Fans of British tennis star Johanna Konta have reacted angrily to questions raised about her nationality and patriotism.
After her victory in the Wimbledon quarter-finals on Tuesday, some expressed their scepticism that Konta, who was born in Sydney to Hungarian parents, was “truly British”.
A Jan Moir column on Mail Online ran with the headline: “So who is Johanna Konta? The British tennis golden girl making Wimbledon history is known as frosty and rude but always bakes for her rivals and STILL doesn’t know the national anthem!” And talkSPORT host Jim White posted a poll on Twitter asking his followers: “Born in Australia to Hungarian parents, is she truly British?”
Konta moved from Australia to Spain to attend the Sánchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona. She then moved to the UK at the age of 14 and became a UK citizen in 2012.
Former Wimbledon champion Virginia Wade – the last British woman to get through to the semi-finals of the championships before Konta – said where she was born was irrelevant because she had chosen to become British.
Asked about Konta’s background by White on his talkSPORT show, Wade said it did not matter at all.
“The facts are the facts – you can’t change where you are born, but you certainly can become the nationality you choose. Jo has lived here for a long time and she considers herself British,” she said. “John McEnroe was born in Germany but he is very American, so it’s irrelevant. I think we should embrace the performances she’s given us and wish her best for the next couple of matches.”
Others agreed. Twitter user Ben Cropper replied to White’s post:
When people like #Konta are proud to represent GB & are positive role models, why continue to take issue with their nationality?
— Ben Cropper (@croppersports) July 12, 2017
Daniel Reynolds asked:
Why is there a debate on Konta's nationality? She has a British passport & is free to represent Britain, therefore she's BRITISH. #Wimbledon
— Daniel Reynolds (@Dan_Reynolds_) July 12, 2017
Konta spoke about becoming a UK citizen in 2012 saying: “It made me feel more settled. I wanted GBR next to my name for a very long time.”
She added: “I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know the national anthem yet but please quiz me again, I promise I will. I’ve taken the life in the UK test and was very happy I passed.”
Asked about Konta’s ability to sing the national anthem, Wade said: “If you take the general population of Britain, what percentage do not know all the words to the national anthem? Probably more than we’d like to think.”
After the Australian Open Konta was asked by the BBC how she felt about attempts by Australian fans to “reclaim” the tennis star.
“I’ve played more tennis in Britain than I have over here,” she said. “I left over a decade ago and that’s a very long time for a 25 year old [...] It was a move my parents made, we wanted to be in Europe. We made the UK our home and I’m lucky enough that I get to call myself British and have such great support at home.”
Konta’s agent said the tennis player had lived in Eastbourne for 12 years and – despite speculation to the contrary - she had never had any voice coaching to change her accent.
