“Ours” among “others”: the women’s singles tennis final at the 2024 Olympics in the comments of russian social media users

This article examines the construction of the “ours” vs. “theirs” dichotomy in sports discourse through an analysis of Russian audience comments on the 2024 Olympic women’s singles tennis final between China’s Zheng Qinwen and Croatia’s Donna Vekic. The study is based on 214 comments from the social network VKontakte, selected according to criteria referencing the athletes’ national, ethnic, and cultural identities. The methodology combines quantitative and qualitative analysis of discursive strategies, frequency of nominal versus non-nominal markers, and emotional tone. The results reveal significant differences in audience perception: Donna Vekic, as a representative of the culturally proximate Slavic/European group, was more frequently referred to by name (33% of comments) and received personalized evaluations emphasizing individual qualities. In contrast, Zheng Qinwen was less often mentioned by name (7%) and more commonly described through stereotypical markers, reflecting a tendency toward depersonalization of the “other”. Emotional tone also varied markedly: assessments of Vekic were predominantly positive (31.8%) or technically critical (10.3%), whereas comments about Zheng more frequently contained negative (17.8%) and stereotypically generalized statements. A gender analysis identified the predominance of male discourse (70% of commenters), characterized by stereotyping and politicized evaluations, contrasting with female discourse, which focused on emotional support and personalization. Notably, the current geopolitical context (Russia-China strategic partnership) did not emerge as a decisive factor in audience sympathies, which were instead shaped by cultural and anthropological proximity. The study confirms that in the absence of a “home team” (due to the exclusion of Russian athletes), audiences project the “ours” vs. “theirs” binary onto foreign competitors, guided by deep-seated mechanisms of social identification. These findings contribute to the understanding of sports discourse as a space of symbolic confrontation, where cultural stereotypes outweigh political expediency. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

Keywords

Authors

References