Chapter 970 A Lever
Tennis, as an individual sport, players tend to be solitary, with only their coaching team to accompany them.
It is also because of this that the relationship between players and the team is often more like that of a family, competing together, traveling together, and spending days and nights together.
In comparison, friendships between players are more difficult to establish because everyone's competition plans are different. Even if top events such as Grand Slam Masters bring everyone together, the busy daily routine of training and competition means that there is limited time for private communication.
Of course, nothing is absolute.
There are many cases where people establish sincere friendships in their busy daily lives and become close friends, but generally speaking, most people are lone wolves.
Last year, Gao Wen met a group of young players and established a small circle among the new generation. Later, in London and Doha, Gao Wen met Federer and Nadal, and with Wawrinka, he successfully opened a gap among the middle generation.
It's not just friendship on the playing field, but also friendship that includes communication, text messages, contacts and conversations in private.
Now, at Melbourne Park, Gao Wen has successfully entered the circle of legendary players and has opened up the situation in professional tennis step by step.
Maybe someone will say: So what?
In competitive sports, performance is the key. These connections are not helpful for the game, right? To this, Tobias would answer: short-sightedness.
If it is a traditional tennis powerhouse like Spain, the United States, or Australia, then there will naturally be no impact, because the players are connected to each other and help each other, and they are a powerful force in the tour that cannot be ignored.
But not Gawain.
Like Djokovic, Gao Wen is now a unique figure in his country. It is too difficult, almost impossible, for him to drive the influence of his country in the entire sport by himself. Just look at Djokovic who is struggling alone.
So, what should Gawain do?
Attract more events to mainland China, attract more activities to mainland China, attract more sponsors to pay attention to tennis, and so on.
Firstly, young players can participate in more competitions and see the world.
Secondly, cultivate more interests and hobbies among young people.
Third, create a tennis atmosphere and attract more fans' attention.
All of this requires not only Gao Wen's star effect, but also the cooperation of official organizations and the attention of interest groups. This is a long-term investment.
Therefore, the importance of building personal connections can be seen.
A little "spoiler": On August 31, 2020, Djokovic announced that he had officially withdrawn from the players' union and joined forces with Canadian player Pospisil to establish a new organization, the Professional Players Association (PTPA), to compete with the ATP.
In theory, Djokovic is acting entirely in the best 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 who are ranked outside the top 100 in the world.
The most important reason is that due to the storm brought by the epidemic, tennis, a sport that requires traveling around the world to participate in competitions, has encountered severe tests. As a result, low-ranking players have no games to play, which directly affects their livelihoods. Even many professional players have to start looking for part-time jobs.
The establishment of PTPA is to condemn the ATP for not taking corresponding measures to protect the basic interests of these low-ranking players.
The vision is undoubtedly beautiful.
But for the ATP, it is a provocative move, not only openly questioning the ATP's decision, but also directly challenging the ATP's authority.
This move caused an earthquake in the entire professional tennis world. The four Grand Slams and ATP joined forces to issue a warning to Djokovic, and it also sparked controversy in the entire professional tennis world.
There are supporters, there are opponents, and there are also those who are waiting and watching.
Among them, the two giants Federer and Nadal both came out to support ATP; Murray said he would continue to wait and see; the three young giants of the new generation, Medvedev, Zverev and Tsitsipas, said they neither supported nor opposed it, and they needed to continue to wait and see what the PTPA could do.
Many people accuse high-ranking players, led by Federer and Nadal, of completely ignoring the lives of lower-ranked players and believe that they lack leadership spirit.
The slogan is naturally beautiful, and it is also because of this that Djokovic won the support of a large number of fans and expressed his disappointment with Federer and Nadal.
But there is a very, very interesting detail: Djokovic said that the purpose of the PTPA is to protect low-ranked players ranked below one hundred.
However, these protected persons had no idea what was happening. They had never heard of PTPA, and no one had joined PTPA.
These players, who have no names at all in the tour, said in interviews that they didn't know what happened or what would happen in the future.
Of course, “language is always gorgeous and beautiful”, but actions should be more important than words.
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What has PTPA done in the more than eighteen months since its establishment until 2022?
The answer is, no.
Nothing at all.
Nothing much happened except that Pospisil convinced his Canadian teammates and a group of American players to join the PTPA and then carry out a series of slogan promotion activities.
In fact, it is not correct to say this. To be precise, no effective measures have been taken.
The PTPA has taken some action. They have established a partnership with a public relations company and a charity organization to provide free courses to guide players in planning their careers and finding better business partners.
For example, how to invest, how to start a business, how to win sponsorship, how to give a speech, and how to face a press conference.
However, all this seems good, but does it really help the lower-ranked players? At least for now, the results are minimal.
Pospisil is still cheering for Djokovic, but...
The entire professional tennis world is increasingly realizing that PTPA is not intended to protect the interests of low-ranking players. To put it bluntly, it is actually an organization that aims to "promote" Djokovic. All projects, plans, and publicity revolve around Djokovic. Everything is for Djokovic.
After all, Serbia is a small country, and Djokovic has an inherent disadvantage compared to Federer and Nadal. If Djokovic wants to move to a higher level in terms of fame, joining forces with low-ranking players to break the existing blockade is undoubtedly the wisest choice.
Apart from Pospisil, other high-ranking players who joined PTPA, such as Isner, Raonic, etc., all remained silent and gradually became silent, as if there were only Djokovic and Pospisil in PTPA.
So, what is missing from the PTPA?
(End of this chapter)