#BeKind is currently trending
more than ever but it still seems to have not reached the sports world or sports
press and media, or at least certainly not in a consistent and sustained way. For
instance, take three current topics in tennis today:
One, Nadal had an awesome year
last year which continued until late into the year, beyond the ATP tournament calendar.
Not only did he pick up two Grand Slams by playing out-of-this-world tennis,
but he also superseded Margaret Court’s record for the most amount of singles
titles at one Slam by winning his 12th French Open title. Nadal also
surpassed Federer’s records by winning the greatest number of ATP Masters 1000 singles
titles (35 to date) and by winning the most Masters 1000 matches among active ATP
players, which he did on route to taking the Rogers Cup in Canada, his first
title defence on a non-clay surface. In addition, Nadal helped lead his groups
to two team tournament victories, first with Team Europe in the Laver Cup in
September and then again with Spain in the Davis Cup on the 24th of
November, meaning he finished his tennis tournament year in a high pressure
final for himself and his country, well beyond the ATP tour calendar year, an
exhausting feat indeed by any player’s standard. He even received the Davis Cup’s
‘Most Valuable Player’ award while there! As if all that wasn’t enough, Nadal
became only the 4th man ever to end the year ranked number 1 for the
5th time, although he’s the first ever to be year-end number 1 over
a non-consecutive 5 year span. In so doing, Nadal even broke his own records,
by managing to be year-end number 1 as much as 11 years after the first time he
finished the year as world number 1 (2008); by being the first ever to regain the
number 1 ranking by the end of the year 4 times over; and by being the oldest
number 1, despite being only 33 years old. He even found time in his busy
schedule to get married! Yet I had to constantly read and listen to negative
comments about Nadal in the press and on TV, including criticisms of whether he
would or could manage to keep winning, if it would be good for the game, and whining
about why younger men (some of whom include Thiem who is not exactly an early
career spring chicken at 26 years old) are not regularly beating Nadal by now. (That
is like asking why up-and-coming 20 something artists are not Picasso already!)
Nadal was even depicted at times as some ailing, aging, half crocked-up player
who should be retiring by now, alongside Federer (who is 40 years old next year)
as though they are in the same tennis wave. Why should Nadal stop pursuing his
dreams and doing the job he loves while only a few years into his 30’s?
Furthermore, Nadal is arguably the best ATP player of all time. He even holds
the Career Grand Slam; Career Golden Slam; Clay Slam; Channel Slam; Summer Slam
– have I missed any out? Surely he would be cutting his career short despite being
generally fit and healthy enough to continue, especially at a time when he has surpassed
some of Federer’s records and is on the brink of overtaking him on others.
Nadal would have to be crazy to take his foot off the pedal or retire now! Nevertheless,
despite Nadal’s superhuman efforts and achievements last year and throughout
his career, negativity in the press and on TV came flooding forth during all of
last year and is creeping into this year.
Two, speaking of age, Kim
Clijsters has delighted tennis fans by making another comeback to the tour at
the age of 36. I find her latest comeback rather inspirational, and I am
relieved and fascinated to learn that I can identify with certain on-court difficulties
Clijsters said she felt in her match against Muguruza in her first post-match interview.
For instance, it took her longer to read her opponent’s shots and game, her
ball striking and timing was less automatic and consistent meaning she had ups
and downs in the match. Although she was capable of dominating her opponent,
hitting hard, creating great angled winners and leaving Muguruza on the back
foot, Clijsters didn’t manage to string it all together for long enough to win
the match. I also noticed she got off to a slower start at the beginning of a
set, than her opponent, and then improved as the set and match went on. I always
assumed that these match difficulties were due to me being inexperienced on the
professional tour and that such frustrations would evaporate once I’ve played
enough years on the ITF. So I’m encouraged to discover that these experiences
and feelings in competitive match play are perfectly normal and never go away,
even when you are as successful, brilliant (in a variety of ways, including athletically,
technically, physically and psychologically strong) and talented as Clijsters! Clijsters
has many years of tour experience, including at the very top of the game, is a several
time Grand Slam winner, has been number 1, can immediately play a full calendar
of tournaments which she can pace herself in advance to play, can watch her opponents
in advance to prepare her match tactics and has recently practised with top
players (who could also become her future opponents), all of which helps every
top player to perform their best in competitive matches. Given I had none of
those advantages, I’m now feeling even better about how I played in matches and
I have an even better perspective on my game, fitness and match efforts. Yet
there’s always some article or quotes from past players questioning Clijsters’ abilities,
depicting her as being too old with a dated tennis game which they predict will
mean she cannot possibly keep up with the running speed and hard hitting of the
current top players. I was disappointed that even Justine Henin, an incredible
player in her own right, felt the need to deflate and underestimate Clijsters’ fitness,
strength and talent before she’d even taken to the court for her first match in
Dubai! Nobody knows exactly what Clijsters’ capacity currently is and could
become once she settles back into life on the tour, so why speculate to the
extent that one invents a hoard of obstacles and negative stories about her
abilities and likelihood of success? Indeed, many negative comments and
predictions did not even bear out in her first match back in Dubai this past
week! She moved wonderfully around the court, coped perfectly well with the hard
pace of ball coming at her and thumped the ball so hard herself I often saw Clijsters’
ball flying faster over the net than Muguruza’s! I’m enjoying her comeback immensely
and couldn’t care less whether she wins a truck load of titles or not!
