Outspoken Noah Rubin mocks Wimbledon tradition in sarcastic tweet whilst promoting extensive change

Wimbledon tradition is the stuff of legend with certain aspects of the two week tournament not having changed for decades. Now first round loser Rubin has called out Wimbledon for one of their longest standing traditions.

‘Middle Sunday’ is a Wimbledon tradition that is etched in the DNA of the SW19 tournament. The reasons behind there being no play on the middle Sunday are complex and varied and now Noah Rubin has decided to challenge Wimbledon to do something about it.

In a sarcastic tweet, the player, who has recently launched ‘Behind the Racquet‘, suggested that not playing on the middle Sunday was a bad idea because it meant potential tennis fans that didn’t work or go to school on that day wouldn’t be able to watch live tennis.

On a day of no school and no work let’s not have tennis scheduled…
All the issues I talk about need extensive changes but there are easy improvements for short term fixes.

— Noah Rubin (@Noahrubin33) July 7, 2019

Rubin created ‘Behind the Racquet’ to reveal a series of truths from players on the tour regards such aspects of their professional tennis lives as injuries, finances and mental health. Rubin believes that, “Tennis is a broken system right now: It’s one of the least promotable and fan-friendly sports out there”. He’s interviewed a number of tour players and given them the chance to reveal the true story of what its like to be a professional tennis player.

So it comes as no surprise that Rubin should be the one to highlight this perceived weakness in the Wimbledon schedule.

One of ‘Behind the Racquets’ most revealing posts came from British star Katie Swan when she talked about the difficulties she had recently faced with whilst on Tour.

 

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“We need to normalize it. We can’t make people feel as if they have some kind of disease just because they are seeking help and talking to a psychologist. You have all these people telling you things, but you need to find that one person, who you truly connect to, that can give you the tools to overcome your issues. Many obstacles I faced were not only on the court. During a tournament I was at with my coach last year in Spain, he got some awful news. His five-year-old son went through a glass window and had his throat cut on the glass. His son thankfully went through life saving surgery. I, of course, understood when my coach had to be home with his family but it left me trying to find my way at the beginning of the grass season. I had some help from my other coach to fill in a few weeks, but he was dealing with his wife sadly battling cancer, who succumbed to this disease at the end of last year. On top of all the devastating events my team and I had to deal with, my boyfriend returned home from Nigeria late last year and was diagnosed with Malaria. For a few days we weren’t sure if he was going to make it but heroically fought through it. With the distressing events that took place in 2018, I was expecting 2019 to be ‘the’ year. The idea that if my team and I could get through this, we could get through anything. That idea abruptly ended when I had a full back spasm at only the second tournament of the year. After working so physically hard in the pre season, I did not think this would ever be an issue. This was followed by one of lowest periods in my tennis career. I thought I was being dramatic after everything that took place last year. It took some time to understand that there is no need to compare your obstacles with past ones. No matter the hardship it should be given full respect no matter the size. It took a while to open up about the pressures I faced but with the help of my friends, family and team, I was able to see the positives. I deserve to be here and I found my fight again.”

A post shared by Behind The Racquet (@behindtheracquet) on May 31, 2019 at 12:04pm PDT

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