Here is a thought. Tiger Woods' huge hitting power when he was the world's best golfer was attained by putting an enormous amount of stress on his body. He is not a particularly tall man. But he hit the ball huge distances. He achieved it by a big turn in the backswing and a very coiled swing which unleased enormous speed on the downswing.
All this over time stressed his back to the point where it damaged it badly causing a lot of pain. He had to have surgery on this back. More pain, more surgery and more painkillers which impaired his car driving which incidentally he insisted on doing himself because he decided that when he is driving he has - for a brief time - some personal privacy and solitude.
He could have afforded a full-time chauffer. Of course he could have because he is worth an estimated one billion US dollars.
But no he insisted on driving which resulted in car accidents which in turn damaged his right leg to the point where surgeons contemplated cutting it off! It was damaged that badly when he went off the road and rolled his car.
The incident: Tiger Woods’ 2021 crash occurred when his SUV rolled over in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, leaving him with severe injuries, including multiple fractures to his right leg. He was trapped in the vehicle and required emergency surgery after being extracted. Authorities reported it as a single‑car collision, with no evidence of impairment. The crash left his career in jeopardy, though he later made a limited return to golf.
My guess (allegation) is that he fell asleep at the wheel because of the cocktail of painkillers he was taking at the time.
And his right leg plus his bad back cause him pain 24-7 it appears such that he continues to take addictive opioid painkillers 24-7 I suspect which impairs his driving skills to the point where he has been charged with DUI recently. He has pleaded not guilty and he is innocent until proven guilty. But he refused a urine test which - as I understand it - is strict liability. He has almost no defence to that.
But the point is that his golf swing and his fabulous skills (and massive success) have caused all these dire problems in his forced retirement and it will only get worse I predict as he gets older. It is one way traffic to a kind of pain-swamped hell in perpetuity I am sad to say for perhaps the world's greatest ever golfer.
He is paying a price that is too high. If he had had a smoother and less demanding golf swing in his heyday and hit the ball about 10% shorter he might have protected his back which would have prevented all this driving and pain meds mayhem in relative old age. Yes, he may have won less tournaments but it would have been better for him overall.
His problems are self-inflicted. He is adored by kids. He is setting a bad example at the moment. He won't be able to fix the hellish pain problem going forward but he can stop driving for good whether he likes it or not. Just to try and repair is iconic image.
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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.
Olympics boxing is broke thanks to woke. I am sensitive to gender issues but this has gone wrong. Please read the information provided carefully. Update: Khelif won gold! 😒😢
There is uproar and the controversy about the recent boxing match at the Paris Olympics between Imane Khelif of Algeria and Angela Carini of Italy. Carini threw in the towel i.e. gave up, after 46 seconds of the bout because she had been hit by two punches that were the hardest that she has ever felt and caused her extreme pain, she said.
She stopped to protect herself from possible long-term injury. In effect she was surviving, saving her life because she instinctively felt that she was in danger of suffering a serious injury. And in the past, in boxing matches between men, there have been some serious brain injuries so it reminds us that boxing is a dangerous sport.
And due credit to her; for listening to her instincts. But the uproar comes about because Imane Khelif, with the deepest respect, it looks like a man and biologically, according to the International Boxing Association (IBA) she is a man because when they were in charge they conducted DNA tests which showed that Imane Khelif had "XY chromosomes and were thus excluded". They also refer to another boxer with XY chromosomes. Typically, biological sex is determined by chromosomes:
XX chromosomes usually indicate a female.
XY chromosomes usually indicate a male.
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This section is important as it explains a lot. And it is useful in understand what is going on.
Update: The Times Saturday August 2024.This newspaper adds some useful information to this debate. The IOC, the organisation which vets and approves boxers in the Olympics, removed a reference from Kehlif's official profile yesterday saying that "her elevated levels of testosterone failed to meet the eligibility". Comment: it appears that online there was evidence, more evidence, that Imane Khelif was ineligible for the boxing match and shouldn't have been there.
