Novak Djokovic and Emma Raducanu are unfairly ‘cast as villains’ by faceless social media trolls, according to former player and respected broadcaster Naomi Broady.
Despite their impressive achievements on the biggest stages in tennis, Djokovic and Raducanu are regularly on the end of negativity from snipers who appear to relish their setbacks.
Djokovic was bizarrely booed off court by spectators after he was forced to quit his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev last month due to injury, despite his status as the most successful male tennis player of all-time.
Meanwhile, champion Raducanu is constantly abused by snipers on social media platforms, despite the positive impact she has made on so many young girls since her iconic win at the 2021 US Open.
Now Broady, who reached a career-high of No 76 in March 2016, has told Tennis365 that Djokovic and Raducanu are victims of a critical public who like to cast some sporting champions in a negative light.
“I don’t know if it’s a case that someone has to be cast as the villain and you have to say ‘sorry it’s you’,” Sky Sports Tennis commentator Broady told Tennis365 in an exclusive interview.
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“Why should it be Djokovic? Why should it be Emma Raducanu getting those negative comments? They have done nothing other than achieve incredible things in tennis.
“Maybe it’s jealousy, or just people aren’t able to comprehend what they’ve done and understand the hard work that has gone into it.
“You also need to understand what it means to them. We sometimes don’t see people as humans and just see them as robots.
“Also, would people say these negative things to their face if they were fortunate enough to meet them? Probably not.”
Broady is a mother of two young children and suggests parents need to monitor their kids’ online activity to ensure they are not affected by too much negativity.
“Social media is a difficult one and education is important,” added Broady.
“A lot of people are controlling what their kids look at on social media, but it is a very different story when you are in the public eye.
“That account may be controlled by someone else if you are a top tennis player, but it is a massive part of who you are.
“It’s your ability to control your own narrative, which you don’t always get a chance to do. Sponsors want that social media presence as well.
“There are definitely pros and cons to social media, but I would never include images of my kids on there and I pick and choose which parts of my life to share and which parts remain private.”
Broady also gave Tennis365 her view on Raducanu’s hopes for 2025, as she insisted her recent setback at the Australian Open and two first-round defeats that followed in subsequent tournaments should not rattle her confidence.
“People who have that attitude and say Emma got lucky when we won the US Open don’t understand tennis,” Broady told Tennis365. “You hear them say she is a one-Slam wonder and it was a fluke that she won the US Open.
“If you understand tennis, you will know that is not possible. You can’t come through qualifying, win seven matches without dropping a set and win a Grand Slam by luck.
“She has the level and she needs to get back there and it’s incredibly difficult not to look at those articles online and get dragged into the negativity.
“Hopefully the team around her will help with that and that may be why over the last year or two she has made that close circle much smaller. She needs that protection around her.”
“She is putting a lot of hard work off the court and I just love her hire of Yutaka Nakamura. He is such a lovely guy and they will fit incredibly well with their personalities. He is also one of the best in tennis at what he does.
“He will also give her a lot of support on how to manage her body because as we have seen with Jack Draper, he has achieved fantastic results when he has managed to do that.
“I feel it’s a similar story with Emma. She has the talent and she just needs her body to play ball and allow her to win the amount of matches she needs to in order to get back to the top of the rankings. I think it will come, but we just need to give it time.”
Raducanu is currently pondering her options over her next coaching appointment after Nick Cavaday opted to leave her team on health grounds after the Australian Open.
That was a blow to the British No 2, but she is still well-placed to break back into the top 50 of the WTA Rankings over the next few months if she can steer clear of injuries and find some wins.
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