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Djokovic - keep your shirt on!

5K views 38 replies 19 participants last post by  Lee 
#1 ·
I would really like to see Djokovic stop celebrating his tennis victories by taking his shirt off and walking around for the crowd. I don't think this is appropriate tennis etiquette - actually, I think its in very poor taste.

I can't help but wonder - why does he do it??? It sure doesn't do anything for me. I think his coach should give him some advice. Now, if Maria Sharapova were to take her tennis dress off to celebrate her victories, she would certainly have my undivided attention! And I wouldn't complain!
 
#2 ·
I would really like to see Djokovic stop celebrating his tennis victories by taking his shirt off and walking around for the crowd. I don't think this is appropriate tennis etiquette - actually, I think its in very poor taste.

I can't help but wonder - why does he do it??? It sure doesn't do anything for me. I think his coach should give him some advice. Now, if Maria Sharapova were to take her tennis dress off to celebrate her victories, she would certainly have my undivided attention! And I wouldn't complain!
First of all why do you care how he celebrates his victories he certenly doesn't think how you are going to react when he does anything and correct if im wrong but i dont remember him taking his shirt off and that way celebrating his victory but i do remember him taking his shirt off AND CHANGING IT![probably beacause he had ussually ran 3 hours and got a little sweaty]
 
#3 ·
First of all, Djokovic is a high-profile representative of pro tennis. What he does in a tournament is broadcast around the world, and so it is important and beyond dispute that he behave in a manner that creates a positive image of the game.

I have been playing tennis in private clubs, community clubs, in tournaments and in many different countries for more than 30 years and have attended numerous pro tournaments over the years, so I am a close observer and participant of the game. Therefore, my opinion on his removing his shirt to celebrate will be representative of a very wide and large audience, and so he would do well to take such feedback to heart.

The normal routine for a male pro is to first celebrate his win with his shirt on and then retire to his seat to possibly change shirts, usually off-camera. But, what Djokovic does, immediately after a win, is take off his shirt and then start celebrating in front of the cameras by walking around the court, waving to the fans and posing for photos in his shorts. When thats all done after several minutes, then he goes to his bag at his chair to change. You should check the replays.

You should keep in mind that the women pros do not have the luxury of changing their shirts or dresses after a match, so I would think Djokovic should just tough it out with his soaked shirt while he celebrates in front of the crowd.

From my own personal experience, when I with win a tough match, the last thing I think about right after is changing shirts. I find the one I have on feels just fine until I start cooling down.
 
#4 ·
maybe i`ll surprise you but women watch tennis too as well,and as a woman myself i can tell you that we need to see some more skin,too!since Becker and Edberg`s era of extremely tight and short pants is gone there aren`t that many ways to see what the boys do actually have:angel:!
 
#9 ·
I didn't find taking his shirt off as offensive or negative...
Maybe his attitude toward the ball boys, but like taking your shirt off in soccer and getting a yellow card (something for me that it's stupid) doesn't make sense to me, well this way too...
 
#10 ·
well you really cant compare football and tennis it is different yeah in football players sometimes do take off their shirts for no reason but even that is rare and for those[in football] who do take their shirts off ussualy do that when they score a goal and they do that because they want to express their happines the normal ones really dont care if anyone on tv is watching because they scored a goal not the guy that is watching they can do whatever they want and well in tennis it is completely normal and Djokovic isnt the only one who takes his shirt off when he wins a tournament but i am not going to explane a hundred times why he does that
 
#11 ·
I don't know much about football (in my country it's called soccer lol) but they don't get penalized for taking off their shirts AFTER the game right? It's not like Novak takes off his shirt in the middle of the match.

Having said that, I actually agree that I'm not a fan of him taking his shirt off. It doesn't bother me too much though, I still love Nole!
 
#15 ·
I have a problem with Djokovic celebrating a win by taking his shirt off because it breaches the long-standing traditions and culture of the game. Tennis has a history of socially refined and civilized rules of conduct and sportmanship that has developed in the social club atmosphere. I have been culturalized into this environment for almost 40 years and so I find Djokovic's action disrespects and offends this culture and to me it just looks like an aggressive display of showing off.

As well, please reread my earlier posts in this thread. Now, I hope you understand.
 
#14 ·
Didn't John McEnroe say that male players need to take their shirts off more often in order to attract a teenage female audience? Well Novak's just taking his advice. ;) And if tennis really is the biggest sport in Serbia now then I'd say it's working. I'd also say that he's a pioneer for the new wave of tennis players, but that could be a little much. :angel:
 
#19 ·
Empressdiver, couldn't agree more with you. It is just not appropriate and especially not in a sport as tennis. Can't he just celebrate without taking his shirt off, like a normal tennis player? I guess it's only bad for his reputation.
It really has nothing to do with whether Djokovic had a tough match or not, I don't think he does it because his shirt is sweaty (otherwise he would just change it afterwards), I guess he just thinks it's cool. Anyway, hope he stops doing it.
 
#21 ·
RogiFeñaFan;6556144 said:
Empressdiver, couldn't agree more with you. It is just not appropriate and especially not in a sport as tennis. Can't he just celebrate without taking his shirt off, like a normal tennis player? I guess it's only bad for his reputation.
So Santoro and Llodra stripping to their underwears after their AO doubles championship a few years ago should be sent to jail, right?
 