What is more useful, to me, is Janice Turner's comment in the same paper. She has some useful information about the Algerian boxer's gender and DNA. She states that "two controversial boxes at these games, Imane Khelif and Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting, have a DSD. This stands for "difference of sexual development". It's a misunderstood phenomenon arguably wilfully misunderstood according to Janice Turner. These individuals are not "intersex" i.e. between a mix of the two sexes because no one is. She argues that they "almost certainly have 5-ARD: they are biological males with XY chromosomes but whose bodies lack the receptor that creates external male genitalia. She argues that the genitalia is internal but that the genitalia have produced testosterone in the case of these individuals. She adds that "at puberty their internal testes start producing testosterone at normal levels so they acquire most of the strength, muscle mass, height and power of other men."
The IOC spokesperson said that there is a witch-hunt is taking place and that Khelif "was born female, was registered female, lived her life as a female, boxed as a female, has a female passport." Yes, but the information above explains what's going on. And it's clear that some countries actively search out these people because they know that they will have the edge in female competitions of any kind but in boxing it is particularly dangerous to have this edge on common sense grounds.
Further sidebar/update on this story: two Times well-respected journalists have weighed in again on this ongoing story which has captivated the world. The first I want to mention is Owen Slot. He is a senior Times sports journalist. He starts off today with this paragraph "The boxing controversy at the heart of these Olympic Games was transformed into the most distasteful of circuses at the North Paris Arena yesterday. It is disgusting what has befallen two young athletes here, all in the name of sport."
He very much believes that Khelif should not have been accepted as a boxer in this woman's event.
But we must be sensitive towards Khelif. It is said that he is a victim as well. And he strongly says that "I am a woman. I feel good. It's the first Algerian woman boxing medal. I want to thank the Arabic world." She had just won a bronze medal in her weight category. She weighs 66 kg.
But then Algeria is her effective sponsor, and want her to win a gold medal. It is said by some that Algeria and other countries support women with DSD (it is reported that she has this condition) because they know they have an advantage in women's events. They have testosterone produced by internal testes. So arguably, and I say this with the greatest sensitivity, she may have been indoctrinated into believing that she is a woman and she is actually woman but with some male characteristics which I would argue make in illegible for this event.
The IOC is backpedalling all the time and making excuses and rationalising why she is in the event as is the South Korean boxer with a similar condition. And interestingly Donald Trump is weighed in by saying "I will keep men out of women's sports".
He, therefore, is strongly suggesting in that statement that he believes that Khelif is a man at least biologically/technically because once again I suggest we have to be sensitive to the way people feel about their gender. I'm very much for inclusivity and acceptance of one's feelings about gender.
I now turn to Camilla Long another well respected Times journalist who writes for The Sunday Times. She very much supports what I have said here. She argues that is it is very unfair that Khelif is in the competition and that fairness is central to a good Olympic Games and sport in general.
She quotes Adams, the spokesperson for the IOC who said that "This is not a man fighting a woman".
Camilla Long responds by writing:
"As it happens, Adams is wrong. If you have XY chromosomes and high testosterone levels as it is reasonable to assume these fighters do, for the purpose of sport, if not also life, you are a man. Caster Semenya, for example, [the 800 m runner with the same condition who won gold at the Rio Olympics on a podium with two other women also with the same condition allegedly] has XY chromosomes, was born with a vagina and undescended testicles, which produce testosterone. As she grew up, this hormone build muscle, strengthened her bones, created bigger lungs, allowing her to train harder and longer than women. When she refused to lower her testosterone, she won races. When she did she didn't. People like Adam say the matter is complicated as a way of trying to assert himself and put people off questioning it, but it's not. It really is simple. If you are genetically a man, with testicles, producing testosterone, you are a man. You are not fit to compete with a woman. There are simple tests for it".
And she's not referring to undignified tests. She is referring to a DNA test using a cheek swab.
