Shelton thinks players are being disrespected? We’re shocked

May Be Interested In:Best of cartoons, February 17, 2025


Yes, tennis players are obliged to do plenty of media, probably more than you care for. With respect, don’t you know that’s because the game mortgaged itself to big business a long, long time ago, and you benefit handsomely from this?

Sorry, but we had to ask.

Your father was a professional tennis player and coach, and you’ve been playing the game and pretty much doing nothing else since you were 10, so surely you know this?

Or maybe that’s why you don’t know it?

Who’s your girlfriend now? How much tax did you pay last year? Did you vote for Trump?

Loading

OK, those questions are well out of order.

But that doesn’t mean that the only acceptable question is about how good you were, to which you will always answer that your opponent was also good and that the crowd were just wonderful. Oh, and my team over there in the corner is the best in the world.

Roger Federer copped a few curly questions that in your dictionary would be defined as disrespectful and learned to cope and give a bit back and even incorporate all this into his act. So did Rafael Nadal. Neither was speaking in his birth language. But they played the game. You should try it. In fact, you did, and got a few laughs of your own. Respect.

You say that broadcasters have a responsibility to work with you to grow the sport. They do, by broadcasting it. But if you think a post-match tutorial on the weight of your forehand or your stance on second serve is going to magnetise people to the gate, you might be in for more shock than you feel now.

Roger Rasheed said to you after you beat Monfils that he was old enough to be your dad, which is true. Your answer was more inscrutable than the question. “Was that a black joke?” What did you mean, if we may be so impudent as to ask? (You later apologised for something that was “probably just a stupid comment that I shouldn’t have said but I thought it was funny in the moment … I hope the guy didn’t take it in any sort of way.”)

After you beat Sonego, another interviewer noted that in your next match, the crowd would be against you, no matter what. “I mean, it may be true, but I just don’t think the comment is respectful from a guy I’ve never met before in my life,” you said.

Shelton in action.Credit: Getty Images

So it would have been valid if John McEnroe had asked it? Bit high-handed, don’t you think (respectfully)? Rasheed is a former player and coach. You might not know him because he’s from way before your time, but he’s not a Tennis Australia intern.

Nor is John Fitzgerald. He said to Tien after he beat Medvedev: “Nineteen-year-olds are not meant to be that good”. You said this was “embarrassing and disrespectful”. It was a statement of fact, an admiring statement of fact. And “Fitzy” is a bit of an old favourite in these parts.

Loading

Really, have you looked around? You’re on stage. You live in the luminary milieu, with all that means. It’s where tennis lives. Jones’ sense of humour is not for everyone, but as the sports news anchor for a big network here, he’s bound to draw attention, good and bad. Don’t you have celebrity newsreaders in the US? That’s a rhetorical question, by the way.

Before you go, just how does a 22-year-old who has already made $US5.5 million out of tennis and will make a whole lot more get it into his head that he’s the one with the rough end of the deal?

You’re getting plenty of respect for your tennis, and even inspiring a bit of awe, and rightly so. Isn’t that enough?

Watch the Australian Open live & free on the 9Network & 9Now. Stan Sport is the only place to watch every match ad-free, live & on demand.

share Share facebook pinterest whatsapp x print

Similar Content

Queensland expands COVID-era emergency call centre
Queensland expands COVID-era emergency call centre
Alexandra Fender
Bridging Faith and Love: A Gentleman’s Guide to Spirituality in Asian Relationships – Chart Attack
This metro car park is full by 7.13am. Now, Sydney commuters might have a better option
This metro car park is full by 7.13am. Now, Sydney commuters might have a better option
Who is new chief civil servant Chris Wormald?
Who is new chief civil servant Chris Wormald?
Image of a very 80s/90s beige desktop computer case, SST-FLP01, with Japanese text surrounding it.
April Fools’ joke results in Japanese firm making a beige ’80s throwback PC case
The future of Lego Fortnite: "I hope it will never be done"
The future of Lego Fortnite: “I hope it will never be done”
Fast Facts: Stay One Step Ahead | © 2025 | Daily News