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Original poster

That Wimbeldon ball boys/girls are exploited and treat like shit

179 replies

Inkanta · 08/07/2015 05:29

I don't think they should be expected to pass towels to players after each point and when the player wipes the sweat off his face and walks around the court, have to face the player and walk backwards, waiting to be thrown the sweat soaked towel, sometimes viscously at their face. One ball girl was in tears yesterday after being yelled after by Novak-Djokovic. Can't be right surely.

OP posts:
MargoReadbetter · 08/07/2015 15:22

Also, see post above, wimbledon dweller with tennis playing son. We've moved since, place and sport.

EdithWeston · 08/07/2015 15:23

It was still like that until at least the mid-00s too (I knew one) and I doubt very much they'd have changed it.

lurkingmurking · 08/07/2015 15:28

I ballgirled at Queens in the early 90s and it was one of the best experiences of my life. It was almost an honour to be the chosen one to look after a towel!

NKfell · 08/07/2015 15:49

I'd do it now! Although a massively pregnant sweaty woman might look a bit odd!

FreudiansSlipper · 08/07/2015 16:47

no not at all he was just an arse yesterday but i guess the immense pressure gets to you sometimes

i think its a wonderful experience, its an hour to be chosen and still feel sad that i failed at the trials i got through the first few

i think if you lived in Wimbledon or around your school was picked every few years a few from my year where ball girls

RonaldMcDonald · 09/07/2015 01:00

We know Nole ( more than acquaintances, not friends )and he and by extension his family are lovely people.

He is playing sport at a very high level and his concentration is rarely on the use of complete sentences to ball slaves.
IRL he would die rather than be considered to be rude IME

SophieJenkins · 09/07/2015 08:12

you can get ebola from sweat. I wonder what else you can get?

Pumpkinpositive · 09/07/2015 08:27

We know Nole ( more than acquaintances, not friends )and he and by extension his family are lovely people.

Really? I was about to say what a smug prick he seems to be on court. I want Gasquet to thrash him.

But obviously that's never going to happen. Nole is GOATing right now.

londonrach · 09/07/2015 08:30

I would have given anything in my teens to be a 'towel slave'... However i lived no where near. In my 20s and 30s i moved very close but sadly too old and not as fit as i was. Those that are selected are sooo lucky. If that means handing a wet towel to a famous tennis player so what its part of the job. I do hear that if the decided to go to university the ball boys and girls get asked about their wimbledon experience.

londonrach · 09/07/2015 08:31

Forgot to add he was rude but he has apologied and will be dealt with.

Eastpoint · 09/07/2015 08:40

DD ball girled at one of the warmup tournaments this year and really enjoyed it. Getting selected was an honour and she was proud to have passed the training. The only thing she complained about was getting sore quads.

desertmum · 09/07/2015 08:42

my children are cup of tea and glass of wine slaves -is that worse than a towel slave?

Pagwatch · 09/07/2015 08:46

Towel slaves is gloriously dramatic.

He shouldn't have shouted but I can't get excited about it.
My DDs swimming coach shouts at her. She loves her. She's robust and smart. I guess the ball girls and boys probably are too.

magimedi · 09/07/2015 08:50

Pumpkin - Nole can never be GOAT until he wins the French!

CrystalHaze · 09/07/2015 08:53

We know Nole ( more than acquaintances, not friends )and he and by extension his family are lovely people.

Really? I guess Federer misheard the taunts that prompted him to tell them to zip it that time.

And I guess all of the other reports of bad behaviour by his family are untrue too. Not impossible, we all know the press is unreliable. His father's comments about Federer and Nadal weren't too sporting, though he must have been misquoted or they were made up (strange that ND apologised for them, if in fact they were never said).

I wonder why he earned the nickname 'Fakervic' in his earlier playing days, too? Or why, when Federer beat him and ruined his chance to beat McEnroe's unbeaten record, he immediately mentioned an injury that there was no prior evidence of?

I'm sure he and his family are utterly lovely. If so, its a shame that so many misreports are made about them.

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 09/07/2015 08:55

Every single young person I saw round about the courts at the weekend was having the time of their life. I think the odd bit of sweat is a small price to pay. Even the youngsters cleaning th loo at 7pm were cheerful and chatty and clearly enjoying the whole experience.

That said, Novak shouldn't have shouted and he should apologise properly.

GiddyOnZackHunt · 09/07/2015 09:22

What about the poor spectators? Will nobody think of them? Players irresponsibly throwing sweat soaked wrist bands into the crowd, spraying innocent children with bodily fluids? Do they ever stop to consider how rude and insanitary that is? You can see people recoiling in horror. Hmm

Pumpkinpositive · 09/07/2015 09:50

Pumpkin - Nole can never be GOAT until he wins the French!

Pah! Feddy's 2009 victory has a massive *beside it.

I will never forgive Soderling for my first last and only £200 bet on him in the final. Envy

LeBearPolar · 09/07/2015 09:51

I have just googled those Djokovic stories, Crystal - hadn't heard them before. It certainly puts the family in a slightly different light! Interesting to see how Djokovic distanced himself from what his father said: bet there were words said behind the scenes!

I hadn't realised Federer and Djokovic had quite such a bad relationship. There's a lovely video of Rafa and Roger on the Wimbledon thread where they are trying to record a promo for Roger's charity but just keep cracking up: every time they look at each other they burst out laughing.

Pumpkinpositive · 09/07/2015 09:55

His father's comments about Federer and Nadal weren't too sporting, though he must have been misquoted or they were made up (strange that ND apologised for them, if in fact they were never said).

Did his mother not make some rather graceless comments about Federer back around 2007/8 when Fed was still in God mode and Gluton Free was retiring injured from Rafa matches whilst "fully in control of play"?

And who can forget the t-shirts? Confused

Coffee1234 · 09/07/2015 10:12

SophieJenkins you can get Ebola from contact with sweat but people are only infectious when they're symptomatic. I know elite athletes are tough but playing in a slam with fevers and profuse vomiting/diarrhoea seems unlikely.

Respiratory secretions are infinitely more infectious - maybe they should all wear masks to protect from the players' saliva? Especially in Andy Murray's games when he lets out those loud ROARS.

WhyTheDrama · 09/07/2015 10:15

Blimey, I wouldn't like to be held accountable to things that my Dad says. Confused.

I think Novak comes across well. He is definitely not perfect but I like him.

SophieJenkins · 09/07/2015 10:32

Coffee, yes, I know, I didn't think anyone was likely to get ebola from anyone at Wimbledon.

It just made me curious as to what else can be transmitted by sweat, as some things clearly can. iyswim

CrystalHaze · 09/07/2015 10:34

Blimey, I wouldn't like to be held accountable to things that my Dad says.

Nor me. My point was that PP commented that "he and by extension his family are lovely people", yet there are many instances of them behaving as anything but lovely people. Fair enough, no one's perfect, but ND and his family do have a history of unsporting behaviour towards other players.

WixingMords · 09/07/2015 10:36

Twenty odd years ago I'd have happily died to be a towel slave. Obviously the death part of my exchange would occurred after Wimbeldom (possibly from a towel related fatality)