Further update from The Times Monday, August 5, 2024: yes, this is an evolving story and this further update is designed to help clarify this very complicated problem. I'm thankful to The Times newspaper. Essentially, the findings of the International boxing Association (IBA) as mentioned above that Khelif and Lin, the two female boxers at the centre of this storm at the current, Paris Olympics, have XY chromosomes was passed on to the International Olympics Committee (IOC). They knew that these two boxes have XY chromosomes but their argument is that they do not do gender tests and they only accept gender as per the boxer's passport! In other words they didn't accept the IBA test results but they accepted the passport and what the passport says about gender. I think we can heavily criticise the IOC for that because what the passport says simply isn't factual or scientific evidence that a person is male or female or has XX or XY chromosomes. It is what the government or the authorities or the parents say about their child or citizen. That is not conclusive proof. Particularly when the government has a vested interest in terms of achieving gold at the Olympics.
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It's important to note that while chromosomes play a crucial role in sex determination, they aren't the sole factor. Hormones and other biological processes also contribute to the development of sexual characteristics. Also it must be said that Khelif is not transgender. But IBA say that she has a man's DNA. Therefore she is a man surely? Gender critical Lottie Moore said the fight was an example of male violence against a women just like typical domestic violence. LBGT liberation campaigner Peter Tatchell said that we need more evidence on Khelif as to her gender and levels of testosterone. This chaotic situation would never have occurred many years ago. It has all come about because of the woke movement and the laudable desire to be inclusive.
The International Olympic Committee no longer recognises the IBA because of links with Russia so it runs the boxing competition in Paris itself.
And because of a keen desire for inclusivity, they decided to allow Imane Khelif to box but the argument from people like JK Rowling and Judy Murray, is that they should not be allowed to box in women's events. It's unfair competition.
And what we have here, is a debacle, a farce. Both fighters are harmed by this event. Imane Khelif will be examined and criticised as will the Algerian government I suspect because they supported her and promoted her to help her win a medal for the country.
And of course Angela Carini now has a very strong platform and voice upon which to decry the current policy of allowing what, respectfully, appears to have been a fight between a person who was born biologically a man i.e. with XY chromosomes and a woman with XX chromosomes. This sort of farce should not be allowed to happen in the interests of the physical safety of the woman and the mental health of the person with XY chromosomes.
Of course, I'm talking about biological sex. I'm totally for the concept of people deciding their own sex according to how they feel and behave. There is a disconnect between biological sex and people feeling that they are living in a body which is of the wrong sex. I am sympathetic towards them as all people should be. But that's a different matter to a boxing match where people hit each other.
There has to be a fair fight with equal strength as governed by biological sex.
The Italian Prime Minister, Giorgio Meloni has weighed into the conversation as well. She said: "Athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women's competitions. And not because you want to discriminate, but to protect the right of female athletes to be able to compete on equal terms. It was not an even contest."
The video on this page is of JK Rowling calling the boxing match a disgrace. She addressed a message to Kirsty Burrows, head of the International Olympic Committee's safe sport unit, who I presume is the person who ultimately made the decision to allow Imane Khelif to fight as an Olympian.
JK Rowling said: "A young female boxer had just had everything she's worked and trained for snatched away because you allowed a male to get in the ring with her. You're a disgrace, your "safeguarding" is a joke and [the Paris Olympics] will for ever be tarnished by the brutal injustice done to Carini."
Imane Khelif was one of two boxes cleared to compete in Paris despite having been disqualified from last year's World Championships which is run by the International Boxing Association. The IBA had banned Imane Khelif from boxing in female competitions but the ICO totally ignored that and they ignored the DNA test I've referred to indicating XY chromosomes.
They were fighting in a 66 kg bout. Carini fell to her knees and sobbed after the bout was abandoned. She refused to shake the hand of her competitor. She had a nose injury and blood on her trunks. She said: "I'm heartbroken because I'm a fighter. I have always stepped into the ring with honour. And this time I couldn't do it because I couldn't fight any more. In that moment, I had to safeguard my life, I train with my brother. I've always fought against men, but I felt too much pain today. It hurt so much. I am heartbroken. I have never felt a punch like this. After the second blow, I felt extreme pain. I didn't lose, I just surrendered with maturity."
