
Tavernier to leave Rangers after 11 years
Rangers captain James Tavernier announces departure after 11 years

Tennis players experience awkward interactions in locker rooms, often avoiding eye contact and small talk with opponents. Coco Gauff and others share insights into the unique social dynamics that arise before matches.
Back in the locker room after a successful first-round performance at the Australian Open in January, Coco Gauff caught a glimpse of a friendly face across the room. The player was scoffing sweets soon after a match, prompting Gauff to joke things must have gone well for her on court.
That laughter was not returned, for the player was stewing after a miserable day on court: âThey were, like, âNo, this is depression candy,ââ says Gauff, wincing.
Part of the job description is sharing locker rooms around the world with the same people they are charged with battling on the court, an arrangement that can lead to awkward interactions for all involved. For many, such as Paula Badosa, part of the preparation for matches includes avoiding eye contact at all costs. âThatâs the thing we do, I think, all of us,â she says, smiling. âWe try to avoid it and just say hi. That day you avoid the conversation and eye contact for sure.â
Gauff concurs: â[With] the people I know really well, itâs not really that awkward. Weâll talk and be, âOK, see you out there,â and thatâs fine. But always with people you donât know, you donât know whether to say hi to them or not. Iâm someone who usually always says hi, but the responses vary. And I understand â get in the moment.â
For Belinda Bencic, the situations where she and her opponents are grouped closely together, such as sharing a golf cart en route to the court, are more uncomfortable than sharing a locker room. Still, even she cannot avoid the strangeness of some of these scenarios: âSometimes you are doing your hair or getting ready for the match and your opponent is right there,â she says. âYou donât know if you should say small talk or not. Everyone is different. Some players are very relaxed â we are talking â and some players donât want to talk to you before the match.â
The awkwardness does not merely extend to the opponent that day. As Gauffâs faux pas in Melbourne illustrated, dozens of players pass in and out of the locker room after their matches each day, meaning it is a minefield of emotion. Some players are in tears after an excruciating defeat and others are raging. Sometimes it is impossible to know exactly what happened.

'Depression candy' refers to sweets consumed by players after a disappointing performance, as mentioned by Coco Gauff.
Many players, like Paula Badosa, avoid eye contact and conversation with opponents to minimize awkwardness before matches.
Coco Gauff notes that interactions vary, with familiar players being more comfortable while encounters with less known players can be awkward.
Some players feel that talking before a match can be distracting or uncomfortable, leading them to avoid conversation altogether.

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Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina head to court on a golf buggy before the final of the BNP Paribas Open in 2023 in Indian Wells. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images
âThe worst thing about sharing a locker room is seeing someone, knowing they played, but not knowing how the score went,â says Gauff. âYou donât know what mood theyâre in. I always find that hard to navigate.â
After spending so much of their lives in communal locker rooms from their junior days, players quickly become used to these interactions. Madison Keys does not know any other way: âI quite enjoy it because even though youâre sharing a locker room with your opponents, youâre also sharing a locker room with friends,â she says.
âThere have been moments where I know that either myself or other players have had really tough moments and you always have someone around you who can give you a hug and talk you through it. There is that immediate support. I guess other sports have that, but itâs your own teammates. Itâs nice thereâs an immediate sense of community versus [being] isolated.â
One obvious way to minimise awkward interactions is to spend as little time as possible in the environment. Jannik Sinner has perfected the art of getting in and out as quickly as possible: âWhen I started to come on tour, I was on-site a lot,â he says. âI would spend a lot of time in the locker room, a lot of time in the restaurant area. Now Iâm a bit different. Especially on training days, I come here [and] when the training is over or I eat something very fast here, then I leave or I leave straight away.â
Stefanos Tsitsipas believes most players are on good terms with each other, but observes that some are less willing to greet when they cross paths. He is particularly unimpressed by people who interact differently once they achieve a modicum of success.
âOne thing I donât understand is how they develop a bit of an attitude and a bit of an ego once they make one or two good results. Their whole personality changes. I wouldnât say arrogant â perhaps some of them.
âI just wish more werenât attached to their results and to what they do that determines who they are. I love humble people. Thatâs one of the reasons I admire Giannis Antetokounmpo a lot. Heâs achieved so much through basketball. Heâs one of the most humble athletes Iâve ever met and spent time with. I wish more tennis players were like that.â

Gaël Monfils, Thomas Enqvist, Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud of Team Europe in the locker room before the Laver Cup in Vancouver in 2023. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Laver Cup
Others have no problems with their peers. Daniil Medvedev says his coaches, Rohan Goetzke and Thomas Johansson, often tell him stories about how messy relations between players used to be. âI heard from them that 20 years ago it was as toxic as it could be,â he says. âI was shocked. I was, like: âBut thatâs why you guys finish your careers early because itâs constant pressure.â
He told me some stories where from when you wake up youâre already under pressure. Going to the locker room, youâre under pressure.â
Nowadays, Medvedev says, the locker room is far more peaceful and largely drama free. The sport is a melting pot of different cultures, customs and background, but, according to Bencic, along with a potent serve, groundstrokes and a cool head under pressure, a key quality for a top player is tact and discretion. âIt can be a little bit awkward if someone has had a bad day or just lost or something, then someone else comes in and is all happy,â she says. âItâs a shared space, so you have to really also be a little bit respectful to everyone else. Just be respectful and normal.â