Flavia Pennetta defends Matteo Berrettini: “People out of their minds.”

Flavia Pennetta very tough against hater on social media

Former Italian tennis player Flavia Pennetta in an interview with Fanpage.it defended Matteo Berrettini, who was heavily criticized on social media after his bad start to the season: “The problem is always the same: when one starts winning, people get excited and almost assume that everything is due. But it’s not, because tennis is a very tough sport. You only stop for two months, if you’re lucky, and being consistent all the time is not easy. Words hurt, I tell you from personal experience. You feel accused, you get hurtful words said to you because then people overreact and freak out. You have to learn to let it all roll off your back.”

Azure went out in the first round at the Australian Open and Indian Wells and seems to be in an identity crisis: “We athletes are aware that you cannot be 100 percent all the time. People do not understand that this is a job for us and we are the first to want to do well. When we go in trouble we feel it and the one who really suffers is the player. But we are used to being put through the wringer.”