Comment: it seems to me that the ICO have been sucked into the woke movement and lost their minds. The woke movement is about inclusivity which is good and must be praised and welcomed because there's been far too much side-lining of people who do not fit into the neat stereotypes in society but this has gone too far.
In a desire for that inclusivity they have endangered one female boxer physically, brought disrepute to the Olympics in general and to Olympics boxing in particular and also, as mentioned, made the life of Imane Khelif far more difficult. It's unfair on so many levels and wrong.
Barry McGuigan, a former world champion boxer said this about the fight:
It’s wrong, it’s unfair, and above all it’s dangerous. Angela Carini’s Olympic dreams lie in ruins because she lost to an opponent with male characteristics. It’s that simple. Who are these people making the decisions? The IOC in their comments never once used the word dangerous. This is amateur sport. These athletes empty themselves in competition. But this is not athletics. In boxing you get hit in the head as well. The situation in Paris is one catastrophic blow from tragedy. These guys at the IOC are playing God.
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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.
I put it down to the pressure of expectation on her performance following her unique 2021 US Open win. The pressure of expectation from the public and commenters can be very burdensome and intolerable.
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Update next day 7th July 2024, playing Lulu Sun. Emma lost in 3 sets because she was expected by all to win because Sun is a qualifier. The pressure was back on her and she didn't play quite so well or with the same level of freedom she employed in beating Sakkari (ranked as high as 3 recently) in the previous match. Raducanu suffers in my opinion with expectation management problems and other emotional issues and her sports psychologist I am pretty sure is working on that. But her performance against Sun shows us that Raducanu's mental issues are deep seated.
Raducanu needed treatment on her left knee after a fall in the third set but the real story of this match was her timid approach and Sun's fearless play. She hit 52 winners - with Rafael Nadal-like whipped forehand hurting Raducanu more than her slip on the grass. -- Daily Express. She lost her boldness and her frailties returned. It is inherent in her. She fluked the 2021 win. Got lucky.
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Emma Raducanu has seen a sports psychologist and it is working well. Image: MikeB
The world No. 9 used her pre-match press conference to remind Raducanu that she was facing a top-10 player ahead of their third-round Wimbledon clash. But that didn't bother the Brit, who needed 92 minutes to pull off the upset and beat Sakkari 6-2 6-3. - Daily Express newspaper today 6th July 2024.
But, at the moment, she is playing at Wimbledon 2024 and doing remarkably well. She has recaptured that energy and joie de vivre in playing tennis. She is playing aggressively and boldly. That is the kind of tennis she employed when she won the 2021 U.S. Open. I can remember Tim Henman, who was on the side lines during the final, encouraging her to continue to be bold in her play. It's that kind of boldness and freedom of playing which can be highly successful and certainly was in her case.
It's about not thinking too much about the game. It's about letting one's natural talents and instincts take over. It's getting into the "zone" as the experts call it. When things just flow and your body takes over and the brain is pushed out of the equation. You don't want to think too much when you play professional sport as the brain can get in the way.
And I strongly sense that Emma Raducanu has been seeing a top sport psychologist to rectify what I would see as an incorrect mentality as a top tennis professional. Her mentality now seems to be good. Sport psychologists can work wonders. There are no hard reports to support my assertion but I am certain that she has altered her mentality through the services of a good sports psychologist.
It is a recognition of the fact that sport psychology is vital to success. The attitude, mental approach, confidence and mental well-being of a sports person is vital to their success in their profession. It's as important as the mechanics of the serve or the mechanics of the forehand or backhand. It is as important as the footwork. There's the physical side to tennis and the mental side.
No matter how good you are physically and how talented you are, you will not win consistently and win championships without the correct mental approach.
I am hopeful, and I believe, that Emma Raducanu will now progress normally as she has deserved to do and start to win some competitions. She may even win Wimbledon this year but that would seem to be unlikely at present but certainly possible in the future.
