Happy but worried for Emma Raducanu

[JackieWeaverHandforthCouncil]

Maybe I’m getting old and jaded but although I’m so so happy for Emma I have a sinking feeling and worry for her.

She’s the nations darling today but my experience of the British press is that she should enjoy this phase while it lasts. The minute she falters, says anything socially positive a dodgy tweet the right wing press will call her ‘woke!’, there’ll be a ‘Twitter storm!’. She’ll suddenly no longer be British she’ll be Chinese, Canadian, Romanian.

On the Guardian side they will beat people over the head with articles about her being a minority and a woman.

All this alongside tabloids trying to get dodgy ‘Pwoar! Tennis beauty!’ shots. Digging up old boyfriends from school.

I have PMT which is probably why I’m feeling like this but her rise has been so quick and stratospheric and I don’t trust our media to treat her as the incredibly talented, professional and very young woman she is.

Nope.
Cos rather than the usual agonising years of dashed Hope's, she has just done it.
She is only 18. Hopefully she will do 5 years of professional tennis, then get on with the rest of her life.
Better than ending up in her 30s with injuries and a knackered body IMHO.

I think its natural to think wow thats a lot on young shoulders and how does she feel about the pressure. I actually came on here for a thread to say bloody hell what amazing tennis isnt she anazing and that's what Im going to look for. On this, honestly we have to remember the media is not reality ffs!! I wouldnt be surprised if more people say fuck this shit and abandon social media in droves (in favour of private closed system when it gets better at verifying identity). The mass media will always be a cesspit inherently biased, but at least we have say the Guardian v the Daily Mail, some countries don't have such a varied press. As PP said also we have much better coaching and support around negative press at elite level. I'm sure she is slightly concerned about change and hoping its all good, but shell develop positive strategies too.

• 11:49sst1234

Empathy is a professional sport nowadays. There are more self publicizing permanently outraged saints than trolls out there.*

You're right.

It would certainly follow the trajectory taken by the media with Victoria Pendleton and Rebecca Adlington. And, to a lesser extent, Andy Murray.

The flack all three took about their physical appearance was repulsive. Even now it's still going on, as witnessed by some of the foul commentary accompanying Adlington's recent wedding. They are world class athletes, not models. They are not in the world to decorate it for superficial fuckwits.

Some of it's misogyny, but not all, as Murray received some of the same kind of abuse - but it's very interesting that so much of said abuse was levelled at his wife, who as far as I can see did nothing wrong and merely sat in the stands applauding him. I couldn't name Adlington's or Pendleton's spouses at gunpoint.

We (as a nation, culture, society, or whatever) extol the wrong values.

typical mumsnet sucking the joy out of someone, s achievement.

I don't think this is the case at all. What I'd like to see, and what OP seems to be getting at, is that those achievements are exactly what we should be celebrating. Not the other negativity that comes with it. It's horrible the way the media has treated some of the people who've brought a much-needed sense of achievement and pride in this country: (through their own efforts, not some kind of nonsense like hereditary privilege or reality TV).

Andy Murray seriously shut some of the naysayers up when he netted an Olympic gold and Wimbledon title in the same year. They were quick to either sing his praises or conveniently forget.

It's sickening, the way some of our highest achievers are lambasted, yet those who have achieved precisely nothing yet have some silly 'HRH' title are venerated even when they exploit and abuse that position to befriend traffickers and dodgy contacts in the middle east.

There needs to be some pushback against this. Don't ask me how, though, because people are not going to stop reading the spiteful gossip rags.

@Theluggage15

Not sure how you can overhype what she’s achieved?

Of course you can overhype it. It's no bigger an achievement in the sport than Keely Hodgkinson (19 years old) winning a world title in athletics last week. But tennis is a bigger sport, so Keely gets a footnote and Emma gets pages and pages of coverage.

typical mumsnet sucking the joy out of someone, s achievement.

I don’t agree either.
Just look at the titles in the newspapers. Some are talking about her achievement. Which is HUGE. I mean no BRITISH woman has won that tournament since 1977.

But the others? She could apparently be as good as the Kardashians (The Times), will be at the root if a sexism row (The Spectator), will have an amazing marketing stardom (The Guardian).

She is going to have a rough ride being

• a woman
• young
• mixed race
• from a Romanian father.

Not now. But as soon as she will have any vague setback.

And that’s wo all the rest. see the Vogue article featuring her dressed up to the nines with dress etc… rather than a tennis player as such (we would never have that with men, let’s say A Murray etc….)

@lockdownmadnessdotcom, it’s not Raducanu who is overhyped.
It’s the others that are ignored…

I think she’ll be fine. The biggest risk imo is injury. Many people will remember her brilliance of this year and take that for granted in years to come. There are loads of tennis stars who you don’t hear about any longer because of their injuries.

Not only is she incredibly talented but she has a good team around her and seems to have her head stewed on properly. She gave a wonderful interview to press.

YABU. She has her own parents and professionals advising her and doesn't need you worrying on her behalf.

Saw her interview today: she seems a very grounded, well-adjusted young woman. I think she’ll be fine.

The minute she falters, says anything socially positive a dodgy tweet the right wing press will call her ‘woke!’

Why do you assume she is not a Tory supporter?

As long as she doesn't start using her place in sports as a platform to indoctrinate about politics, veganism, climate change or the like, the press are likely to leave her alone.

I don't see Roger Federer being harassed in any way,, for instance, but he is wise enough to focus on playing tennis and keep his opinions to himself

I don't see Roger Federer being harassed in any way,, for instance, but he is wise enough to focus on playing tennis and keep his opinions to himself Precisely. I can't stand Roger Federer but he is one of the most popular sportsman of all time. He has his own charity foundation which seems to run without fanfare because I had to look it up on Google. rogerfedererfoundation.org/
Billie Jean King has made it her life's work to fight for women's rights in tennis. She gets nothing but respect for that nowadays. But sports stars seem to be expected to be 'role models' now and it grinds my gears.

Strange thread.