Tennis, as an individual sport, players often work alone, with only the coaching team accompanying them.
It is precisely because of this that the relationship between players and teams is often more like a family, competing together, traveling together and spending days and nights together.
Comparatively speaking, friendships between players are also more difficult to establish because everyone's participation plans are different. Even if top events like the Grand Slam Masters bring everyone together, the busy daily routine of training and competitions
This means that the time for private communication is destined to be very limited.
Of course, nothing is absolute.
It is not uncommon for people to establish sincere friendships and become best friends in the midst of busy daily life. However, generally speaking, most people are loners.
Last year, Gao Wen got to know a lot of young players and established a small circle among the new generation. Then, in London and Doha, Gao Wen got to know Federer and Nadal, plus Wawrinka, who has a close friendship with him.
He also successfully opened a hole in the Mesozoic Era——
It’s not just a friendship on the court, but also a friendship where we can communicate in private, text messages, and keep in touch and have conversations.
Now, at Melbourne Park, Gao Wen has successfully entered the circle of legendary celebrities, and has opened up the professional tennis world step by step.
Maybe, someone will say: So what?
Competitive sports, after all, still need to look at the performance on the field. These connections are not helpful to the game, are they?
To this, Tobias would answer: shortsightedness.
If it is a traditional tennis powerhouse such as Spain, the United States, and Australia, then it will naturally have no impact, because the players are in the same spirit and help each other, and they are a powerful force that cannot be ignored in the tour.
But Gawain is not.
Like Djokovic, Gao Wen is now a unique presence in his country. It is still too laborious and almost impossible to drive the influence of his country in the entire sport by relying on him alone.
, just look at the helpless Djokovic.
So, what should Gawain do?
Attract more events to China mainland, attract more events to China mainland, attract more sponsors to pay attention to tennis, and so on.
First, young players can participate more and see the world.
Secondly, cultivate more interests and hobbies of young talents.
Third, build a tennis atmosphere and attract more fans.
These require not only Gao Wen's star power, but also the cooperation of official organizations and the attention of interest groups. This is a long-term investment.
Therefore, the importance of building connections is evident.
A small "spoiler":
On August 31, 2020, Djokovic announced that he had officially withdrawn from the players' union, and teamed up with Canadian player Pospisil to establish a new organization, the Professional Players Association (PTPA), to compete with the ATP.
Nominally speaking, Djokovic is completely considering the interests of the players.
The ATP Committee is composed of three player representatives, three tournament representatives, and a chairman; the PTPA Committee is composed entirely of players.
Djokovic's slogan is to protect the income and interests of low-ranked players outside the top 100 in the world.
The most important reason is that due to the storm brought about by the epidemic, tennis, a sport that requires global travel and competition, has encountered severe challenges. As a result, low-ranking players have no games to play, which directly affects their livelihoods and even many professional players have to
Start looking for part-time jobs.
The establishment of the PTPA is to condemn the ATP for failing to take corresponding measures to protect the basic interests of these low-ranked players.
The vision is undoubtedly beautiful.
But for the ATP, it is a provocative move. It not only publicly questions the ATP's decision-making, but also directly challenges the ATP's authority.
This move caused an earthquake in the entire professional tennis world. The four majors and the ATP jointly issued a warning to Djokovic. It also triggered controversy in the entire professional tennis world.
There are supporters; there are opponents; there are also watchers.
Among them, the two giants Federer and Nadal both came forward to support the ATP; Murray said he would continue to wait and see; the three new generation giants Medvedev, Zverev, and Tsitsipas expressed neither support nor opposition. They need
Keep waiting and see what PTPA can do.
Many people accuse the high-ranking players, led by Federer and Nadal, of completely disregarding the life and death of lower-ranked players, believing that they have no leadership spirit.
The slogan is naturally beautiful, and it is precisely because of this that Djokovic won the support of a large number of fans and expressed his disappointment with Federer and Nadal.
But a very, very interesting detail is that Djokovic said that the purpose of the PTPA is to protect low-ranked players ranked below 100.
However, these protected persons had no idea what was going on. They had never heard of the PTPA, and no one had joined the PTPA.
These players, who have no names at all on the tour, said in interviews that they had no idea what happened or what would happen in the future.
Of course, "Language is always gorgeous and beautiful." Actions should be considered more than words.
Since its establishment until 2022, which lasted more than eighteen months, what exactly did the PTPA do?
The answer is, none.
Nothing at all.
Except that Pospisil persuaded his Canadian teammates and a group of players in the United States to join the PTPA and then carried out a series of slogan promotion activities, nothing happened.
In fact, it is wrong to say this. To be precise, no effective measures have been taken.
The PTPA has taken some actions. They have established a partnership with a public relations company and a charity organization to provide free courses to guide players to properly plan their careers and find better business partners.
For example, how to invest, how to start a business, how to win sponsorship, how to give a speech, how to face a press conference.
But, all this looks great, but does it really help lower-ranked players?
At least so far, the results have been minimal.
Pospisil is still trying hard to cheer for Djokovic, but...
The entire professional tennis world is increasingly discovering that the PTPA is not to protect the interests of low-ranked players. To put it bluntly, it is actually an organization to "promote" Djokovic. All projects, plans, and publicity are all centered around
Djokovic unfolds, everything is for Djokovic.
After all, Serbia is a small country, and Djokovic has an inherent disadvantage in front of Federer and Nadal. If Djokovic wants to reach a higher level of fame, it is undoubtedly the best way to break the existing blockade with low-ranking players.
The smartest choice.
In addition to Pospisil, other high-ranking players who joined the PTPA, Isner, Raonic, etc., all remained silent and gradually lost their voices. It seemed that the PTPA only had Djokovic and