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Time for Pat Rafter and Tennis Australia to grow up

26th June, 2015
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Bernard Tomic has come under fire from Pat Rafter, and police, and just about everyone. (AFP: Cameron Spencer, file photo)
Roar Guru
26th June, 2015
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In an interview with Fairfax Media this week, Pat Rafter opened up on his issues with the Tomic family, saying, “This whole thing with the Tomics has been going on pretty much since I got involved with Davis Cup…

“The problem with the young kids having such stardom at such a young age is that they’re probably a little bit immature in lot of ways, and most people are.

“But some aren’t. You look at someone like Rafa (Nadal), who had immediate success and was an incredible ambassador and he never had any problems or hiccups along the way.

“Whereas I look at these two boys, Tomic in particular, you could see it coming and I was just trying to protect him.”

Clearly Rafter and Tennis Australia’s methods of approach to these situations are in need of an overhaul.

Not everyone is the same, and not everyone has the same sort of understanding as Rafter, because everyone is wired differently. As such, they may take his words in a completely different way, which is why he thinks his words have “fallen on deaf ears”.

Rafter needs to change his approach. For example, the way he speaks to Thanasi Kokkinakis, whom he described as a “role model” for other up-and-coming players, must be different to talking to Bernard Tomic, as they very different players with different mindsets.

It is part of Rafter and Tennis Australia’s job to manage individual players’ different issues in the best way for that particular player. So far, both Rafter and Tennis Australia have shown an inability to do so. This shows an immature, amateurish attitude.

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It is time for Rafter and Tennis Australia to becoming more understanding of players of different backgrounds and cultures, and have a broader definition of what both expect from players, and how this may effect each player. There needs to be a mature and professional attitude, something neither Rafter nor Tennis Australia have shown in a long time.

It is time for Pat Rafter and everybody within player development at Tennis Australia to grow up – the players won’t until they do.

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