Has the Edberg Sportsmanship Award Lost All Credibility?

This year's nominees are:

17 times slam winner and GOAT contender Roger Federer
14 times slam winner and GOAT contender Rafael Nadal
3 time grand slam winner and current Wimbledon champ Andy Murray
3 time grand slam winner and current US champ Stan Wawrinka

Consequently, the nominees are 4 of the 5 biggest names in the sport (not to sound like Jahu but it really does seem like no one likes Novak). With all due respect to each of them, I wouldn't say any of them have displayed above average sportsmanship this year. Federer has barely played, Rafa has some issues complying with various rules, Andy swears and Stan isn't exactly Mother Theresa.

To me, this award needs to go back to its roots. It should be given to a player who has demonstrated exceptional on-court sportsmanship not to the biggest names in the sport. Until this is rectified, the award will, sadly, become more and more an indictment of the ongoing commerciality of tennis.

In other awards, the nominees are:

Most Improved

- Dan Evans
- Alex Zverev
- Dom Thiem
- Lucas Pouille

Best Comeback

- Del Porto
- Benneteau
- Karlovic
- Mayer

Who votes for the Sportsmanship award? I thought it was the players - or is it a select committee of sorts.

Lol, Taro Daniel, (WR96) re-tweeted this comment:

[ltr]"What a remarkable coincidence that the greatest human beings on tour, according to the ATP, are all top players."[/ltr]

Even the players now recognising the ridiculousness of it.

Apparently the definition is this

"There is an annual ATP Sportsman of the Year award and a player is elected by other players to choose who seemed to have the best sportsmanship based on their attitude and respect for the game, opponents, the umpire, and the crowd. It's when players can stand tall and be proud of their effort after being defeated, and not taunting or bragging in the faces of the opponent after a winis an annual ATP Sportsman of the Year award and a player is elected by other players to choose who seemed to have the best sportsmanship based on their attitude and respect for the game, opponents, the umpire, and the crowd. It's when players can stand tall and be proud of their effort after being defeated, and not taunting or bragging in the faces of the opponent after a win"




It's hardly going to be the latest 250 winner is It? 

I've never been a fan. Certainly not since Roger kept winning it despite evidence to the contrary of his great 'sportsmanship'

Andy's surly QF US Open effort damages him and it's a shame as I'd argue that his commitment to the Davis Cup deserves something. 

Novak simply doesn't lose quietly enough to get it (not saying he's bad) and yes why the hell is Roger there

So for me it's Rafa, who despite some bad defeats as always been gracious and wonderfully philosophical

Del Potro for comeback, Murray for main award, the most improved has some strong contenders, any of them could deserve it but not sure who should.

Agree that the award is a bit random and weak in who's selected. Does feel like a snub to Novak the nominee list.

It is not ridiculous, nor is it random.  It just means Novak's fellow players don't like him / don't see him as possessing much sportsmanship.  This seems surprising as externally he seems like a fair person - but not from the inside clearly, that is not the view from his fellow pros.  Clearly most see Federer as having a sporting attitude.  Most see Federer, Nadal, Murray, Wawrinka as having a better sporting attitude than Djokovic.  Yes it is surprising but that is the insider point of view, and it is worth an intrepid sports journalist investigating further.

DP for comeback is the easy one. It's between Zverev and Pouille for the most improved - I'd give the edge to Pouille.

I would abstain from voting on the Sportsman award in protest. Realistically, it's obviously going to Fed again but I'd love to see Tsonga or Monfils win it one year - in my view both would be more deserving than any of this year's nominees.

Nore Staat wrote:It is not ridiculous, nor is it random.  It just means Novak's fellow players don't like him / don't see him as possessing much sportsmanship.  This seems surprising as externally he seems like a fair person - but not from the inside clearly, that is not the view from his fellow pros.  Clearly most see Federer as having a sporting attitude.  Most see Federer, Nadal, Murray, Wawrinka as having a better sporting attitude than Djokovic.  Yes it is surprising but that is the insider point of view, and it is worth an intrepid sports journalist investigating further.

My question as per previous years is who creates the shortlist of nominees ? Have the players already voted and these are the top four ? Or has some selection panel sat down and decided who best in their opinion meets the criteria for the award. With the four nominated then being voted on by the players. If the latter it doesn't feel that the panel took very much into consideration when coming up with the nominees.

Calder106 wrote: My question as per previous years is who creates the shortlist of nominees ?  Have the players already voted and these are the top four ? Or has some selection panel sat down and decided who best in their opinion meets the criteria for the award.  With the four nominated then being voted on by the players. If the latter it doesn't feel that the panel took very much into consideration when coming up with the nominees.

Bit in bold: good point. We need to know who determines the shortlist before interpreting what the shortlist means.  As you say, the players may only get a say on choosing from the shortlist.

It's been a joke of an award for many years now. Nadal should never have won it given he flagrantly breaks the rules and makes injury excuses for every defeat. Funny sportsmanship that! Strange how he has won the award at all but the corporate sponsors decided one year that he had to win as the "saintly" Roger Federer had won it too many times.