Obviously I’d be delighted for her if she did, but success can’t always be
measured in terms of world rankings and how many titles you acquire. Clijsters
already has enjoyed a huge amount of success anyway and it’s impossible for her
to overtake Margaret Court’s Grand Slam singles titles record so why quibble and
find fault? It’s not up to anyone but Clijsters herself to determine what she
does in her career and how or when. If she feels it is right for her and it is
something she wants to do, then that is good enough reason for her to return to
the tour! Clijsters says she just loves tennis. Surely that is something we can
all identify with and should all be sharing with her, not criticising her for
it! I’m sure she’s also a great role model for mothers who want to balance
family life and several kids with working and doing what they love. Her
comeback is a great story whether she wins any matches, tournaments, or not. Either
way, she will encourage and motivate people with her journey, and that is something
to celebrate in itself.
Between extreme ageism as soon as
a player is emerging from their 20’s and negative media coverage of Nadal,
Clijsters and several other players, it’s enough to make me return to
competition matches! However, I’ll remember to pack extra ice cubes because, apparently,
once you are in the over 30’s club, there are never enough ice cubes to help the
30+ older generation on tour recover fast enough to stagger out to play their
next match! I don’t hold with this new-fangled trend amongst the young to take ice
baths or stand frozen stiff in a whole body cryo sauna.
For my part, I’ve been feeling
inspired by many players in their 30’s returning to match play and their love
for the game, such as Sania Mirza, who has also returned to the tour this year
and already won the WTA doubles title in Hobart. She has done so as a mother of
a 1 year old son. On the other hand, Kveta Peschke, another inspirational
player is, at 44 years old, quietly continuing her career as usual. On that
basis, that gives Clijsters at least another 8 years on the tour. Me, I’m good
for at least another 11 years! I’ve been irritated by people’s constant
negativity and ageism about players and I couldn’t care less if people think I’m
too old or question my abilities and chance of success! Having time away from
the tour means your body suffers less continual wear and tear from the cycle of
preparing for, playing and recovering from matches, so the body is less
depleted from illness and injury than those who do not take any years out. Besides,
I don’t identify with these claims that one gets slower or weaker in one’s 30’s
– without a doubt, I am definitely much stronger and faster now in my early 30’s
than when I played ITF matches in my early 20’s! I’d also be returning just as
I was in my last match – single and child-free.
Three, it’s not just a love of
tennis and great successes that the tennis world seems to struggle to celebrate
when it comes to present day tennis players. The lack of enthusiasm cannot be
explained away as some sort of jealousy or over-competitiveness acting as an
empathy blocker towards them. The sad news of two past players fighting cancer last
year has also come and gone in the news without any particular empathetic
response from the tennis world. One, Schiavone, a Grand Slam winner who was on
the tour for a very long time and was one of my favourite players, and one who I
was lucky enough to see in tournaments. She has a great presence when you are
in the same room with her! Her battle with cancer was clearly arduous, as is
evident in her emotional message on facebook late last year when she explained
her absence from social media. I wish we had all known back when she was
diagnosed so we could support her through it. Two, Nicole Gibbs, a lower ranked
player whose titles have been won on the ITF tour but has been ranked in
singles as high as 68 in the world. She has fortunately been able to recover well
enough and quickly enough from a rare form of cancer to return to the tour the
same year. Indeed, I believe Gibbs is playing a singles match against Errani in
Mexico as I write this.
Perhaps there should be a more
flexible outreach system to assist players who have suffered traumatic life events,
whether serious illness, physical attacks such as those experienced by Seles
and Kvitova or personal problems, for example, Azarenka who is absent from the
tour this year so far because of recurring personal problems.
What does a player of any sex have
to go through or achieve before they are simply appreciated and celebrated for
their achievements and/or efforts on and off the court? Have journalists and
past players become so wrapped up in a culture of gossip, opinion pieces and
unfounded speculation that the tennis world also fails to remember to empathize
with the tennis players, famous or not, that they talk about or ignore in
mainstream media outlets? Some people are dismissive of empathy and kindness as
being, for instance, too wishy-washy, too emotional or sweet and nice, too much
of a strain to maintain as an ethical standard, or prone to being too lenient
in the wrong way at the wrong time with the wrong people. Men often assume
empathy is some feminine trait while, ironically, feminist philosophers mostly,
if not entirely, reject a feminist philosophy of empathy in preference to a
philosophy of care. Much as I think an ethics of care can be important, I have
always maintained that empathy is a prior condition to good quality and ethical
care, thus empathy takes conceptual precedence to care. It is not to be confused
with emotional contagion, as though we’d be merely catching the emotions of the
players like catching a cold. Empathy is also something that everyone (regardless
of their sex; gender identity) have a capacity for, indeed, it has even been
observed that monkeys can display empathetic behaviour. If even animals are
capable of empathy then what excuse can human beings plausibly provide for
having a collective, social, empathy by-pass? If we want to live in a healthy
society and create a healthy, happy tennis world, we all need to appreciate,
respect and care for the tennis players by understanding them and their
situation through empathy. And being kind doesn’t mean somehow gritting your
teeth and saying something nice rather than saying what you are really thinking
or feeling. Kindnesses and empathy are also not some ‘good girl’ social
behaviour that girls and women should avoid in order to combat sexist social
conditioning. They are standard, pro-social behaviours which all sexes and
gender identities should engage in to help glue a psychologically healthy, knowledgeable,
non-discriminatory, flourishing society together, complete with its worlds
within worlds such as the sports world. So whether it’s within the sports world
or not, #BeKind, and I’d add, #BeEmpathetic
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