An unfair media portrayal of Maria Sharapova by the BBC.

But that's the power of the media. And it's wrong! :(

The BBC Sportswriter Caroline Cheese, wrote a bit about Maria Sharapova called "Attitude Alert". She said Maria "has been making waves at Wimbledon this year, not all of them positive". Huh? :confused: Cheese goes on the write "she is becoming a popular face among the Wiombledon crowds, she has hardlyendeared herself to the press by insisting that her agent must be present at every interview she attends. And who said Anna Kournikova has the biggest ego in tennis"?

That's unfair and presposterous criticism in my book! :eek: A 15 year old should not be taken advantage of by the media. So having her agent there with Maria should only prevent unfair questions from the writwer or the writer twisting her words. In the past couple of years, sportswriters have had no trouble writing articles about how Elena Dementieva and Lina Krasnoroutskaya don't particularly like Anna. And the media is already tring to do the same with Maria. I just hope Maria and her representatives don't fall for it.

I think the writer is trying to make something out of nothing. But judge for yourself.

The article "Attitude Alert" is located at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport/hi/english/tennis/wimbledon/newsid_2105000/2105270.stm

Just scroll down a little more than half way and you'll find "Attitude Alert".

It's also unfair tha female athletes have to put up with more nonsense from the media than male athletes do! :mad:

You make great points cat and I somewhat agree. But I find Maria to be rather intelligent and I think at some point she will be able to handle the media by herself.

Frankly I'm still appalled that the media likes to treat her like a soon to be sex kitten.

SO I treat every article about her ready to be disgusted.

Thus, I can't form an objective opinion on this one.

I'm sure once she does something significant intennis, the articles will focus more on that. Right now, what has she done tennis-wise for them to write about?

Jakeev, perhaps Maria is intelligent enough to handle the media. I hope she is! :)

Becca, not every article about her is like you think it is. Some articles thankfully focus mainly on her tennis. And I'll gladly check out your women versus men in the media thread in a minute!

Volcana, Maria has had an outstanding first year of the juniors. That has created alot of the tennis buzz about her. Maria has played 7 junior tournaments this year, and been in the finals of 6.
That's quite good if you ask me. But alot of the hype is because she is from Russia, just like Anna Kournikova. Thus the endless comparisons. If Maria was Swedish, the hype about her would be alot less than it is.

yes, it's disappointing.

Very sad! She is 15. She should have her agent, her Mom, her Dad or someone there to protect her against the media. I saw her in an interview last year on the Sunshine Network I think it was at the Orange Bowl. I was very surprised at how well she presented herself and how she skated past a question that was personal! Good Luck Maria.

Good points Meesh! :D

Maria is already savvy in dealing with the media. IMG has prepared her very well on how to answer questions and deal with the media.