Arrogant Tomic needs our support – not scorn
Nick Kyrgios, Margaret Court and now, once again, Bernard Tomic: Australian tennis is back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
After his farcical Wimbledon campaign, the 24-year-old has provoked yet another sharp backlash following a series of controversial comments made to Australia’s Channel Seven.
"Throughout my career I've given 100 per cent,” he said. “I've given also 30 per cent. But if you balance it out, I think all my career's been around 50 per cent.”
"I haven't really tried, and still achieved all this. So it's just amazing what I've done."
When asked if he’s only playing for the money, the Australian responded in typically smug fashion: “Basically, yeah.”
If Tomic’s words are to be believed, tennis is simply a means to a hedonistic end. A millionaire by the age of 18, the Australian has embraced the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle that his prize money has afforded him. Nightclubbing on Miami’s Gold Coast, houses in Monaco, canary yellow supercars: Tomic flys in the face of the pristine professionalism made famous by his ‘Big Four’ rivals.
Understandably, Tomic has drawn fierce criticism for his antics and comments – most notably from former tennis who have expressed contempt for the youngster. “You’re an embarrassment to yourself, and not only to the sport but to Australian tennis,” Rennae Stubbs, a six-time Grand Slam doubles champion, told the BBC in the wake of Tomic’s first-round Wimbledon exit in which he complained of ‘boredom’. Martina Navratilova echoed a similar sentiment: “It’s disrespectful to the sport and disrespectful to the history of the sport. If you can’t get motivated at Wimbledon it’s time to find another job.”
Navratilova et al, of course, make a valid point. Tomic’s behaviour has, frankly, been disgraceful and an embarrassment to a nation which has provided tennis with some of its biggest stars over the years. But as is often the case with sport’s larger-than-life personalities, there’s a darker, unseen dimension at play.
In the same interview in which he boasted of his wealth and lifestyle, Tomic fleetingly showcased a softer, vulnerable side that alluded to a man struggling to come to terms with life in the fast line.
"I didn't come from a rich family," he said. "I was 12-13 years old, nobody knows the sort of life I had. We came to Australia with basically nothing. It was tough. We had a car, $200, $300, and now maybe going buying cars for half a million, a million, living in these lavish houses, property around the world, it's my choice ... I've worked for it and I've earned it. Being 24 and in my opinion achieving a lot in this sport, it's affected me a little bit mentally and emotionally.”
Then he said this: "I'm trapped".
Tomic’s admission that he feels “trapped” will certainly sound familiar. Andre Agassi, writing in his 2009 autobiography, notably revealed just how much tennis tortured him as a player. "I play tennis for a living even though I hate tennis, hate it with a dark and secret passion and always have,” he confessed.
Indeed, Tomic’s comments will resonate with those fellow wunderkinds who have found themselves living lives that aren’t necessarily their own. Having been part of the professional scene since a 15-year-old, Tomic has already spent the last nine years of his life on the sporting hamster wheel, his life furiously spinning away in a dizzying blur of expectation, preparation, commendation and condemnation.
“I’m 24. I have been around and feels like I’m super old but I’m not. I’m still 24 and it was tough to find motivation out there,” he said after his Wimbledon exit. “No, I’m happy with my life. It’s my choice. I know I have to work hard. For sure, I don’t do the right work but I feel holding a trophy or doing well doesn’t satisfy me anymore.”
While some will argue that his prize winnings, worth in excess of $7m, should be more than enough to keep him satisfied, it’s clear that this is a player far from content with life – despite his insistence to the contrary. Tomic has claimed that income is all that really matters to him, but why would he put that in jeopardy with the sort of behaviour that, earlier this month, prompted racket sponsors Head to terminate their association with him?
Erratic and irrational, Tomic continues to act without any real purpose and direction. After a hugely successful junior career, in which he won two Grand Slams, the Australian has failed to deliver on his early potential, winning just three senior titles.
Tomic has subsequently come to mask himself with a grating sheen of arrogance as he's struggled with the identity crisis that has left him alienated from fans and those trying to help.
But the 24-year-old is no exception. Countless stars over the decades have succumbed to a sense of disillusionment with their sport and the inner-turmoil that comes with it. But, as Agassi showed, the true greats have learned to weather out the storm. For all number of reasons, of which we’re unlikely to ever know, Tomic is struggling with the life he has been handed. But support, not scorn, is what he needs in troubling times like these.