julien Jeanpierre, Daniel Elsner though Elsner was top tier when it came to partying.

As impressive as Kyrgios’s first Challenger title is considering he is still a junior did have some fortune with the weather. Naturally these things can’t be controlled as reported in my last post. Greg Jones playing a very tough 3 setter, even tanking doubles at the end of the day, yet he was on first with less recovery time. This was Kyrgios’s toughest match of the week.

Robert didn’t play for 2 days before his semi final, since there are no indoor facilities at the complex. All he could do was wait around, play on the ipad, joking around with the stringers while his match couldn’t be played on Saturday. Kyrgios started well and Robert was flatter than the Dead Sea. He was just making so many basic mistakes mid court rally balls halfway up the net. Kyrgios was serving well, taking advantage of the fodder that Robert was serving up moving to the net to finish off points when the chances were on offer.

Only time Robert fired up was when Kyrgios served for the match at 30-15, big Nick hit a forehand very close to the line. Couldn’t say for sure whether it was in or out, but Robert was convinced he got ripped off on the call. 30 all is a lot better than 40-15, at the same time Robert was fighting with his own poor form and good play from Kyrgios.

Groth vs. Reid

Luckily, I could stand in between both courts to see these matches and who says men can’t multitask. Interesting thing about this match was coach Ben Mathias works with both of them. Asked him about it beforehand and he gave them both tactics to beat each other. He sat under the tree away from the match and didn’t clap.


Samuel Groth in the Grothawk days

Big Groth had an excellent win against Duckworth in the quarters. Groth hit one of the best double faults during the 2nd set tiebreaker. At *5-4 Groth went for the big kicker wide, he miss hits the serve and it hit the side fence on the full. Normally this is when Groth continues with the running commentary. Next serve hits a big ace down the tee and then wins the match on a backhand pass. Duckworth was really shattered he had his family there watching, still pissed off an hour later.
Reid was just a bit better in the semi as he was able to return enough of Groth’s serve to get him moving on the baseline working him over with his forehand to expose the average backhand.

In the final Groth service game where he was broken at 30 all Groth hits a forehand and the umpire overrules. Groth is far from happy and has an animated conversation with the umpire. Reid served out the match and Groth then goes straight to the tournament car directly to the airport.

Final

Kyrgios was excellent in the final he has beaten Reid a few times previously, so that helped his mental state for the final. Reid lost his first service game and was quite passive which doesn’t work for him.



Matt Reid
Kyrgios took advantage of Reid’s passive start dominating from the baseline. He was so comfortable that he didn’t need to serve that well, as Reid was unable to take advantage of the second serves. It was an excellent week for Reid, but he didn’t think he could win and Kyrgios was very calm and assured in taking the title.

Towards the end of the match John Blom called a let serve, both players were shocked since this stupid rule is in vogue and not very likely to last past the trial. None of the players like this rule, it’s probably as popular as equal prizemoney at Slams on the ATP.

He could have won the doubles final as well, they had match point but Alex “Usain” Bolt missed an easy volley at the net, then Klein and Dane Propoggia who was rocking the almost red flattop were able to take the title. There was no sparring between Klein and Kyrgios this time.

Chris Guccione has Achilles tendonitis so he is only playing doubles at the moment. Barton is trying to steal the Gooch’s thunder for being the most handsome redheaded tennis player, Sure Barton supports the Canterbury Bulldogs which is all and good, but the Gooch has a 1-0 head to head record over Nadal.

Challenger events need to be better supported you know it’s a bad thing when places like Italy and Spain get crowds to their Challengers, yet there are less events every year and without the increase in prizemoney since the 80s. Let’s be honest anyone with a miniscule level of critical thinking can see the temptations for the poorly paid players would think about throwing a match, no this isn’t excusing it. There is a correlation players not earning enough in a tough sport, so the temptation is there.

Kyrgios’s parents drove up from Canberra 3 times during the week and it’s 2.5 hour trip one way. Now Kyrgios will have some time at home and prepare for the next events. Barton, Duckworth, Reid and Propoggia had other players staying at their houses. Which went back to my previous post that hospitality should be mandatory at these events, whether it’s staying with local families as they do for some events or official hotels. Then again this is the ATP who once thought round robin was a good idea, so can’t expect too many sensible solutions from them.

Challenging Times on the Challenger Tour

Yes, it has been a while since I’ve written something. More due to a bit of laziness but also not having regular computer access and typing a report from a phone that is worse than Pippo Volandri’s serve isn’t ideal. Normally I’d have gone to the Burnie Challenger in the north of my former home Tasmania, but since I’ve moved away which has caused the inactivity.

It was a surprise announcement that Sydney had a Challenger, came out of nowhere in reality to replace the Singapore event, so they only had 3 weeks to prepare. Considering the lack of preparation they have done an excellent job. It’s been held at the Olympic tennis complex where the ATP Sydney is located. Since it wasn’t a +H event which should be compulsory at Challenger level and with the Soundwave music festival on it was difficult finding accommodation, but there was no need for sleeping bags in the park.

Challengers are a very important of the tennis circus. It’s the breeding ground for players to win in the varied and tough conditions to prepare them for the main tour especially for players who either don’t have a powerful federation, have a huge agency backing them like IMG, Octagon or Ion Tiriac Mafia Enterprises to get wildcards into these events.


