Heather Watson says she will ignore any hurtful social media flak that comes her way during Wimbledon.
The British No1 won the Hobart title in January but struggled on clay as she tried to overcome an elbow injury and the bad times brought with it abuse from the Twitter trolls.
The 23-year-old, who is such a bubbly character, has learned how to cope with the criticism as she prepares to open her Wimbledon campaign today against world No33 Caroline Garcia, of France.
“When you are winning it’s all happy and rainbows and everybody is nice to you,” said Watson. “I have definitely had some highs and lows and I am feeding off those highs.
“When you lose there can be some not so nice people out there. At the beginning when I would see mean, hurtful messages it would really hurt my feelings because I wasn’t used to it. I wouldn’t remember any of the good comments — just the bad one.
“I have had so many now it doesn’t mean anything. I don’t want to get involved in other people’s opinions and thoughts of me because, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.”
Watson gave her detractors plenty of ammunition with a first-round loss at the Australian Open in January followed by three more on the regular tour. Her third-round showing in Eastbourne last week followed a swift exit in her first match at Birmingham.
However, Watson believes Wimbledon will be a happy experience as she will be supported by family and friends.
WTA Pre-Wimbledon party
“I really enjoy coming to Wimbledon and it doesn’t seem like a job,” she said. “It seems really fun, exciting and a privilege.
“I have a lot of friends who stand in line and some people do it just for fun to get a ticket. They will have a picnic along the way. I love playing in all the Grand Slams but I don’t think anything beats being at home.”
There have also been encouraging words her rivals on tour to help her on the road back from injury and those early-round losses. World No3 Simona Halep believes the British No1 is much better than her ranking of No59 would suggest.
Halep said: “When I played against Heatherin the US Open two years ago it was a tough match. She fights until the end and is hitting the ball [well] but not too strongly because she is my height. She is moving pretty well and she is improving a lot when you play her — she is a good player and she can be top 20 easily if she keeps going the way she is.”
