Elite athletes are media trained to perfection. That doesn’t mean they always do everything perfectly. Sometimes they can be too honest.
“I felt a little bored out there, to be completely honest with you,” is what Bernard Tomic told reporters during a press conference post-match, after his Wimbledon round one loss.
“I couldn’t care less if I make a fourth-round US Open or I lose first round. To me, its the same,” the 24-year-old Australian continued to explain.
7SportAU on Twitter: “ICYMI | Bernard Tomic bowed out in straights sets to Mischa Zverev at #Wimbledon overnightThen…this happened pic.twitter.com/OczqsAioGe / Twitter”
ICYMI | Bernard Tomic bowed out in straights sets to Mischa Zverev at #Wimbledon overnightThen…this happened pic.twitter.com/OczqsAioGe
The upfront comments from the controversial tennis star has caused tennis world backlash. Wimbledon winner Pat Cash said Tomic was too rich too young, and needs to “work in a factory”. Racket maker Head have dropped their sponsorship of Tomic. 18 time grand slam winner Martina Navratilova told the BBC that Tomic should “find another job”. Almost anyone with a substantial position in the tennis realm has made their opinion abundantly clear.
Australia’s once golden boy in tennis, who dominated headlines for his undeniable talent rather than his attitude, seems to be in a professional rut and somewhat disrespectful to the sport.
Tomic recently faced critics on Seven’s Sunday Night, only angering the Australian public further. Tomic “built career on 50 per cent effort”.
He told Sunday Night, “I never loved tennis. I am just going to go about it as a job.”
And the comment that left a gut-wrenching feeling in everyone’s stomach: “I’m trapped”.
7NEWS Spotlight on Twitter: “Looking back on videos of himself as a motivated young boy, Bernard Tomic got a little emotional. Full interview: https://t.co/T5clwcDYS0 pic.twitter.com/8sEkDSnr8c / Twitter”
Looking back on videos of himself as a motivated young boy, Bernard Tomic got a little emotional. Full interview: https://t.co/T5clwcDYS0 pic.twitter.com/8sEkDSnr8c
Is Tomic being an ungrateful brat? Possibly. Is he suffering emotionally and mentally? Maybe. Or are we reading too much between the lines and not taking what he’s saying for face value? Absolutely.
Sport and exercise psychologist Jeff Bond, who worked with Pat Cash during his Wimbledon championship win in 1987, said it’s “easy for us to sit back and say he’s depressed and suffering mental health issues, leading him to not be interested in what he’s doing”.
Bond said that every player that he’s worked with on the circuit goes through “similar things”.
When it comes comprehending unfamiliar things we struggle to understand, we should be “careful not to lump them all in the same box”.
“He’s in a sport where there is enough money to not be at the top of his game to make a substantial living,” he said.
“He’s as entitled as anyone else to treat tennis like a job, even though we might not like it as sponsors or tennis spectators.”
Vilifying a player who feels trapped in a profession he felt he never chose, is something almost everyone can empathise with. How many of us have worked in a job we have no choice but to work, purely for the money?
Maybe we need to take a leaf out of Tomic’s book and face reality. Maybe, it’s time we take complete and utter honesty for what it is — the truth.
