Tennis thrives on discussions within the community on social media, where players try to engage with their fans. It seems as though the purpose is getting extinct by the day. If big names such as Stefanos Tsitsipas and Stan Wawrinka cannot express themselves honestly, then do others really stand a chance? The answer is most probably a no.
Beginning with Tsitsipas, he is arguably the highest-ranked men’s player who is the most active on social media, whether it is on X, Instagram or TikTok. While many of his posts might come as too random or philosophical, that indicates someone who is expressive outside the tennis court as well and who wants to be liked and loved.
Tsitsipas might never have imagined that a post in which he highlighted issues ailing tennis at the moment would face so much backlash that he would have to delete it soon. The Greek star did face a bit of trouble in some of his previous posts, but that was comparatively lesser than a long post in which he also had two lines of praise for Novak Djokovic due to his work with the PTPA, an organization that is not recognized by the ATP.
“Tennis has always been a sport with deep roots, but those of us who play it know the demands of the year-round schedule. Endless flights across continents, the constant pressure to perform; it’s pushing even the best players to their limits.
“With leaders like Djokovic stepping in, the push for a more player-friendly schedule is gaining traction. We players know better than anyone what’s needed, and now we’re in a unique position to negotiate these changes,” Tsitsipas tweeted in September 2024.
That was a much longer post, and Tsitsipas was criticized by some fans initially as they felt that he made it using an AI tool like ChatGPT because of its English being too perfect for a Greek player. But the issue was much deeper for Tsitsipas to delete it, possibly due to backlash or pressure from people at the very top levels of the sport. Although nothing has been proven yet in this regard, the timing of the deletion cannot be a mere coincidence.
While Tsitsipas has still posted on social media even after that incident, it seems he is not the only one to succumb to external pressure when it comes to writing something that is hard-hitting about an issue in the sport.
Stan Wawrinka’s reaction to Jannik Sinner’s interview was deleted too
Recently, the 3-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka posted a laughing emoji on a tweet that played a segment of Sinner’s now infamous interview with Eurosport. Sinner claimed that he doesn’t play for money, days after winning $6 million, a record prize money in tennis history by playing just three matches in Saudi Arabia.
Wawrinka is also very active on social media, and to his credit, he replies to many fans’ and journalists’ posts personally. He may have had nothing against Sinner, but that honest reaction went viral. In the Swiss star’s case, though, the difference was that many Sinner fans felt he put that up out of jealousy and that he could never reach the World No.1’s level.
The fallout from the post was definitely ugly enough for Wawrinka to delete it. After Djokovic, Wawrinka is the only active men’s singles player with more than one Grand Slam title who has been playing since the 2000s. It shows that even he isn’t above scrutiny and has more to lose than gain.
What choice do players now have? Should they completely stop posting or reacting altogether to anything said to them or a particular event or issue? Or should they be dishonest to the community?
Social media might have a few advantages, but it can be a big and tricky beast to tame because of so many opinions coming in on one particular platform. Coincidentally, Tsitsipas himself lauded Grigor Dimitrov recently for highlighting the challenges modern professional tennis players face when it comes to being mentally healthy.
It is said that sport not only mirrors life but also the times and society we live in. Are stakeholders on social media and in tennis becoming more intolerant by the day of facts or even opinions that they do not agree with?
If the answer is yes, then the sport could be in for a tough ride, and players won’t be the only ones who would suffer from it. Those fans who genuinely love the sport and are not interested in reacting negatively to anything they read or see might never get to see the content they want from their favorite players. Content that becomes vanilla is plain and lacks the emotions that make a player and the sport that has been adored over the years.
Adding to that, the sport needs credible voices to bring about positive changes for future generations. Pressure is good, but not so much that it makes a person crack and feel bad about themselves. It’s time that many in the community learn that it’s okay to agree to disagree and that positivity has an important place in our world.