But with her mind freed of those unnecessary burdens - mental baggage - perhaps mainly through the pressure of expectation, she can now progress and it will be the first time this has happened since she won in 2021.
P.S. From Google Gemini:
There is no public confirmation that Emma Raducanu has worked with a specific sports psychologist. However, there is evidence that she likely has benefited from some form of mental training:
Sports psychology experts commenting on her game: Several sports psychologists have weighed in on Raducanu's performances in the media, discussing the mental challenges young athletes face and how those challenges might apply to her. This suggests that mental training is a recognized aspect of tennis at her level.
The importance of mental training in tennis: Tennis places significant mental demands on players, requiring focus, pressure management, and emotional control. It's common for professional tennis players to incorporate mental training into their routines.
Even without confirmation of a specific sports psychologist, it's likely that Raducanu receives some form of mental coaching as part of her overall training regimen.
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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.
The picture was created by an AI bot and it looks like a couple of gay professional sportsmen made of plastic. They appear to be stereotypes. It looks like DALL-E has decided to go particularly woke and politically correct. Fine. I like it.
There was a time when pro tennis players were silent when hitting the ball and they changed ends without sitting down and the time between first and second serves was seconds. Now pro tennis is frenetic when play is in progress but ponderous when not.
Why do professional tennis players grunt/shout when hitting the ball while professional golfers do not?
Professional tennis players often grunt during matches as they strike the ball. This practice has been observed in both men’s and women’s games. Here are some reasons behind tennis players’ grunting (these come from a search of the internet except for item 4 and 5 which are mine):
Timing Mechanism: Grunting can serve as a timing mechanism. Players who grunt while hitting the ball tend to time their shots optimally, transferring the right amount of power through the racket.
Masking Auditory Information: Anecdotally, players suggest that a well-timed grunt can mask important auditory cues used during ball contact. By focusing on the grunt, players may inadvertently impair their timing.
Release of Tension: Grunting can also act as a release of physical and mental tension, potentially improving a player’s performance.
My preferred reason is that when a player grunts at the moment of striking the ball it enables them to fully release all their energy which is why golfers could or should do it when driving the golf ball from the tee. Distance is very important when driving the ball and grunting may improve it.
Another reason of mine would be that the shout/grunt stops the mind thinking which frees up all the muscle memory gained over years of practice. The player plays instinctively which is better than allowing the mind to intervene and tighten up the action. Once again this might benefit golfers and I can see some golfers adopting the habit in due course. The only problem is course etiquette. Golf is a silent sport. For a player to start grunting when hitting the ball might be frowned upon by some.
The conventional conclusion: In contrast, currently professional golfers do not typically grunt during their swings. The differences between tennis and golf, such as the nature of the sports, the equipment used, and the rhythm of play, likely contribute to this distinction. While tennis requires explosive movements and quick reactions, golf emphasizes precision and finesse. As a result, tennis players may find grunting beneficial, whereas golfers do not rely on it for their game.
The unconventional conclusion: golfers might start doing it one day. I am sure many golfers talk to themselves while hitting the ball to ensure rhythm. The same kind of thing.
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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.
The only query I have is how did a cat get onto the tennis court at a professional tournament at the commencement of play when there are players on court and spectators in the stands?
Does this indicate that there are lots of stray cats in Abu Dhabi or that the management of the tournament is a little slack? Or perhaps it was just bad luck. Maybe it was good luck as it made Raducanu laugh.
I have seen her look sad too often after losing matches in the early round of recent tournaments. She has not progressed beyond round two so far this year; her first campaign after her three operations - two on her wrists and one on her foot. She has returned to the UK to practice. I think she's returned to also discuss her future as a pro tennis player. It is not working out. She is way off the mark to beat the top 10 players.
This is an embedded video which means that it may stop working as I have no control over its presence on this website.
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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.
This is very obliquely about animals only insofar as that Emma Raducanu has a companion dog and she loves her dog. And I believe that it is entirely possible that she will be spending a lot more time with her dog in the not too distant future based upon what I have read today in the newspaper.
