On August 23rd the newspaper AS published the incredible dialogue between Putintseva and her coach which seemed not to be her first controversial gesture and later went around the world of tennis. Also, she is not the first player who behaved inappropriately towards her coach and their way of coaching, answering in an impertinent tone with no respect.
This is not a problem with the professional players only who, as we may think, earn a lot of money or possess a higher status, giving them the right to depreciate their coaches and treat them badly just because they hired and pay them. Fortunately, there are many examples of the contrary, male and female players like Rafa Nadal or Maria Sharapova who behave with extreme respect and professionalism towards their coaches and teams.
As I mentioned, the problem of disrespect, badmouthing or using inappropriate gestures is an issue at all levels, ages and both sexes. A clear example of a player who is regularly known for impertinent gestures towards his team is Andy Murray. Throughout my 14-year career as Mental Coach and Sports Psychologist specialized in tennis I have realized that the problem of disrespect exists at all levels and ages, especially during competitions and when the emotions run high.
No wonder that the words of Putintseva left the world of tennis indignant, triggering high emotions and protests. This happened because she hit an already inched up nerve: the lack of respect, bad gestures and badmouthing towards a professional relationship.
This is a very important issue and right before my holidays, I was performing a mental coaching with a player, leading to any differences being clarified for the benefit of both coach and player. In that case, it was possible to get a player, who felt heavily hurt by her coach and did not want to talk to him anymore, to regain her enthusiasm, confidence and respect towards her coach, clarifying and discussing everything with him, even apologizing. All within just a few minutes and through WhatsApp.
If you want to find out how we got the results, keep on reading.