Raducanu media focus on money

[NiceGerbil]

Anyone else noticed this?

BBC site and on the news now huge focus on her going to make loads of dosh.

Lots of focus on why she will be super marketable. Things like young, personable, mixed race...

Saying she's got the world at her feet for sponsorship etc.

While this is true I'm sure. I find it a bit strange that is the big story. And not about her upbringing, the other sports she loves, more analysis of the match, her academic achievements etc.

There seems to be massive media excitement over the future cash which I think is a bit strange and a bit well sort of a strange focus.

Just me or anyone else noticed?

Media builts up and breaks down

True.

To start so soon though and have this huge excitement about cash rather than her future in tennis feels tbh a bit shit.

Yes, I don’t remember ever hearing on the news before exactly how much the prize money is.

I agree Op - wish they'd focus properly on her success and how much she has achieved and not how much money she's made now and will make in the future.

It’s probably only because she’s so young (and pretty). Not many kids her age who get $2.5 mil in one fell swoop.

It feels a bit. Dunno. Disrespectful? Dismissive. Not sure of the right word.

It was a brilliant match.
First qualifier ever to win a grand slam.
First British woman to get to grand slam final in 40 years or something.
So good at various sports esp loved Motocross that she had to choose. Can't we have some background and maybe footage about that?
Academic performance.
Etc etc etc etc

Instead they seem to think that the real news is that she's going to make loads of money with sponsorship. And that's what needs a segment on the BBC news with people who know about marketing chatting on about it.

The other thing when they describe why she's extremely marketable also obviously includes but has not said out loud that she's very pretty.

The whole thing on about her being desirable to sponsors and listing young mixed race etc just feels. Like she's a product? Rather than a young woman who has just achieved what she has.

@AngeloMysterioso

It’s probably only because she’s so young (and pretty). Not many kids her age who get $2.5 mil in one fell swoop.

She got 2.5 mil in one fell swoop because she won the us open.

Because of her skill determination etc etc.

I mean yes there's interest because she's young and pretty but the money she won was for tennis iyswim.

I agree @NiceGerbil - it feels like they're turning her into a product of her looks rather than her talent. They seem to be careful not to refer to her looks explicitly but it certainly seems implied in everything they're saying! I think that's why it feels so wrong.

I think it's an underlying message designed to stoke resentment and envy - 'why has she got so much money etc'

And it works.

All I could think about on Saturday night was how phenomenal she was, welled up with tears of happiness.

By today - irritated at her £20,000 worth of jewellery she was gifted to wear in the final and the party and interviews afterwards.

I mean ffs, I'm so annoyed at myself for reading that bullshit article - I never read shit like that. Never read about rich people and their stuff.

I'm just a bit surprised and taken aback.

I mean sure do a couple lines about she's got an amazing future ahead of her and sponsorship deals will be rolling in.

Mainly it should be about what she's done etc etc

To focus entirely on the cash for a BBC piece. And on the news to do that as well even with marketing people saying why she's so marketable. Including she's mixed race young and everyone knows pretty is in there.

I mean this is the focus?

The more I think about it the more I think it's really bad!

That's really interesting Laurie.

Why do you think you felt irritated? I don't tend have those sorts of reactions. Nothing to do with saying oh look I'm wonderful just my personality. I get the aresehole about plenty of other stuff!

So if you can say a bit why that happened would be super interesting.

My thought on reading what you said was-

Maybe she's not interested in jewellery
I don't know what happened but having been given it she kind of has to wear it and advertise it for them .
Saying no thanks without an excellent reason would have led to untold criticism!

And the dinners etc are probably boring as fuck/ just may not be her thing. Maybe she'd rather have a meal with her family in front of the telly.

Was it after the final? Where's her downtime after all that stress adrenaline physical and mental effort?

I mean sure maybe she thought it was all great. But who knows?

Anyway sorry. What was it that irritated you?

