The atmosphere from my childhood still rings in my ears, i.e. the late 80s and early 90s. Back then, when MTV was watching from the plate, and the rest was supplemented with cassettes and Kasprzaks. Today, young people cannot run this equipment, but here “on paper” we are probably in the group that remembers these archeo. It’s been 30 years and we take music to heart in a completely different way. Although the hits, sometimes slightly tuned, are often the same. And they bring interesting reflections.
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During Roland Garros, I was reminded of a note that once ruled the lists. And I remembered it unexpectedly, not during some match on a Parisian clay. I just flashed the news that the WTA had officially unveiled the post-US Open calendar. I checked and indeed – we already know that from September we are 100% going back to China. In the same dimension as before, and even wider.
Some time ago we mentioned in our magazine “Gem, Set, Match” that another autumn of women’s tennis in the Far East is only a matter of time. And indeed, everything clicked as expected. The information was covered by the rivalry in France, when our attention is focused on completely different events. Diplomatically. The subject will settle down and there will be peace. The calendar includes Beijing, Guangzhou and Zhuhai, as well as Ningbo, Zhengzhou, Nanchang and Hong Kong. We’re letting go of Wuhan, because that’s where the career of the virus supposedly began, so it’s hard to “sell” this place today in terms of marketing. Finally, the ladies are to perform in the Masters in Shenzhen and let it take place with the dominant participation of Iga Świątek.
I’m curious to see what this program will actually look like from her point of view. The leader of the ranking – if she plays in Asia, of course – will find herself in a completely different culture, political system or sphere of values. I am not judging now whether these conditions are better or worse, but they are certainly different from those in the broadly understood West. If a Polish woman were to remain faithful to her views and wanted to speak publicly on important matters for her, she would rather not count on a warm welcome and understanding from her hosts. For the time being, our champion avoided making any declarations about the starts, postponing the decision. Though of course she’ll have to figure it out eventually.
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China is a huge, powerful, diverse area, and Świątek – one of the most active travelers in the world – has never appeared there. In contrast to Agnieszka Radwańska, who flew to this region every year and was extremely appreciated there. Of course, in different realities and with a different view of the world. Isia tried not to speak out in controversial, potentially divisive matters. Iga is expressive, and it functions in a much more complicated reality. We can find out about it by following, for example, the French Open and Aryna Sabalenka’s conferences. I look at reality from a different perspective than the Belarusian, and I am not privately a fan of her tennis (although I appreciate its effectiveness), but I respect the vice-leader of the WTA list for how she moves in the current reality. I think he does what he can. And what it should.
Sometimes it really does feel like “verbal pirouettes”. OK, but were Billie Jean King, Stan Smith or young Jimmy Connors, for example, asked several decades ago every game, every day-two, every tournament, do they support American air strikes in Vietnam? Where tons of bombs were dropped on villages in the fight against communists, where napalm was cruelly used, where tens of thousands of civilians died. Where in My Lai – whoever wants to can read about this orgy of killing – defenseless women, old people and children were liquidated with machine guns. Where suspects had electrical wires strapped to their bodies or so-called planes were used to torture prisoners strapped to the ceiling. Where life was not taken into account at all, although it was proceeded in the name of the ideals of freedom and democracy. These events were as terrifying as what has happened to our eastern neighbors…
Today I do not justify anyone on the courts, but at the same time I do not intend to condemn anyone. Once again, all I have to do is note the helplessness of tennis in the face of what should never, anywhere, happen. Both in the collective dimension and in the dimension of individuals. I believe that Sabalenka had the right to use the option of closed meetings with the media. Yes, for your mental health. Anyway, Iga herself and her team have been telling in the past how important it is today. Though of course in a different context.
Soon, questions and doubts will also arise in Beijing and the surrounding area. Will our tennis player refer to them in some way? How rigorous and uncompromising is her moral compass? Will everything turn out to be consistent in this situation? On the end of the Shuai Peng issue, the actions of the sponsor with whom she parted, or perhaps in other fields?
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A cup of Chinese tea singing Carol Decker noticed a lump in it. She picked up the china and then saw the image of a young woman. Hence the title of the song. Decisions, behaviors and choices are in your hands, Igo. China in Your Hand…
2023-06-09 00:15:56
#Iga #Świąteks #decisions #China #Hand