#24 ·
I haven't seen anyone but Djokovic do it either, and I don't like it for a few reasons. First, because it comes across as showing up the opponent. (I didn't bother watching the end of the Federer/Djokovic match in the Australian Open and one of the main reasons was because I refused to watch Djokovic strip in victory over one of my favorites.) Second, because I can't stand the sight of Djokovic's chest. And third, because I never get to see my favorites shirtless on TV. What I would like is for the players to continue taking off their shirts and changing them at their seats AND for television to let us see it. I remember back in the late 80's I saw them changing their shirts quite often, but now I never see it.
 
#25 ·
Let's not forget tennis also has a history of racism, and elitism that divided people according to skin color and class. When the williams sisters wanted to wear braids,beads and vibrant colors that are dominate in the Black community, commentators claimed it unruly--a ghettoization of tennis. Djokovic's shirt off is his individual ritual and in no way violates any of the sportsmanship codes of the sport.

what is more dangerous and deplorable, is a commentary about its inappropriateness given the geo-political implications of his Serbian-ness and the racist exclusions currently practiced on tour. Your qualm ranks very low in the grand scheme of inappropriateness.
 
#26 ·
Racism, elitism and the Williams sisters' braids, etc. are not on the topic of this thread. Start another thread if you wish to pursue this line of discussion - you are hijacking my thread.

Djokovic's removal of his shirt to celebrate his win is most certainly his individual behaviour - that is precisely why I singled him out for this thread. My complaint is that this behaviour is inappropriate in several ways as I outlined in my earlier posts. Whether it violates any of the ATP or Australian Open rules is a separate matter which you can examine.

I have not raised any issue with Djokovic's Serbian background, and it doesn't matter to me at all, and it shouldn't matter to any one else for the purposes of this thread. My criticism would apply to any pro tennis player doing the same thing as I set out in an earlier post.

I am not aware of any "racist exclusions practiced on the tour" that you mention, and again, I don't think that subject is relevant to my thread. This is another attempted hijack.

There is no "grand scheme of inappropriateness" you mention that is relevant. You need to confine yourself to the issues raised in my thread. It sounds like you have an unrelated private agenda you are trying to promote in my thread. Again, I would suggest you start your own thread for those matters.
 
#28 · (Edited)
I had to do a little research to find out that Andrew Ilie used to tear off his shirt when he won a tennis match about 5 years ago.

As I have set out twice earlier in this thread, my complaint is against the behaviour, not a particular individual, so Ilie is subject to the same analysis and criticism as well.
 
#30 ·
So Jackie, should tennis pros be celebrating a match win by taking their shirt off?

And should the women pros be taking their shirts or dresses off as well??

We can leave aside the question of bras for the moment (if the girl was even wearing one), although I guess, if your taking your shirt off, why stop there? After all, they have all been in their sweaty clothes for 3 hours already as a few posters have previously argued!
 
#31 ·
To all of you naysayers...I simply say ubu and let Djokovic b Djokovic...if he hurts your eyes in anyway turn your head or the channel...& most of all stop whining...I say he's the best thing to happen to the sport since Agassi...If you don't believe me just try googling some of the male players & check the various blogs & you will see the hits coming for this kid...the #s are phenominal and he is selling tickets when he plays like they are going out of style....get over yourselves...you should be ashamed...judging the way you are....clean up your own house before you try to tell someone else how to clean theirs
 
#32 ·
Well, Connors and MacEnroe were also the best thing to happen to tennis, but should we have said, "Oh, just let Connors and MacEnroe be Connors and MacEnroe"? Obviously not - their obnoxious, vulgar behaviour on court was just not acceptable to most tennis fans no matter how talented they were as tennis players. Thankfully, that behaviour is not tolerated in today's game.

Its important that we should not compromise the integrity of the game to sell tickets. And yes, it does hurt my eyes to watch Djokovic celebrate half-naked, and the solution is not to turn my eyes away or change the channel - I want to be able to see pro tennis without the beefcake display. My complaints are not whining - they are constructive suggestions for the benefit of the game.

If anything, your post is a knee-jerk, defensive reaction which has not considered the longer term implications of your blind defence of Djokovic. Once you think it through, you might find that you have only embarrassed yourself.

I do not take my shirt off to celebrate a tennis match victory, and I treat people with respect in my posts, so my house does not need any cleaning, and therefore your allegation is totally irrelevant to the topic of this thread.
 
#34 ·
I live in Toronto and go to the Canadian Open every year for at least 3 or 4 days and get saturated with pro tennis - the men and women alternate every year. It definitely helps my own game.

In fact, there are only a very few male players that practice without a shirt, not most - your statement is an exaggeration. But that is still substantially different than celebrating on international TV coverage. However, even in practice at a tournament with the paying public watching, I think they should be wearing shirts, since they are reps of the ATP.

I see only a very few females practicing with sport bras and I don't have any problem with that. I have never seen a female pro practice with just a fashion bra and nothing more - I think you must be dreaming in technicolor - it would be a real piece of entertainment, and it certainly would not hurt my eyes, but again, that would not be appropriate as a dress code.

I think to analyze this issue in the best perspective, you have to project yourself in the position of an ATP executive who has to consider the many conflicting interests in a global market to make a good decision.
 
#37 ·
Hey, I just trust what I see at an ATP event - and its not what you said. I figure the Canadian Open in Toronto is reasonably representative of what goes on at any ATP tournament in North America at least.

The players are in fact members and reps of the ATP and are subject to ATP rules and disciplinary procedures while they are competing and not retired. This includes much more than the dress code and on-court behaviour - it extends to off-court behaviour, business matters and prohibited substances they can injest and mandatory drug testing. So, forget about the air-conditioned office.

I have not accused you of making things up - I only said your statement is an exaggeration. Frankly, I would have expected more reasonable and moderate posts from you as a moderator of this board. Looks to me like your own posts need some editing.
 
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