Rightly or wrongly, Emma is going to be a lot more ‘marketable’ & make a lot more money because she is multi-racial, multi-lingual & very pretty than she would if she was white (or black) & plain looking. Her ethnicity opens up the vast Chinese market for her to promote brands. That’s just the reality of the commercial world in which professional sports people live, and media coverage reflects that.

Irritated because she was being sponsored by Tiffany and was wearing Pearl/diamond earrings, diamond cross, gold ring while playing (plus different earrings/ring after for interviews)

And I can't have any of it 🤷‍♀️

So Bog standard envy - and I deliberately don't look at rich people stuff (don't have social media/don't read stories about rich people

Yeah I get all that but it's really viewing her as a product.

Which marketers do obv but to give the marketing side of it so much attention and how much she could make. Only a couple of days after her massive achievement.

It's crass. I don't get it.

They should be focusing on her and her tennis. She's got so much interesting stuff I'd like to hear about.

I'm interested in her. Not in speculation about how much money she could make given she's young and mixed race etc.

As she’s only 18 there is only so much they have to say about her.
I doubt if her parents are talking & the coaches that you’ve seen on tv talking about her haven’t coached her for years & don’t actually know much about her ( I know the coach who’s in the US with her & know some of the others have been rather embellishing their connection!)
I think the papers are desperate to fill pages with her but don’t have much to go on.
As for the money - it really costs a lot to be a top level pro, careers don’t last long & yes her team will try to make sure she earns as much as possible on the back of this

Aw Laurie!

You can borrow mine 🤣🤣🤣

I think part of the reason why the focus is on her winnings (and her earrings!) is that she’s got no history for the media to drag out and rehash. No tennis career to dissect or evaluate, no relationships to ogle over, no wild social life to disapprove of.
Her personal team is, thankfully, reliably keeping pretty silent.

So the only thing they can find to fill those column inches, is her prize money, and they can do that just with some quick research. They don’t need to interview her, so, with a stock photo or two added, it’s an easy story.

Not her academic achievements exams 3 months before open
The fact she did loads of different sports. And she was brilliant at tennis and Motocross and had to decide which one to focus on
Her confidence that is unusual for someone her age
Her competition history including the more minor things to see timeline
I mean loads more

Only so much to say about an 18yo. Who has just broken a record, won without dropping a set the whole tournament, been the first British woman to win a grand slam in donkeys years...

Only so much to say?!

Well they’ve obviously said all that because you know about it!

Yes agree. My husband said she will be as rich as David Beckham …i snarled back that it’s Emma skill at playing tennis that should be recognised!!

It reflects the way the media views women’s sport.

For men, though they might well mention the winner’s cheque, winning a grand slam would be the story. They might well add something about what this would do to the player’s world ranking and how they would now automatically qualify for other tournaments. Success at the sport is seen as an achievement in itself - being an amazing athlete, having the mindset of a winner etc

For women, winning is portrayed as just a gateway to fame, sponsorship deals and being a ‘personality.’ The sport itself isn’t respected.

I’m incredibly impressed by the way she handled herself under pressure, both on and off the court.

They talked about her moving up the world ranking yesterday & winning a grand slam was definitely the story yesterday. They’re not going to run the same thing again today

@nancy75

Well they’ve obviously said all that because you know about it!

Yes, in the build up there was plenty of info about her!

Today only a couple days after she won its all about her as a marketable product.

@TenThousandSpoons

Yes, I don’t remember ever hearing on the news before exactly how much the prize money is.

That’s because it’s not a big deal for most of the winners. Most have been playing the circuit for a number of years and slowly accumulating winnings, plus whatever they make in sponsorship.

She literally became a millionaire overnight. That’s not how it works for most players.

They always announce the price money when the cheques are presented after the match.

Why is the prize money such a big deal?

It is what the prize money is.

She's worked for it. Is that more impressive than being the first qualifier to win a grand slam ever?