Just like Ekaterina Bychkova, these players have allowed themselves to publicly unveil potentially confidential informations, while they were in no way required to do so. And they should have kept their mouths shut.
Sergiy Stakhovsky and women
The Ukrainian was never really the type to be lost for words. Known for being a politically committed player, and not a big fan of Vladimir Putin, Stakhovsky has developed a habit of saying pretty much everything he’s got in mind, without thinking twice. That’s how, in 2015, he made a pretty curious comparison between women’s tennis, where half of the players would be homosexual, and men’s tennis, where everyone would be heterosexual. « Among one hundred guys, if one’s different, you would notice, no ? he said, awkwardly. In a dressing room where half of the guys are walking around naked under their towels, you would notice it. We spend a lot of time together in the dressing rooms and you can tell if someone is or isn’t. As for the WTA, I know how things are. Anyway, it doesn’t mean that we would treat a gay player badly but there’s nothing to say about it because if there were gay players, we would have noticed. » A not-so-surprising analysis when you know its author.
Ernests Gulbis and his sisters
Whether he is in a good mood or not, the Latvian always has a few punchlines for the journalists. In 2013, for instance, Gulbis thought that « tennis painfully lacks big personalities. I respect Roger, Rafa, Novak and Murray, but to me, they are four boring players. Honestly, they’re boring. » So when he gave his slightly macho opinion concerning his sisters’ future, nobody was really surprised. « I hope that they won’t have a career in tennis, because it’s really hard for a woman. I wouldn’t want any of my sisters to become a professional player. It’s a difficult choice (…) I think women should enjoy life. They can’t have a family, or children. When will they have children ? When they’re 27 ? It’s not serious. » And spending your prize-money won at Roland-Garros at the casino, is that serious ?
Nick Kyrgios and adultery
Nonchalant, irritating, provocative… There are many adjectives to describe Kyrgios. With him, nothing ever goes according to the plan. In 2015, while he was playing a tensed match against Stan Wawrinka, the Australian had a meltdown in the middle of the match and mentioned a love treason which affected his opponent. « He was being disrespectful with me, it just came out of nowhere. I don’t know, » he tried to justify himself, after the two players had a talk in the dressing room. Another slip for Nick, who had also took Bernard Tomic’s defense against Patrick Rafter, in July that same year. « Will this guy ever stop ? », he tweeted to the Australian team’s captain, who he blamed for having expelled his friend during the BNP Paribas Davis Cup quarter-final against Kazakhstan.
Ivan Lendl and Agassi
Yes, Ivan Lendl was surely unpopular mainly because of his very, very non-expressive attitude. Hated by the fans and by his opponents, the Czechoslovakian took a crazy amount of time to serve. But the ex-world number 1 also earned his bad reputation with his rants and misplaced comments. Already famous for having verbally knocked out Brad Gilbert - « Even if it was 45 degrees and I was on my death bed, you still wouldn’t be able to defeat me » -, Lendl also took a few shots at Andre Agassi, especially in 1983. « I’m sad every time someone says they like Agassi. This kid thinks he’s a rebel because he wears an earring, has long hair and a stubble », he said, out of nowhere. The American press nicknamed him « the man who emptied stadiums quicker than a bomb threat » and Michael Chang ridiculed him with his underarm serve. He was surely asking for it.
Marc Rosset and the French
« It happened to me quite a few times to find out that guys that I had never seen - while I follow tennis quite closely - were world number 20. The problem, is that by going through three rounds at each Grand Slam tournaments, they already get 360 ATP points. How many matches does a youngster playing Challenger tournaments have to win to get there ? Roger Federer played seven tournaments in 2016 and he’s the world number 17 (…) that’s not normal. » Like these words show, Rosset likes to speak his mind and usually blames a few people along the way. Among his favorite targets are the French players, who faced Switzerland in the BNP Paribas Davis Cup final in 2014. « It’s in the french mentality, he started, before criticizing the French team’s preparation. All year long, they eat, train, and live together. They can go to the other side of the world on holidays, in a Sofitel hotel, with Président butter and L’Équipe. They bring France abroad. Otherwise, they’re not on holidays ! » Long lives the french bashing.