I hope anybody who reads this (very few 😎) will bear with me because it's not about cats! It's about something which has come into my head and like perhaps millions of others I've been following Emma Raducanu's progress both before and since her three operations.
She has a health protected world ranking of 103 and she's just got back to full-time professional tennis and it's not going well. She was full of expectation saying that she felt 'light' meaning she had lost the burden of being a major champion with the incumbent expectations.
"Move aside Emma Raducanu, Great Britain has a new tennis star in Katie Boutler" - News media headline today March 5th 2024 which must hurt Raducanu. It must further demotivate her I am afraid.
Search for 'Raducanu' on this site to see more articles about here.
Commitment?
Her recent exploit was in the prestigious Qatar Open. Stuart Fraser, the tennis correspondent for The Times newspaper says that her preparation for the Qatar Open was poor. Rather than travelling to Qatar to acclimatise herself to the conditions and the courts, she stayed in Dubai and attended an event at a luxury hotel with Naomi Campbell, the supermodel. She is highly marketable and her portfolio of commercial endorsements are worth an estimated 12 million (annually, I believe).
"I think that it's hard for me to get used to the tour schedule" - Emma Raducanu.
But her commercial marketing it is claimed has interfered with her preparations for tennis tournaments which she claims is unfair criticism. But rather than practising in Doha she only managed to fit in a short Sunday afternoon hit after rain had caused disruption to her court schedules.
She lost 6-0, 7-6 in the first round of the Qatar Open. It was not an example of progress on her path back from being ranked number 262 in the world. Her target is to be within the top 10 as she once was after her spectacular US Open win.
Raducanu's signature is very dense and obliterated. I am not sure what it says if anything about her character. Image: Wikipedia.
But here's the problem. She had a bad match with 48 unforced errors to her opponent's 22. She claimed that she was struggling with everything including the conditions. She said that she couldn't see the ball properly and that's because she hadn't practised on outside courts under similar conditions to acclimatise herself to it. This to me shows a lack of commitment I regret to say.
In disarray
And she's decided to return home to practice rather than go on to play at next week's WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai under a wildcard exemption. Next month there is the Sunshine Swing of America tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami. She considered dropping down to the tier below to get more tennis practice and to start winning competitions or matches at least.
But her thinking seems to be in disarray. She's not sure what to do. This is indicated in what she said:
"I think I'm just going to go home and practice, and we'll see where I go from there. It's hard for me to get used to the tour schedule. It's just tournament back, tournament straight away, so I think that I need to schedule my tournaments a little better, as well as just trying to get some more matches under my belt."
Very flat statement. A very uncommitted statement. The words, I would argue, of a person who is somewhat lost about what to do and how to achieve her goals. And indicative of a person whose not happy playing pro tennis. I wonder if she has gone home to discuss her future in pro tennis as her attitude looks very flat and demotivated.
And in the past - last year - she has demonstrated that she struggles physically to play pro tennis week in week out. Her body tends to breakdown. I feel that her body is not robust enough.
Future looks bad
I personally am very negative about her future. I don't think she will get back into the top 10. I don't think she will make much progress at all because while she's been away the other women tennis players have improved such as Anna Kalinskaya ranked 38. She is a great player. Competition is more difficult. And I don't think she likes the lifestyle of a professional tennis player either.
I also believe that her win at the US Open was somewhat fortuitous because she was playing against a line of people who were not ranked that highly. That was pure luck. And at the time she was in great form; somewhat innocently just expressing her love of tennis without feeling the pressure so much.
After she won that prestigious tennis event she felt the pressure and I think it's taken away a lot of the gloss and fun of tennis for her.
I have a strong feeling that she does not have the desire to be a professional tennis player because she's complained before about the tennis professional's lifestyle. You don't hear this sort of complaint from any other woman professional tennis player that I can see. They just get on with it.
