Brandy123

She is 19 YEARS OLD. She should be worried about what she is going to wear to Prom. It is ridiculous to put this much pressure on a 19 Year Old Girl. Old People Put so much pressure on these kids.

I

RAL

She's just a tennis professional who has trained for this her whole life. Imo it's unfair to assume she will become an addict.
Congrats to her for her win too.

ChloeRose63

Hard to tell what her focus is on. Money, fame, being the best, staying the best, breaking records, etc. Maybe she is not yet aware of the pressure yet to come. I think she is just enjoying the "high".

Dee74

Not bragging but I know a young international sportsman…he’s in his 20s now…he’ll have a drink but he’s always been very responsible and focused on his sport. The loving way he was bought up helped too.

The pressures real - but not everyone spirals down into addiction.

D

Brandy123

That is the PROBLEM She has trained for this her entire life. SHE IS 19. Tennis is all she knows. I feel bad for her. I'm not saying she is going to become an addict, I am saying a LOT of adults are depending on a 19 year old who should be having fun instead of worrying about tennis. She'll never get those memories she should have back. It will catch up to her. I won't out myself, but it is not good when adults depend on kids for their income or live vicariously through them. It won't end well. She's too young.

RAL

there are many teenage sports stars, music geniuses etc. It's not really for us to say what she is going through or feeling or worrying about or might become. Unless you know her personally of course and if you do I apologise. You seem pretty caught up in her potential issues which isn't something you can control or have any say over. If something similar has happened to you then of course you feel strongly about a subject but focusing on ourselves imo is the best way forward rather than projecting onto what others might be going through

Brandy123

I'll shut up. I just know how it works and the pressure she has had on her since she was a LOT younger than 19. God forbid she starts losing. I'll go back into my little corner of the internet.

RAL

I'm sorry if I upset you, that was not my intention.

RecklessDrunk

I think God has everyone on their own journey. We are blessed with a unique set of strengths and weaknesses and likes and dislikes. Then off we go. Life just does not seem fair. Some get too much more than us, some get too little. We can only control what we can control.

It could be worse. We send 19 year old kids to war. This tennis player has a unique set of strengths and weaknesses and circumstances, just like anyone else. The difference is much of it is extreme. Also highly visible. Not many saw my struggles as a teen and I thank God, LOL. God blessed her with all this talent and she put in the work and God blessed her with all this money. God has built her to handle her situation. Even if God gave me that kind of talent I could not see myself handling the fame. That's ok though, God built her to handle this and me to handle my own struggles. . Its hard for me to comprehend having the money and problems of famous athletes. It is what it is.

Oglsby

I went to school with a golfer who became very famous but he was very driven, and his family/etc were supportive of him. He was a fairly well-adjusted guy who handled the fame well but I would describe him as a very intense person.

I have relatives who are elite athletes and one of my sister-in-laws was very tough on them and made them be involved with athletics since they were very young children. There were different times the children would rebel and sometimes it felt like they never got to be kids (she never let them have "fun" food, etc) and I always thought it was more about her living vicariously through them. They are all well-adjusted now.

I think most important is having people who really have your best interests in mind when you become famous, because we have all seen the horror stories from movie stars, to musicians, to sports stars. I hope she has a bright career and is surrounded by a lot of support and love.

Anna

I was a competitive dancer beginning at age 5. I became a professional competitive dancer at 16 and continued until I was about 21. It was awful, and I would not wish that lifestyle on anyone. To be clear, as a 5 year old, I was not driven to compete and win. My mother was, and I had no choice in the matter. Read Andre Angassi's book 'Open' and you will see that he hated tennis and was pushed by his father. His wife, Steffi Graff also strongly disliked tennis.

Anna

I should add that, in my case, the toxic environment that I grew up in played a role in my becoming an addict many years later.

Zencat

Thank you Brandy123 for voicing your concerns.

Child abuse comes in all forms. It is impossible to know what exactly that abuse will do to a child. I suspect a high percentage will have emotional problems as an adult. Some will turn to addiction or another harmful behavior.

nogard

This seems to be the case for so many addicts and alcoholics