As for Djokovic, I find it hard to see what he does that makes him so unsportsmanlike compared to the other big names. Perhaps his press conferences show that he has a little personality and he's generated some needle in the past with fellow players e.g. Roddick. However when Federer, Nadal and Murray speak publicly they come across as total and utter bores who don't say anything even vaguely controversial, funny or interesting!

If I were Djokovic I'd concentrate on winning more stuff, the Edberg award is nothing more than a door stop.

Nore Staat wrote:

Calder106 wrote: My question as per previous years is who creates the shortlist of nominees ?  Have the players already voted and these are the top four ? Or has some selection panel sat down and decided who best in their opinion meets the criteria for the award.  With the four nominated then being voted on by the players. If the latter it doesn't feel that the panel took very much into consideration when coming up with the nominees.

Bit in bold: good point. We need to know who determines the shortlist before interpreting what the shortlist means.  As you say, the players may only get a say on choosing from the shortlist.

Thinking about it, it must be Stefan Edberg. And since Edberg coaches Federer, that probably accounts for Federer's inclusion on the shortlist.

Why Nadal won it? Because players voted for him over Fed that year! It's not given to him as someone here suggested! Fed also gave injuries as his excuse for his loss at Wimby that year when he lost to Berdych and so Berdych said he didn't vote for Fed (for the said award) that year. Apparently other players also did the same, and voted more for Nadal for him to win it. It's not like Fed was gracious over his own defeats, so what Sportsmanship are we talking about here?

It's the overall behavior of the players that count, and I believe Djoko was also nominated in some of the past years, it's just that Fed won most of this particular award.

So, I take it none of us knows who creates the shortlist.

Henman Bill wrote:So, I take it none of us knows who creates the shortlist.

Well ...... I came across this piece from 2015 in something called thesportreview.com (seems a perfectly credible/reliable site to me, but we must each decide for ourselves ....) and which actually makes a clear assertion on the matter of shortlist nomination :

"Three of the key player Awards are selected by the players themselves. The shortlists, as nominated by the ATP and international tennis journalists, have now been presented to the players for their votes."

http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2015/10/roger-federer-rafael-nadal-2015-atp-world-tour-awards/

On digging a little deeper around the web, I was intrigued to find (perhaps others were already aware ....) that the award under discussion here did not begin life as 'The Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award'  but was originally 'The ATP Sportsmanship Award'. The name change apparently came about after Edberg had won the award on five occasions.

lags72 wrote:

Henman Bill wrote:So, I take it none of us knows who creates the shortlist.

Well ...... I came across this piece from 2015 in something called thesportreview.com (seems a perfectly credible/reliable site to me, but we must each decide for ourselves ....) and which actually makes a clear assertion on the matter of shortlist nomination :

"Three of the key player Awards are selected by the players themselves. The shortlists, as nominated by the ATP and international tennis journalists, have now been presented to the players for their votes."

http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2015/10/roger-federer-rafael-nadal-2015-atp-world-tour-awards/

On digging a little deeper around the web, I was intrigued to find (perhaps others were already aware ....) that the award under discussion here did not begin life as 'The Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award'  but was originally 'The ATP Sportsmanship Award'. The name change apparently came about after Edberg had won the award on five occasions.

Roger Federer has won it eleven times over a twelve year period with Nadal only intervening in 2010 when he had his three slam winning year.  It seems Nadal was only a good sport when he was winning everything.  I note that Federer won the sportsmanship award in 2009 when he cried through Nadal's Australian Open ceremony parade - putting a dampner on something that should have been all about Nadal - in claiming his first hard court grand slam.  Later in the year Nadal injured himself and got beat by Soderling at the French Open.

When Federer retires they will have to rename it: The Smarmy Git Federer Award ( )

I believe the OP is a case where Betteridge's law doesn't apply, since the answer is clearly "yes", unless you think the sportsmanship award had no credibility in the first place. Lags's post suggests that the shortlisted players are nominated by the ATP and journalists, and there's a good chance those will choose the more glamorous players, better for their image and all.

I always felt someone like Ferrer would have been a better choice for this award, always gives his all on court, but has an impeccable demeanour (no tantrums, racquet smashing, dubious MTOs, slow play, shouting at other players, etc.), and has always seemed gracious in defeat (it's the back, the mono, the wrist, the shoulder, the knees, etc.). Surely what the award should be about?

MFC - Excellent criteria for an award. Someone mentioned Federer's blubbing at the AO2009 which was nothing short of a disgrace. However, whilst Ferrer demonstrates great characteristics of good sportsmanship I have become concerned with his expanded jaw line.

Nore Staat wrote:

lags72 wrote:

Henman Bill wrote:So, I take it none of us knows who creates the shortlist.

Well ...... I came across this piece from 2015 in something called thesportreview.com (seems a perfectly credible/reliable site to me, but we must each decide for ourselves ....) and which actually makes a clear assertion on the matter of shortlist nomination :

"Three of the key player Awards are selected by the players themselves. The shortlists, as nominated by the ATP and international tennis journalists, have now been presented to the players for their votes."

http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2015/10/roger-federer-rafael-nadal-2015-atp-world-tour-awards/

On digging a little deeper around the web, I was intrigued to find (perhaps others were already aware ....) that the award under discussion here did not begin life as 'The Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award'  but was originally 'The ATP Sportsmanship Award'. The name change apparently came about after Edberg had won the award on five occasions.