Paolo Lorenzi Challenger Tour veteran

As the game becomes more physical, which means there is a greater emphasis on speed endurance which comes with time. The breakthroughs for players are coming at more advanced ages an example the lion hearted Paolo Lorenzi finally makes the top 50 at 31, he has been battling on the Challenger tour for years to make it now. The next problem is what is the ATP solution to keep cutting Challenger events, normally I don’t approve of subsidies but in this case the ATP should doing a lot more to ensure that they don’t lose players who have the potential to do well, but can’t afford it as they are worried about losing money. It’s very hard to focus on your tennis, if it comes down to worrying about finances instead of focusing and improving your game.

So far the event has been impacted by the weather. Sydney has had a lot of rain this month and when it hasn’t rained this week apart from one day it has been very humid which provides specific challenges in relation to the speed and bounce. Naturally when it’s humid the ball isn’t going to bounce very high or go through the air quickly due to the heavy air.

The tennis
Adam Feeney really shouldn’t have played at all. He was so lame if he was a horse, he would have gone to the glue factory, not to Findus lasagne or IKEA meatballs. This is thing while it’s only a 50K Challenger, it was practical decision to play. One, it’s his home city and two the cheque would pay for the physio which he’ll need as he should take some time off, Another side of the tour which isn’t spoken about very often.


Matthew Barton

Best performance of the week was easily Matthew Barton’s match against John Millman. This section was loaded with Millman who won Burnie, Barton who won Adelaide and Stephane Robert the Frenchman rebuilding his ranking was the finalist in Burnie, lost to Barton in Adelaide and won the Futures in Melbourne. This was the day when it was warm and not humid, which played into Barton’s hands. He was serving out of a tree, didn’t face a break point all match. As he was so comfortable on serve putting pressure on Millman, he was swinging freely and slapping forehand winners for fun getting a lot of purchase off the court. It was one of those days where everything went perfectly and Millman was just outplayed.

As per usual after a big performance Barton couldn’t back that up against Robert. It was very humid and Barton wasn’t serving out of a tree, as Robert got more chances off the second serve he was able to put pressure on Barton with the returns and expose his movement around the court to win this match comfortably. On that performance Robert should win this tournament, since he came through the form section of the draw.

Scheduling for these events is never easy and this time Greg Jones was the guy who copped the short straw. After Sitak defeated Mitchell, since Sitak was a qualifier and hadn’t had a day off he was given one. Jones played a tough 3 setter against Peter Polansky which he won, came back and tanked doubles which was last match. Yet, he was expected to play first match against Kyrgios and it was a very close match in fact Kyrgios only had 2 break points and was able to take it winning in 3 sets.

Random

Millman finally has a coach travelling with him called Ben Mathias. This was done since Millman was asking for some help with a coach when he was overseas and TA didn’t want to know. The funniest is Todd Woodbridge talking him up during Brisbane, but said nothing before about him in a positive way. Besides Millman, there is a group with Sam Groth, Matt Reid and JP Smith they’re working together with Mathias. It’s a good deal as they can push each other. Reid has a massive forehand, he still needs to mature as for big Grothy well he has that serve but can’t move that well. JP is having some hamstring problems at the moment, but lacks a weapon,


John Millman

Klein and Kyrgios matches are fun, since there is a lot of verbal stuff going on. Klein has form and Kyrgios doesn’t mind talking to his opponent either. Klein called him a “gorilla” and also after Kyrgios missed a shot then Klein says to him “that’s what you get for cheating on your girlfriend”. There were plenty of attempts to hit the player at the net, all good entertainment for those who like that stuff.

Millman after he lost to Barton. He was asked by Big Ed who is the coolest Challenger supervisor about the umpire’s performance. In classic Millman “she was a poor umpire when I was 18 and she hasn’t improved”. Barton is going to be off the tour doing some physical work for a month, well he needs to get faster, fitter and more durable this will take time.

Stephane Robert is an interesting character, never been a fan of his game but is a pleasant individual which is a good thing. His ranking dropped last year due to a fibia problem and was playing on clay for last year. In the off season he was hitting with Hanescu, Serena Williams, Chardy and Putinsteva in Mauritius on the hardcourts.

He played Noumea and Melbourne qualies his body was able to hold up, so he decided to stay in Australia. It was good for him he could get into the events, find some form and in his own words it’s cold and miserable in Europe why not stay here. Started the year at 280, now is around 180 and if he wins the event, then move further up the rankings, his spot in the Roland Garros qualies is assured.

Surprisingly he is a big AS Monaco fan he loved the days of when Georgie Weah was tearing it up and it’s always good to talk to tennis players about other sports they like, since they’re sick of tennis talk for the most part. His assessment of Deschamps he is good for the national team as manager as he isn’t around the players day in, day out as he’d drive them crazy with the work, work. Robert is French, so naturally Deschamps is as artistic as a block of wood.


Stephane Robert

It was lucky for him, he had good people around him since he needed money to attempt the comeback and he wasn’t doing well financially. This time in Australia he has stayed in backpacker hostels to save on money, too many people think that tennis players have it easy. The very few have a great concentration of the wealth, the majority don’t, but Robert isn’t bitter about it.

Knowing he only has a couple of years left playing he is thinking about the future. He and his coach are looking at a Club Med style academy where they cater to all levels. It’s a way of staying involved in the sport.

Tomorrow hope the showers pass over as Reid, Groth, Duckworth and Sitak, two of these guys will be doing double duty tomorrow. Will file a report on the last 2 days of this event, as bad as the money is in Challengers, it does make for a more relaxed atmosphere off the courts even though they’re playing for a lot more than points.

Times like this I wish I was back in Europe watching these events like I used to, but at the same time the same girls you like or pick up at 18 aren’t the same ones when you’re 40.