Corrupt Media and USTA in Tennis Coverage

More of a micro topic but appropriate for the forum. How our media and the blatantly corrupt United States Tennis Association (USTA) supports certain “types” of players.

It’s beyond obvious that the media and USTA has been desperately searching for the successor to Serena Williams. And they seemed determined to only support non-white tennis players.

At first they force fed Sloan Stephens (black) and Madison Keys (mixed race) on the US. When those two players didn’t succeed they went to Coco Gauff (black) while completely skipping over Sofia Kenin (White Russian American who absolutely supports the U.S.).

And yes I care as I played tennis in high school and our team won 3 state titles in that time. I wasn’t good enough to play in college with a scholarship but had offers to walk on. I did one year before retiring from competitive tennis. I just play now for exercise and fun and I watch the Grand Slams as much as I can.

I see this morning NBC calling Gauff a “superstar” and talking about her first round win. Yet Coco Gauff has one Grand Slam (2023 U.S. Open).

Yet Sofia Kenin (2020 Australian Open Champion) who has just as many Grand Slams as Gauff and is finally healthy from multiple injuries is largely ignored. Even when Sofia Kenin won the Australian Open in 2020 and made the finals of the French Open in 2020 she didn’t get 1/100th of the attention Gauff has received?

Is it because Coco Gauff is black and they can’t stand the thought of the face of U.S. Women’s Tennis being a white girl? What message does that send to young white girls playing tennis? Succeed all you want but you’ll never get USTA support and due to that you’ll never get the support of the country that a young black girl would get? Is that where we want to go as a country?

 

https://alatenumo.medium.com/its-ti...ognize-and-celebrate-sofia-kenin-c9920353d0fa

A good article on this. Yes it’s from 2020 but it’s important to note that even when she was at her height in early 2020 before the Pandemic the USTA was reluctant to promote her. Sponsors even ignored her.

Heck for Democrats here she’s the American dream. Born in Russia and parents are Russians who immigrated here for a better life. The immigrant story.

But even though she’s an immigrant it seems she isn’t the right “type” of immigrant for the Media and the USTA (hint: non-white). As a reminder she was up to #4 in the Women’s Tennis World Rankings after winning the Australian Open.

What will happen if another white girl comes up in US Women’s Tennis in a few years? Will she also be ignored by the media and sponsors? On MLK Jr. Day doesn’t that go exactly opposite of the world he wanted? A world that was about who you are as a person and not the color of your skin?

 

Read the article. Even in 2020 right after she won the Australian Open and was ranked #4 in the world (and the highest ranked American an by far) she got next to no media attention here in the states. Why is that?

Coco Gauff has not achieved anything more than Sofia Kenin. Shouldn’t she have to win at least 4 or 5 Grand Slams before she is proclaimed the next Serena Williams?

I wouldn’t have even brought it up but I’m at a hotel on the beach this morning at their breakfast. Their TV had NBC and they were literally slobbering over Gauff, like she’s already the next Serena.

Can we not agree that the Media and the USTA should promote their best players regardless of race?

 

Anna Kournikova wasn’t American and she was a joke. No one watched her because of her tennis. I don’t think I have to explain that any further.

 

Completely agree. The U.S. Open is by far my least favorite of the Grand Slams because they push the politics down your throat. The other Grand Slams don’t do that and are, shockingly, far more enjoyable.

For those mocking the topic please explain why one American, who won the Australia Open in 2020 before the Pandemic and was #4 ranked in the world, was largely ignored by the media and USTA. But another American who has largely the same accomplishments (2023 U.S. Open) is promoted as the next superstar of American women’s tennis? The next Serena essentially.

Heck the Coco Gauff hype started well before she even won a Grand Slam. Shouldn’t the USTA and the Media support all their top players equally?

 

Please go back and read my post. Kenin was also ranked #4 in the world and was the top ranked American by far in 2019/2020. And she had also won a Grand Slam. She had accomplished everything Gauff has. And yet back then in 2019 and 2020 she didn’t get 1/100th of the attention from the media or the USTA that Gauff is getting now. Why? What’s the difference?

I’m not against Gauff getting the coverage. But then why didn’t Kenin get the same coverage in 2019 and 2020 when she was in exactly the same position Gauff is in now?

My opinion. Gauff is black so they see her as more promotable. Plus they desperately only want a black woman to succeed Serena as the face of U.S. Women’s Tennis, not a white woman or any other race for that matter which is pathetic.

I also think Kenin’s Russian heritage (though she grew up in America and identifies as an American) was used against her.

 

I’m sorry but I will never agree with one player getting an amount of coverage another player who had the EXACT SAME accomplishments several years prior didn’t get simply because of race. The best players should be promoted regardless of race. It’s sad that you’re okay with discrimination as long as it’s whites being the ones discriminated against. I will never agree with it and will always fight against it.

 

You’re right. I would actually argue winning the Australian Open is more impressive. The higher heat, the time zone adjustment and not being on U.S. soil all make the Australian Open a harder tournament to win as an American than the U.S. where an American, especially a minority American, has a home court advantage. But I understand completely that being on in the middle of the night the Australian Open will always be lesser than the other 3 for everyone in the U.S. outside of tennis diehards.

I didn’t bring up Raducanu as she’s British so she’ll never get significant coverage here.

For all we know Coco Gauff is a one time fluke as well. She’s only won 1 major so she hasn’t fully proven herself yet. But the Media and the USTA are already acting like she’s won 4 or 5 majors. That’s where I see the problem.

Again what if another white American woman comes up and wins 1 or 2 majors. Will she get the Coco Gauff treatment? Or will she be ignored like Kenin was?