Time for Pat Rafter and Tennis Australia to grow up

You're suggesting they should accept their personal responsibility by living in the Bahamas to avoid paying taxes?

Kate is spot on. TA resent the fact that the only great players to have come out of Australia in the past 15 years have all been coached and mentored by their parents, while highly paid TA coaches and consultants are sucking up taxpayer funded money and ticket money from this once great sport. Everything to do with tennis is now controlled by this organisation, from the kids local coaches, to sponsorship deals, even attitude and behavioural demands on kids - Tomic and Nick. I suppose they want all our young players to turn out little clones of Newcombe, Rafter or Laver. Some of these guys could play tennis, but doesn't make them qualitied for the job, and the rest are career bureaucrats. My children will never, ever receive funding from TA no matter how good they become, because it can only lead to their over zealous control from these polticial types, I'd rather they enjoy tennis and run out of travel money than be owned by these people. Our local kids can't get any funding or sponsorships because everything is now controlled by the pick-and-choose-winners at tennis australia. How can an organisation pick and choose future tennis greats? It can't, and it has proven this with the abyssmal number of successfull teenagers over the past 15 years. Bring back Pat Cash and let him run the show, at least he had some respect for the players. Why is rafter even there, is he qualified?

NOTE IN ABOVE COMMENT / CORRECTION Should say, " why CANT a player get funding to have a coach who works outside of Tennis Australia ? "

What a brilliant article. How correct. Having been around the ropes of TA for many years I have seen so many players poorly treated , we need more articles like this. Eg " The role model " Tennis Australia are childish and I would go as far as saying "cruel," and brilliant at confidence crushing rather than building. Over the years I have watched more talent crash and burn via their desperation to find a champion than I care or could list, in the way they put certain kids on Pedastools, and use one kid against another and you pointed that out clearly stating " the role Model " who i might add will be flavor of the month or the year, till fickle old TA find their new fancy. They often tell kids to think about long term development, which is crucial to the game physically and mentally, yet their whole system is set up via results = reward. Their demands are long, often in point form regarding player/parent, yet their punishment for bad behavior is full of double standards.I remember C Tiley , defending Mr Tomic in a newspaper article when they had no other young player to hang their work coats on, and yet years later degrade their number 1 player asking for court hire and ball money. When they have others rising closely. It is a dreadful state of affairs, and for all of the articles I have read and all the people giving Nick Kyrgios a bagging, no one has sat back to ask, how much pressure is this kid under.? How can the NO 1 and NO 2 player be so unhappy. Different backgrounds and families just both seemingly of late bitter. One cant look past the grounds of the current culture at Tennis Australia. I do not feel this is Rafters fault , as I am sure he is instructed from the top. Sadly most of the game seems to be played in the back room, it seems Australian Tennis is more about control for Tennis Australia under the current Team Leader C TIley. Why has everything come under one umbrella ? it seems everyone is paying , parents, coaches, sponsors, even the media, the once independent and informative Australian tennis Magazine , was even bought out by them to further feed their own Hwy. Yet the minute there is a drama with a player, all they say is we fund the player, or we are trying to fund the junior development program. Well shouldn't they with all that money ? Questions should be asked like, why can a player get funding to have a coach who works outside of Tennis Australia ? Why do they insist good player play under their coaches/banner, isnt it more important the child is happy ? How much are they spending on coaches/admin V Players. Sadly I feel Tennis Australia rather than care about kids, are far more worried about what car they drive and how to please a dictator. While they may be well skilled in teaching a kid how to hit a ball it is very worrying they do not often know how to treat them or their families. If they want their players to behave , and their is a long list of mis -behavior, then maybe they should look at what they are doing to contribute to it, After all many of these kids spend more time with them than they do at home, these kids put in their hearts and souls , their limbs ache . and that is just the physical strain of this game. It is time the microscope cam off the players and back onto their leaders who are Tennis Australia , that is they way they demand it.

Everyone may be different but everyone has to play by the rules. Ryan needs to grow up.

