Australian Open reminds us that sport reflects society

Melbourne, Australia — MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic is back at the Australian Open. This is newsworthy. Mainly because he hadn’t been in the tournament a year before him. He has not received his COVID-19 vaccination.

Another player – low-ranked, low-success, less-famous Camila Giorgi – is under scrutiny for reports published in her native Italy over whether she obtained fake vaccine certificates from doctors under investigation. it was done. trip.

“Unbelievable,” said Giorgi’s father, Sergio, when the subject was the only one addressed at her press conference in Melbourne Park on Tuesday. “I have no questions about tennis.”

Ah, welcome to the modern world. Tennis in particular, and sports in general, cannot help but reflect society. This means that athletes, spectators, and the people who run leagues and events will always have to face, and possibly face, whatever the touchpoints are around the world.

Pandemic. war. mental health. #me too. gun violence. and so on.

“There are always people who say, ‘Don’t mix politics and social issues, sports and entertainment.’ So, whether you like it or not, you need to be involved in it,” said Steve Simon, CEO and Chairman of the WTA. “And it probably dictates and forces you to make decisions you traditionally don’t want to make.”

More than a year ago, Simon announced that the women’s professional tennis tour was canceling all tournaments from China out of concern for the well-being of Grand Slam doubles champion Peng Shuai, who accused a former government official of sexual assault.

Simon wanted a full and transparent investigation into her allegations and an opportunity for Tour to communicate with Penn.

Turning to that issue, along with the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, Simon said:

When Alina Sabalenka of Belarus, the fifth seed in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, was asked on Tuesday about a new Tennis Australia policy banning spectators from bringing flags representing her country or Russia into matches, it was Her reaction was a little surprising, not to confuse the invading Ukraine almost a year ago.

“I really thought sports had nothing to do with politics,” Sabalenka said.

This comes from someone who, like all Russian and Belarusian players, was banned from attending Wimbledon last year because of the war, setting a precedent for the tennis tour to withhold ranking points from that prestigious event. No measures have been taken.

It is not surprising that collective interests become relevant within the realm of sports. Especially in an international activity like tennis, the Australian Open singles field will feature players from more than 40 of his countries.

“Sport and tennis can influence everything that is happening around the world. Tennis has players from every continent, tournaments on every continent, and is shown on television all over the world. We’ll see,” said Casper Ruud of Norway, runner-up at the 2022 French Open and US Open, and second-seeded at the Australian Open. “Tennis players have a voice and I think they have used that to their advantage over the past year, especially with regard to some political debates and the war in Ukraine. I did.”

One example: Polish 21-year-old No. 1 Iga Swiatek wears a blue-and-yellow ribbon on his cap while playing to show solidarity with Ukraine. Country. She also hosted exhibition events to raise funds for humanitarian efforts there, as well as various tournaments.

Another example: Coco Gauff, an 18-year-old from Florida who was second only to Swiatek at last year’s French Open, used her platform to sue gun violence and the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade. and other topics.

And one more: Naomi Osaka, 25, who was born in Japan and immigrated to the United States with her family when she was three years old, was a black victim of police violence while running for the 2020 U.S. Open. He was wearing a mask with his name written on it. The following year, she ignited a wider public conversation about the importance of taking care of her own mental health by revealing that she had dealt with depression and anxiety for years. I was.

“Every time there is a global problem, whether it is good or bad, you definitely feel it in the world of tennis because one of our colleagues, one of our peers, is affected by it. We have players from everywhere, said Felix Auger-Aliassime, a 22-year-old Canadian who is seeded sixth in Melbourne. The system may be small in scale, but it’s a great one that represents the world.”

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