Bernard Tomic is back in the headlines again, and not for his tennis. Again. Well, his tennis has a minor role in his resurgence into public consciousness, but his words, as usual, are the primary culprits in this new wave of outcry and backlash.
After his first-round Wimbledon loss to Mischa Zverev in straight sets, Tomic aired his feelings regarding his performance to the world, telling reporters he was "bored" on court. Moving past the cringe-worthy word choice, listen to (most of) the rest of his weirdly introspective and existential post-loss press:
Listen, I get it. Bernie is a human being, a pragmatic 24-year-old individual in the midst of a career crisis. I was once his age, not sure where my career was going, wondering if the daily grind on the road to success was even worth the struggle. Hell, I'm still there! I can understand that he no longer sees Wimbledon as this holy grail that us common tennis folk revere beyond anything else in the sport. To Bernie, The Championships is just another tournament in which to earn a decent paycheck. Like your performance review, it's on your calendar year after year. Unless you go into Wimbledon with a shot at the title, the magic of the place has probably long dissipated and you naturally tune out of the whole spectacle.
On the other hand, I do not get, nor do I accept, his willful throwing of the towel. Bernard Tomic has been blessed with height, coordination, feel, and frame. He has been granted financial support and various opportunities in his life and profession. This amount of luck only comes to a handful of the global population, yet he goes through the motions as if he's working a 9-to-5 desk job just to pay the bills and treat himself every now and then (even though that's also something to be thankful for!). Tomic has been a professional athlete for quite some time now and he must know that saying he's bored, and playing like he couldn't care less, is just not a good look for someone who, although faces trials and tribulations, is blessed beyond measure.
As much as we want to relate to tennis players and their lives, we are not them. They are not us. Bernie's job is not my job. Bernie lives a mostly charmed life, even relative to his fellow tennis pros. He's paid quite handsomely for someone who's bored at work and can retire at 35 and not work another day in his life, according to him. I appreciate his honesty and introspection, but I roll my eyes at the utter lack of gratitude and awareness of just how goddamn lucky he is to be born with a money-generating talent and to have that talent cultivated from a young age onward.
It seems as though Bernie knows where he's going astray, however. He knows he's not training as hard or giving his total focus to his career. He could, and should, do better. Yes, he is unlikely to win a Grand Slam title, but he could look to someone like Tomas Berdych for some light inspiration. Berdych is seen as a total underachiever with few trophies to his name, but he's made so much bank in his career by getting as close to maximizing his God-given talent as he could. The seemingly disenchanted Tomic can do the same, if only to beef up his 401K. If Tomic tried harder, even if he didn't want to win titles, he would make more money more quickly, and can retire even earlier than originally planned! I just pray he doesn't get injured or else he might have to page through the classifieds ten years from now.
Edit: Tomic has since been fined $15,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct stemming from his comments. He has also been dropped by his racquet sponsor, Head.