These days she looks like an average professional female tennis player. Not in anyway exceptional. Her ranking around 250 is correct. McEnroe has commented that she has a huge task to climb the ranks. He was implying that she won't make it.
Unhappy? Money
She looks unhappy too. It is hidden in forced smiles.
She's made a lot of money. I don't know how much but it must be upwards of £50 million perhaps more even. She does not need to play tennis or indeed work at all again in her lifetime.
She can go home, be with her dog, be with her family and enjoy life. She has won a major tennis tournament. She has achieved a lot. What more does she need to prove? I think that question enters her mind.
Perhaps she wants to prove to herself that winning the U.S. Open wasn't a fluke. She doesn't want to be a one trick pony. She wants to be a genuine classy professional tennis player but I think she's learned that her heart is not in it and it makes her unhappy which why I think she will retire within 24 months. The pro tennis life is not for her and I believe this has dawned on her.
P.S. I think she'll retire even if she reads this and wants to disprove me. The pull to stop will be too strong.
Media
News media are making matters worse for Emma because there's so much news media chatter about her because of her exceptional US Open win being the only player male or female to win as a qualifier. The media can't leave her alone which means added pressure. She's trying to escape the inescapable conclusion that her US Open win was a bit fluky.
The Times
Matthew Syed, the respected Times journalist and former champion table tennis player, has, indirectly, supported what I am saying in this article. He says that her recent poor defeat must be a wake-up call. He calls it a "career-defining wake-up call". He says that there are now no excuses for losing as in the past she has had injuries resulting in losses and she has indirectly blamed coaching for her failures.
He adds that, "It will be obvious to her most ardent fans - and hopefully to Raducanu herself - that this has nothing to do with injury....If her goal is to be the best player she can be, she is emphatically not travelling that road". Those who focus on the commercial side of sport openly acknowledge that she is diminishing her brand. He adds that "that a sporting career is scarily short" and that "this is her time, her chance to push on to glimpse the preciousness of the few years ahead."
He urges her to seize the moment and I sense that he is urging her to commit to being the best she can be. And this is what I'm saying. She appears to be lacking commitment at the moment because I don't think her heart is truly in the professional tennis player's lifestyle.
Sponsors
I also predict that she'll lose most of her lucrative sponsor deals over the coming 12 months. She'll become an average journeyman pro going nowhere. The celeb life will be over soon.
Katie Boulter
Katie Boulter has just won the San Diego Open which is her second ATP win and puts her in the top 30. She has taken on the role of the best British player and this must be demoralising for Raducanu whose all but forgotten languishing in the mid-200s or whatever. She is finished. Sorry but that is the reality.
Photo credit: By si.robi - Raducanu WMQ18 (16), CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71047731
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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.
I believe that Emma Raducanu's retirement from tournaments because of all too frequent mystery physical illnesses are sometimes perhaps often caused by anxiety.
I've lost count of the number of times that Emma Raducanu has retired from a tennis match. Before she had her three operations - each wrist and a foot - and after her spectacular US Open win, she dropped out of about four tournaments because of so-called physical illnesses. I remember her dropping out of Wimbledon (before she won the US Open) because she was breathless.
Compared to other professional tennis players, female and male, she has more health ailments than almost any of them if not all of them. It is quite noticeable. The underlying cause needs to be addressed.
Update 6th Feb 2024: Raducanu has said that she is not too concerned about her tournament results this year. This seems to me to be an attempt to take the heat off herself. This in turn supports my thought that she is an anxious player and it often affects the match outcome.
Emma Raducanu feeling sick during her second round match at the Australian Open. Image: Sky News.
And she has had various muscular ailments forcing retirement. The world knows about them because they have been incredibly well covered by the news media.
Her most recent health problem has also been well-publicised. She was playing in the Australian Open as all tennis fans know. She was playing a second round match against a woman who was ranked 94.
Emma Raducanu probably felt before the match that she should beat her. Okay, Emma is ranked below this lady because of a long absence but her potential is much higher than her current ranking and therefore her expectations would have been to progress well beyond the second round of this tournament. The public would expect and hope the same. This points to expectation pressures.
