![]() Spaniard Paula Badosa (world number 33) also sees a future for trash-talk in tennis. But it's the social norms of our sport that make it different," adds Gauff. But if Caitlin Clark (a basketball player) does it, people love it. ![]() "If I did that, people would go crazy on Twitter. I got a lot of trash talk thrown at me and I had to fight back," says Gauff, who also points out that tennis culture sets some boundaries. In those sports you trash talk a lot and I was the only girl on the boys' team. I played other sports when I was growing up, I played basketball and ran track. In college tennis, it's a lot of trash-talking," Gauff told the WTA Insider podcast. I think that this is something that would bring in more fans. "I think it would make the sport interesting. Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff, the world number three and six respectively, believe that trash-talking would make tennis more interesting and attract more people to the sport. but since then it has become commonplace for top athletes in virtually all disciplines to use it to annoy opponents and upset their mental balance in order to jeopardise their performance.Īt an amateur level, it is generally frowned upon, especially in youth competitions, but in the NBA, for example, trash-talking has dimensions of genuine psychological warfare that some players excel at.ĭaniil Medvedev is often explosiveProfimedia Gauff: 'If I trash-talk, people go crazy on Twitter'Īnd now, some of tennis' most established stars believe that trash-talking should have a place in the sport. This technique was first used systematically by boxing legend Muhammad Ali. It is generally intended to intimidate the opponent or make the athlete lose his or her temper, but it can also have a humorous and light-hearted element in the form of imagery, puns and teasing. Trash talk is a form of boasting or banter that is commonly used a lot in competitive situations, such as sporting events. Don't get me wrong, I don't find it hard to see this happening, because tennis is in a pioneering period where many of its unwritten rules are being questioned, but trash-talk is not an element I can condone in tennis.īut perhaps we need to pause for a moment and get clear on what "trash talk" actually is. In tennis?! At the risk of being described as blatantly old-fashioned, I have to say that I lean more towards the ideals of DGI than the new tones of tennis.Īny new development in sport is not necessarily positive and I have to say that we are heading down the wrong track. That decency is now being challenged by a number of tennis stars who believe there should be room for "trash-talk" in tennis. John McEnroe has always had a very verbal styleProfimedia The decency of tennis is being challenged Many examples could be given to show that this image does not correspond to reality, but nevertheless, an aura of decency still surrounds the sport of tennis. you behave properly, talk properly, show consideration, help each other and don't throw the racket!". The DGI website states: "Tennis is a gentleman's sport, i.e. Similarly, players are expected to behave with a certain grace, elegance, maturity and responsibility. Tennis fans are traditionally expected to be quiet during the game and only make noise between points, although the unwritten rules are certainly not always followed during US Open and Davis Cup matches, for example. Whereas football fans cheer, scream and drink in the stands while the players display their emotions and personalities on the court, the tennis crowd is the complete opposite. Repeated requests from the referee to "Quiet, please" have come to symbolise that spectators are expected to remain calm even when the drama is at its peak. Tennis has always been considered a 'gentlemen's sport' on the same level as golf. However, given the whole culture of tennis as a gentleman's sport, trash talk would be a real backlash and send the wrong message to the players of tomorrow. The possible acceptance of "trash-talk" is the latest addition to the raft of proposals currently being flooded into tennis in an attempt to make the sport more attractive to future generations.
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