Roger Federer has won it eleven times over a twelve year period with Nadal only intervening in 2010 when he had his three slam winning year.  It seems Nadal was only a good sport when he was winning everything.  I note that Federer won the sportsmanship award in 2009 when he cried through Nadal's Australian Open ceremony parade - putting a dampner on something that should have been all about Nadal - in claiming his first hard court grand slam.  Later in the year Nadal injured himself and got beat by Soderling at the French Open.

When Federer retires they will have to rename it: The Smarmy Git Federer Award ( )

 There was also that surly 2009 US defeat to Del Boys,  that was a million miles away from good sportsmanship

banbrotam wrote:

Nore Staat wrote:

lags72 wrote:

Henman Bill wrote:So, I take it none of us knows who creates the shortlist.

Well ...... I came across this piece from 2015 in something called thesportreview.com (seems a perfectly credible/reliable site to me, but we must each decide for ourselves ....) and which actually makes a clear assertion on the matter of shortlist nomination :

"Three of the key player Awards are selected by the players themselves. The shortlists, as nominated by the ATP and international tennis journalists, have now been presented to the players for their votes."

http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2015/10/roger-federer-rafael-nadal-2015-atp-world-tour-awards/

On digging a little deeper around the web, I was intrigued to find (perhaps others were already aware ....) that the award under discussion here did not begin life as 'The Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award'  but was originally 'The ATP Sportsmanship Award'. The name change apparently came about after Edberg had won the award on five occasions.

Roger Federer has won it eleven times over a twelve year period with Nadal only intervening in 2010 when he had his three slam winning year.  It seems Nadal was only a good sport when he was winning everything.  I note that Federer won the sportsmanship award in 2009 when he cried through Nadal's Australian Open ceremony parade - putting a dampner on something that should have been all about Nadal - in claiming his first hard court grand slam.  Later in the year Nadal injured himself and got beat by Soderling at the French Open.

When Federer retires they will have to rename it: The Smarmy Git Federer Award ( )

 There was also that surly 2009 US defeat to Del Boys,  that was a million miles away from good sportsmanship

Where his language was bluer than Billy Connoly you mean? But of course Roger doesn't swear.

Neither does David Ferrer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt-GTayeO6U

And let's not forget the time he hit a ball in the direction of a baby crying in the crowd. Sportsmanship at its finest.

Not sure a translation here would do him any favours here either - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8flsT0jEak

Did Ferrer win the sportsmanship award in those years? The most interesting point about the first clip is the reference to Isner having given Ferrer a point in his previous match when he felt Ferrer had been the victim of a bad call. That's the type of sporting behaviour that should be rewarded by an Edberg award.

I was simply replying to MfC's comment on Ferrer's "impeccable demeanour (no tantrums, racquet smashing....".
I suspect that with Ferrer less in the spotlight, his sometimes poor behaviour is often over-looked.

On a side note though I do get really annoyed by the commentators who act like grasses.
Many times when I haven't picked anything up you will get the commentator saying sorry for bad language or if you understand Spanish/German/French etc apologies for bad language. It is like grassing  people up for the sake of it when the viewers are unaware of any swearing.

Ha - fair enough. It is fair to say that hitting a ball at a crying baby probably does debar you from winning this award for life!

CaledonianCraig wrote:On a side note though I do get really annoyed by the commentators who act like grassed
Many times when I haven't picked anything up you will get the commentator saying sorry for bad language or if you understand Spanish/German/French etc apologies for bad language. It is like grassing  people up for the sake of it when the viewers are unaware of any swearing.

I get the impression their microphones are probably more sensitive, so they probably hear it clearly and assume the audience has as well.

That Murray has been nominated for the Edberg Sportmanship award is proof that the award has no credibility whatsoever. This is a player who has by far the worst on court behavior of all players. Smashing raquets, swearing, clutching body parts when he loses a point, complaining to Umpires about his opponents, cheering errors are part of most of his matches and are not only evidence of his lack of respect for his opponents but are used as gamesmanship when he is behind in the score.

This year he has also slurred his fellow players as drug cheats to the press insinuating that anyone who outlasts him is suspicious and should be investigated. His female coach left because she refused to be insulted and sworn at and on two separate occasions he should have been defaulted for petulantly hitting or kicking a ball at an Umpire.

http://www.espn.co.uk/tennis/story/_/id/15215605/andy-murray-accused-having-no-respect-umpire-rafael-nadal-defeat-monte-carlo-masters

http://www.joe.co.uk/sport/andy-murray-just-misses-umpires-head-with-tennis-ball-kick/80954

Pretty obvious that the names are nominated by the ATP in order to promote certain players. A joke that we are meant to believe that Murray is one of the four best players in terms of sportsmanship within the ATP and insulting to players who are genuinely sporting in how they conduct themselves. The ATP are treating tennis fans as idiots with this ludicrous award.