Rising American tennis star Ben Shelton openly griped about the conduct of broadcast media towards players at this year’s Australian Open, calling out “disrespectful” conduct by broadcasters and those conducting on-court interviews with players. Shelton claimed that he and other players have been subjected to “embarrassing” interviews, namely by broadcasters making wisecracks about the 22 year old’s age and level of fan support.
Media conduct had been a point of contention earlier in the tournament, when Tony Jones — a broadcaster for Channel 9 in Australia — apologized for heckling Serbian fans by calling Novak Djokovic “overrated” and a “has-been” among other comments. Shelton pointed out that a lack of professionalism in media conduct hasn’t been limited to the Djokovic incident, pointing out that he and other players like American Learner Tien have been interviewed with a lack of respect as well.
“There are some comments that have been made to me in postmatch interviews by a couple of different guys, whether it was, ‘Hey, [Gael] Monfils is old enough to be your dad. Maybe he is your dad,'” Shelton said in a press conference. “Or today on the court, ‘Hey, Ben, how does it feel that no matter who you play in your next match, no one’s going to be cheering for you?’ I mean, that may be true, but I just don’t think the comment is respectful from a guy I’ve never met before in my life.
“I feel like broadcasters should be helping us grow our sport and help these athletes who just won matches on the biggest stage enjoy one of their biggest moments. I feel like there’s just been a lot of negativity and I think that’s something that needs to change.”
Shelton’s comments came after his Wednesday victory over Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego, which has put him in the Australian Open semifinals for the first time. On Friday, he will play World No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner for the opportunity to advance to the final.
Read the full article here