It's a bigger story go look over the last 15 - 20 years of sports in Australia. You basically have to kiss ass, toe the line never say anything bad, perform at near the top of your sport to get funding it's all about who drags in the viewers. We have heard this story before again & again. This column is right but to aim at just Tennis Australia is wrong we treat our sports stars like Trash. Say anything there going to take your funding away, make you look bad in the press which will get you drooped from sponsorship & your career is basically over at that point. I think there should be a change, the ones that should receive funding & support are the ones that need the time to improve, people that are winning or at least doing well in Tennis can afford to look after themselves. Even players that never get past the round of 16 get millions by the time there career is over. It's not like some sports where even the best have hardly any money & have to take day jobs to support themselves. Here in Australia we love our sport so much that our players should be treated like Royalty across the board if a player says there's an issue there should be a investigation launched into it. Things should be changed & improved we should not just accept blindly what Patric Rafter says. I do agree they should have stooped funding Tomic by now to allow money to be spent on someone else that needs it more. He says it's not about money it's about support & respect some are saying that he needs to earn it. I say he has earned it he faces players that are much more talented than Patric Rafter ever was or ever did. You basically have to be superman to take on the current top 10 tennis players & hope to have success. Some of these are the guys that made Andree Agassi look second rate along with some newer names that are proving just as good.

I am no big fan of TA I'd like to say, however Tomic always has been "different". We saw him play at the Orange Bowl in Florida when he was a 16 year old junior and he was a pain then. However what chance has he had with parents like his? They are a total nightmare. The mum also just let her daughter cheat and ever pulled her up, and now the dad is ranting on about her finances too. I don't like Bernard, never have, but I do kind of feel sorry for him with his upbringing giving him that sense of entitlement and superiority. I think he is going to be like Jelena Dokic and not really ever have a chance to reach his undoubted potential because of his parents. John Tomic should be banned once and for all. The money from TA is not a "right".

Totally agree Shane. So many young and talented juniors have left the sport because the Tomics have received substantial funding and they have never seen a cent.. Even after Bernard had won a fair bit of prizemoney they were still funding him. Tennis Australia should take a long look at how they fund ALL these players not just some person who thinks he is special. Maybe means test it. Or put a cap on how much they get.

Tennis Australia and Pat Rafter are doing a fantastic job. Maybe people should look more into how each player is demanding TA fund their career every step of the way. This is the issue here. Australia can't fund everyone and that is why the Tomic's are upset. They want Sara funded despite the fact she has been given almost everything by the association for the last three years. Her results haven't been as good as others and that is why she has not been funded. She has done well recently, with a title in Egypt, and needs to continue that so TA can change their mind. Dragging Bernie in this is just pathetic from the family. They are the group that need to grow up here.

This is satire?

I totally agree that Tennis Australia should take there blinkers They have no right to waste tax payer dollars on expensive accomadation & travel shame on those that do this ..give Bernard a go he has proved he has grown up and worthy of his future... Pat Rafter you should be encouraging him for the future ..put your personal issues with him aside.... cheers Christine

So although Tennis Australia has financed and may also still financing Tomic (and his sister who by the way has done nothing in her tennis career) you see fault in tennis australia. Do you know how many talented young players have left the sport because all the funding has gone to this family? You take the money you show respect.

Ryan, at the risk of falling for what I first thought was a satirical piece… Tomic has every right to be different, an "individual", to live the glam Gold Coast life-style with acquaintances of dubious repute, to be a bogan revhead, to do whatever he wants…. … but that doesn't mean Tennis Australia and Pat Rafter should kotow to him and throw any resources at him if he doesn't choose the traditional path. It's like anything in life, some people get by on raw talent and being a d*head and that's fine. But there's a reason why most people value things like humility, respect and common courtesy.

I think the whole dilemma can be resolved our current crop of (self proclaimed) stars learned the meaning of two words. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY! Rather easy don't you think? Take a leaf out of pat rafters book

Ryan,Tomic is a spoiled brat.He demonstrates this with his complete disregard towards authority,be it on court or in his private life. If he can't shape up then he should ship out. He won't be missed.

Ok the different background and culture argument, why can't you accept that tomic is not such a good person and a bit of a basket case?

Serious? Maybe it tomic that needs to change?

Agree 200% I think Lleyton will be demanding but not bag his troops in the media like this. It's very damaging - but msm are in love with Rafter....