The Wimbledon women’s quarterfinals were going on yesterday, which is why I was so distracted, and why some of my posts were basically like “here are photos, BLAH, gossip!” I was trying to watch some of Serena Williams’ match and work and keep up with the other scores too. Serena was first on Center Court, and she battled brilliantly through a tense three-setter against a fellow American, Allison Riske (who is awesome). Serena will play her semifinal tomorrow.
Following Serena’s win, the British people were excited to see the next match on Center Court, a match which would determine who played Serena in the semi. The match: British #1 Johanna Konta versus an unseeded Cezch player named Barbora Strycova. Strycova is well-known to people who follow women’s tennis – while she’s out of the top 50 in singles ranking, she’s #3 in the world in doubles, and she has a tricky game for many players. Tricky for Konta, who is extremely talented but does seem to lose the plot a little bit in some the biggest matches of her career. Konta gets nervous, she gets a bit tight, misses a few shots and then it all just starts falling apart. Which is exactly what happened in the QF: Konta and Strycova had a tight and tense first set, Strycova managed to pull out a first-set win in the tiebreak, and then Konta kind of fell apart in the second set.
That kind of thing literally happens all the time in men’s tennis and women’s tennis. But because it’s Wimbledon and Konta is British (sort of), of course she carries the burden of expectations in her home country. After the loss, the British journalists absolutely beat up on her in the press room and Konta SNAPPED. Please take a moment to watch this whole video:
The journalists were absolutely being incredibly rude. It’s one thing to ask a pointed question to a player who is clearly still feeling the big loss, but to go in on Konta with rude question after rude question was not a great look for those British journalists. They didn’t want her to say “I f–ked it all up, you’re right,” they were just trying to make her feel even worse. Konta told the one guy: “I don’t think you need to pick on me in a harsh way. I think I’m very open with you guys. I say how I feel out there. If you don’t want to accept that answer or you don’t agree with it, that’s fine. I still believe in the tennis that I play. I still believe in the way I competed.” When the same guy kept going in, she curtly says: “Please don’t patronise me.”
Was all of this fair or unfair? Like, just from a tennis-perspective, Konta does fall apart in so many big matches and she did in the QF. It would genuinely help her to acknowledge it and work on that. That being said, it’s incredibly rude to go after her so rudely right after a crushing loss on home turf. TL; DR version: British male journalists are a–holes to women, news at seven.
#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/LLY1kNvFqY
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 9, 2019
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Mansplaining, but make it tennis.
what is mansplaining? it was rudeness and the nerve. he is an arrogant ass that thinks he has the right to call her out for her loss. I am really disappointed in him. the woman has the right to lose. even to be absolute shit at her job, which is not the case of course. how dare he?
@buensenso – “mansplaining” is when a man corrects a woman and explains something to her that does not need to be explained.
Example: I, a woman, say I’m a lawyer.
Man: “Actually, you’re an attorney.”
ETA or are you asking what is “mansplaining” about what he said? I think its that she told him she felt he was being harsh etc and then he was like “Actually I just want to know….” no. he was being a patronizing jerk.
Becks1, I was interested in the concept of mansplaining. I wasn’t sure what it was really about. thanks for the response.
Mansplaining is when a man unnecessarily explains things to a woman in a patronizing or condescending (and unnecessary) way. To me, this exchange is textbook mansplaining.
I
OMG. What an ass.
I always thought the post-loss press conferences are mean, for almost any sport, but especially tennis because its just you out there, its not a team – and I’m sure with her coach she’s going to analyze what went wrong and why – to have someone basically want you to break down your mistakes for their news story is icky for anyone. And especially the way he was saying it – “presumably you want to get better.” Like, STFU.
It is the proper answer. A master class in assertiveness.
He was talking to her like he was her damn coach. I like that she said “is that your PROFESSIONAL tennis opinion?” Like yeah – we ALL as spectators have our ideas and feelings but none of us are actually professional tennis players and we have no idea what it’s like to play in big matches like that.
Yeah, it’s always mindblowing when fans want to analyze games (any sport) to me. “They played badly” is a really easy statement when you aren’t the one up against other professional players. A professional who loses a tournament is still going to smoke my ass in court.