She was beaten because she said that she felt sick in the third set. As I recall, it was in the second game of the third set when she was 30-0 up when she said that she felt like vomiting. She felt sick and vomit was coming up into her mouth she said.
After that she called a doctor and there was a pause in play and she carried on. She was treated at the courtside within the rules of tennis.
Anxiety causing physical symptoms
Quick research indicates to me that anxiety can cause:
nausea as experienced by Emma Raducanu in the Australian open recently
breathlessness as experienced by her at Wimbledon
muscular tension. Raducanu has experienced muscle problems in her abdomen for example.
These are good examples of how anxiety can cause physical symptoms as I state.
Are these always physical ailments?
But bearing in mind all these physical ailments, I personally cannot believe that they are actually physical ailments. I believe that perhaps some of them are but some of them are due to anxiety. Professional tennis at this level is incredibly competitive.
There are enormous expectations on Emma Raducanu because she is the only qualifier, male or female, to win a Grand Slam tournament. Perhaps she had hoped that the long break for her recovery from her operations would release her from those expectations. But they haven't.
The demands of these expectations are, I believe, making her anxious to the point where she feels sick. And they are also having other effects on her mental health to the point, where I believe she finds an excuse to retire from a match that she believes she might lose.
She is not doing this consciously. It's a subconscious process converting anxiety, a mental health problem, into a physical problem.
Nobody has discussed this at all perhaps out of politeness. And I want to be very respectful of this woman. If I am correct it's entirely understandable. Recently, another tennis player, Caroline Garcia, discussed her acute anxiety with the news media. I am sure that it's a problem or at least a potential issue with all tennis players both male and female.
It just depends how you cope with it and that's why the top players have sports psychologists. I know that the top Italian player, Jannik Sinner, has a sports psychologist who has done some really good work with him and his game has improved to the point where he is expected to win a Grand Slam.
So, in conclusion, I believe that Emma Raducanu's retirement from tournaments because of mystery illnesses, occurring far too often, are underpinned or are caused by anxiety.
Note: I am neither a doctor nor a psychiatrist. I am just applying common sense and expressing an opinion
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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.
Charles Barkley has a presence and a voice on American television (see about him below). He is a sports pundit and recently made a rather strange statement: "A cat is not a real pet because it’s not a dog".
"Man, Chuck can never cease to surprise us with his opinions and takes. NBA Twitter heard the same and they couldn’t help but troll."
What does it mean?!
No one knows!! Seriously, I'll take a pot shot at interpreting this bizarre statement made on television.
As is probably typical of many male American basketball players, he is almost certainly a dog lover to the point where he regards dogs as the only true companion animal. This excludes cats.
He may believe that cats are too independent and not domesticated enough compared to the fawning, obedient and human-worshipping dog to be classified as pets.
He may be scared of cats! A lot of people are. They think they are aloof and sinister. They don't understand cats and don't take the time to try and understand them. Cats make great companions to hundreds of millions of humans across the planet.
Joking
I am sure that he was at least half-joking. Having a bit of fun. Male banter. That kind of stuff. With a little hint of truth from his perspective.
Reflective of his true feelings?
The statement probably does reflect a dislike or even a hatred of cats. A spontaneous utterance revealing the truth in the deepest recesses of his conscience!
About Charles
Charles Barkley is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 16 seasons. He was born on February 20, 1963, in Leeds, Alabama, USA. Barkley is widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history, known for his fierce competitiveness, physical play, and exceptional rebounding ability.
Barkley played college basketball at Auburn University and was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1984. He played for the 76ers, Phoenix Suns, and Houston Rockets during his NBA career, and was named an NBA All-Star 11 times.
Barkley also won two Olympic gold medals as a member of the United States men's basketball team in 1992 and 1996.After retiring from basketball, Barkley has worked as a television analyst for TNT's "Inside the NBA" and has been known for his candid and often controversial opinions on various topics related to sports and society.
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