Tennis Stars Dealing With Fans

After spending two weeks straight at the Sydney APIA International and the Australian Open, I’m been able to see first hand the players who care for their fans and those who don’t want their fans bothering them for photos or signatures. I’ll run through my thoughts on a few players who I’ve had experiences with in the last few weeks, but first, I’ll tell yare why fans are so important to the players.

It is hard to understand why some players feel as though their fans are a hassle and something they don’t want to have to deal with. Granted you can get people on bad days, but one experience for a person can form the judgement around that player, whether it’s a rarity or not.

Katy Perry, on a television show in Australia, gave a very good quote about why her fans are important,

I may not always feel like performing but my fans pay for my living and happiness and I must never take them for granted.

Why more people don’t have this attitude is surprising as the more you keep fans happy, the more the celebrity makes for themselves in the long run.

Now onto the tennis players and if I found them to be nice or not to their fans. This isn’t everyone I met in the past few weeks but are the best and worst with dealing with fans.

Best

John Isner- The big 6 foot 9 American, who’s renowned as one of the nicest guys on tour, was excellent with all fans who wanted photos and signatures. Although there were only 15 fans around his court when he finished practicing, he still took 5 minutes extra to make sure all fans were happy, something many do not do.

Me with John Isner

Roger Federer- The GOAT on the court and the GOAT with dealing with his fans. At the end of his training session on the 20th January, he must have signed 150 things in total, for many of his fans. He was rumoured to have earnt $52.7 million last year and definitely knows how to keep his fans happy!

Samantha Stosur- Obviously as an Australian, she realises that she must keep her home countries fans happy. As with Isner, she signed and took photos with everyone who wanted them. Obviously is very disappointed with her Australian summer performance but was happy to deal with fans.

Maria Sharapova- Sharapova is the golden girl of women’s tennis. As she was rumoured to be the highest paid female athlete in the world, she could have an attitude of being above her fans, but she doesn’t. Whilst she only signed 10 things for fans on the day I got her signature, as it was the afternoon of her match vs Venus, she signed 50-60 things for fans the following day.

Roger Signing For Fans

Worst

Caroline Wozniacki- The worst person with fans I’ve experienced. She refused to sign autographs for many fans and refused to take photos with fans, some which were only young children. This happened two days in a row!! It didn’t matter if it was a day of her match or not, she seemed to not want fans around her at all. Definitely seems to someone who only does stuff for fans in front of the media. This way she gets positive praise and she gets something out of it.

Serena Williams- On two days, Williams refused to sign anything for fans. After her training sessions, she just packed away her gear and didn’t want to interact with fans. As with Wozniacki, it didn’t matter if it was a day which she was playing a match, she refused. Whether it comes down to her ego, or another reason, who knows, but would expect more of a seasoned professional player.

Conclusion

Most of the players were excellent and were only happy to deal with fans. This is the way it should be! Federer has got it downpat and shows with more fan interaction, you got more people buying your merchandise, which means more money in your pockets. Even if it doesn’t come down to money, professional sportspeople should realise that it is the fans who make the sport professional (along with wealthy business people). If fans weren’t willing to pay, the sport would be amateur and the sportsmen and women wouldn’t have the lifestyle they have now.