Armchair “sports experts” are the worse. I always think so why aren’t YOU playing professionally since you know so much?
The British press is really doubling down on being crappy. First just going in on her at the press conference, and then when she pushes back a little characterizing it as a meltdown. Even if you think it’s appropriate to ask pointed questions since this is her job and all, her response seemed like measured and polite pushback. SMH
I don’t consider what she said to be rude at all. She meant exactly what she said, “please don’t patronize me.” But I do feel that her response was exactly what he wanted because now he gets another story he can characterize exactly the way he wants whether it’s true or not. It was certainly no meltdown, she was totally composed. The media can be so sexist.
Imagine mansplaining how to play tennis to a professional tennis player and thinking they’re the rude one when they call you out for it.
What an a—hole that guy is.
She’s keeps it together so well after her loss and is so eloquent!
I would have probably burnt out crying, that’s all.
*burst out
Tennis journalism is basically a festering pile of trash. They love to make up dramas, they show blatant favoritism and biases, and they’re incredibly entitled. It sucks because they’re never officially identified in these press conference transcripts, so they’re insulated from being called out for unprofessional conduct 95% of the time. Once in a while other reporters on Twitter will identify a journalist who’s asked a particularly obnoxious question.
you’re right. they are absolute crap. I was thinking about it the other day while watching some wimbledon press…their questions are so dumb and uninteresting. I could ask basic questions like those. they’re not interested in the game at all. it’s all about the imagined conflicts between the players or about the players’ personal weaknesses.
That’s very true and the British press in particular are always really rude and harsh with British tennis players. I remember how they treated Tim Henmen many years ago, when he couldn’t break through to win this tournament. He did well, all things considered, but the British press treated him like trash.
I think that jackass was hoping to break her down, hoping to make her emotional. How disappointing for him that she stayed professional and also calmly pointed out how rude he was.
I think “slams reporter” is a huge overstatement tbh… she very politely called him out. I really liked when she asked him “is that your professional tennis opinion” as in, you’re not my f*cking coach.
I had never heard of her before (not a big tennis fan) but I saw her very calm and collected in this video. She played her best, and her opponent played better. That’s all there is to it.
I gotta say, I got a little farklempt watching this, having flashbacks to times where someone just WON’T LET SOMETHING GO and won’t stop until you break down or scream or until you totally feel like crap. Her opening statements were so gracious, acknowledging that her opponent played a great game. The problem for these asshats was she then didn’t pile on herself. So many of us have been in situations where you made what you reasonably thought the right choices at the time but for whatever reason, they didn’t work out. They were trying to make her say she screwed up, she was bad, etc. and she wasn’t having it. As well she shouldn’t.
If I have a quibble it’s that I wouldn’t describe this as “snapping” at the reporter. She maintained her cool, her tone just got pointed.
Her response was perfect. Assertive, truthful and calm. He is an absolute POS.
Our tabloid (it blatently was) journalists are the f**king WORST. What an a$$hole.
She was incredibly composed and articulate. I would’ve lost it and given the death stare and maybe said, “As I already said…” in a raised voice. Basically given them enough ammunition to say I threw a tantrum. Sigh. She handled the press with class. I can definitely learn from HER.
Yeah, that would have been me, too. She didn’t slam him, she was quite cool & calm.
Watching Konta, I was struck by how many repetitive questions all tennis players must have to answer. I watched the Serena/Andy press conference right after, and the way the press harangued him after he repeatedly said he wasn’t putting a time frame to his return to singles was intense. They kept asking again and again, even though he was quite clear that he’s taking his time. It was all the more striking because of Serena’s reaction to the entire thing — she looks so surprised by the way the British press keeps pressing him.
I think Konta’s reaction is right on, particularly because she already answered the question how she saw fit, even if the journalist doesn’t agree with her assessment. There’s a fine line between reporting on sports and backseat coaching, I think.
Honestly, the British press go hard on her because she’s “not really british” (she was born in Australia to Hungarian parents; didn’t immigrate to the UK until she was a teen). Any time there’s a story about her being the British number one, half the comments will be people foaming at the mouth that “SHES NOT BRITISH!!!!!111”. Brits are weirdly obsessed and concerned with who is “really” British.
Well they still have the Royals.
She handled that SO WELL.