Roger Federer has spoken out against the media's influence on tennis. "I believe that the players, tournaments, and media must convene in a room and ask, 'OK, what would work for you and what would work for us...' We require a revolution. Or, at the very least, a continuation of today's Stands. We need to assist the younger generation more, to coach and advise them", Federer said to GQ magazine.
The Swiss tennis player was alluding to the events involving 18-year-old British Emma Raducanu and 23-year-old Japanese Naomi Osaka earlier this year. Raducanu, who won the US Open earlier this year, has been chastised by specific media for making her Wimbledon debut. The explanation was that she had quit in the round of 16 due to respiratory difficulties. That year, Osaka withdrew from the French Open. She said she would no longer do news conferences for her safety, and she was punished for this.
The 40-year-old Swiss said he couldn't fathom how he would have handled social media at the start of his career.
"I'm not sure how I would have done it. There is usually one bad comment for every ten positive comments, and you naturally focus on that. It's a dreadful scenario," Of course, he now understands how to cope with the international press and social media, according to Federer. "We must not forget that tennis players are sportsmen and professionals, but we are also humans," Roger Federer added.
