The last American man to win a Grand Slam singles title was Andy Roddick in 2003 at the US Open. Mind you he was greatly assisted in winning that title by the weather delays that year, which caused numerous players, including his finals opponent Juan Carlos Ferrero, to play 3 best 3 of 5 matches back-to-back-to back. Meanwhile, the USTA ensured Roddick got his days off, and played every one of is matches at night. Be that as it may, after this generation of tennis fans passes away, no one will remember anything other than Andy Roddick was the 2003 US Open Men's Singles Champion.
The last American female NOT named Venus or Serena to win a major was Jennifer Capriati at the 2002 Australian Open. Venus is done as far as winning majors, and once Serena hangs up her racquet, tennis will be dominated by foreign players like the men's side. There are no upcoming American players ready or able to take the leap to the next step.
Why? Why can't a country of 350 million people produce any top contenders in the men's or women's games? Numerically speaking, we should have far more players than Spain, France, and the like.
The common issues reported by the media as to why are as follows:
1) Our best athletes don't play tennis - instead they are playing football, basketball, and baseball.
This has always been the case. Even when American tennis dominated the game from the 30's through the mid 80s and again with Sampras and Agassi in the 90s, the United States' best athletes were always playing football, baseball and basketball. However, the game was not as phtsically demanding as it has become, and with modern technique and the power of the game, better athletes will be better at tennis. To counter that argument, I submit athleticism evolves with the game, and better athletes are being developed as we speak. The US athletes playing tennis today are far superior to the athletes of yesteryear (save Isner).
2) It is too expensive to play tennis, thus minorities don't have the same opportunity to play.
This has also always been the case, even when we were a dominant country. The only remedy to this "problem" is to offer free tennis training, and pay the coaches who give it salaries, which goes against every capitalistic bone in our collective bodies. However, this will also not solve the problem, because it isn't the core issue.
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In order to understand what has transpired, you must first examine the changes the professional game undertaken over the past 20 years. First, the court surfaces have gotten slower, with more clay court events, slower, higher bouncing hard courts, and slower higher bounce grass courts. In previous iterations of American tennis, it was a style of quick points, big serves, serve and volley, and hit the forehand big. That won our players lots of majors over time, because those styles of play suit lower bouncing, faster courts. Those styles do not work on slower, higher bouncing courts, where your footwork, movement and fitness now play a major role in you're ability to win and lose. We must change how we teach the game to our kids, because the game itself has changed.
Second, the world caught up to us, and surpassed us as far as developmental coaching. In almost all other countries the government funds/supports developmental programs for tennis. They pay coaches salaries, and those coaches follow that country's system of instruction. The fact that their coaches aren't trying to make tons of money, means they devote their time to actually teaching the kids "correctly" within the framework of that country's system. It also frees them to focus on one child that is a star, without fear they won't make any money. This also eliminates the family's need to pay the coach for their time, because it is free.
Other countries have a system of development, not a loosely defined pathway like the USTA. They have actual systems for what to teach, when to teach it, for how long, and in proper progressions. America does not have such a system. One coach may have one, but go online and try to find a system of teaching the game. You won't find one. In France and Spain, as an example, no matter what tennis club a child goes to, they WILL be taught from the same exact system. Pro selection comes down merely to personality match. In the US, there is no universal system, either by consensus or by force of government. One might argue capitalism should promote the creation of such a system, and even a better one than these other countries have. In theory this may be true, but what is also true, is that in a capitalistic society, it's every man for himself, and sharing such information is bad for business. If I came up with the best system in the world, why would I share it and help you compete against me?
The USTA is also part of the problem. On their website they strongly discourage the goal of playing professional tennis. In fact they promote college tennis as the proper pathway for American kids. This is also backwards from how the rest of the world views competitive player development. You may have seen US National Soccer Team Coach Jurgen Klinsmann make this exact argument as to why US soccer is behind the rest of the world. He said, and I'm paraphrasing, that the US sets high school and college scholarships as the developmental goals for the kids, rather than professional soccer. This attitude in soccer, and unfortunately, tennis, is partially to blame for a lack of top professional players. You are always limited by the goals you set for yourself. In other countries, the goals are to produce professional players, and those who don't cut it, get college scholarships. It is a mindset, and this country does not have it.
We must change our attitudes collectively if we want to be a nation that dominates tennis again. We seem to take our greatness as a nation for granted, and then get surprised when things aren't working out they way we would hope. To win at the highest levels, you must have a commitment to be the best above all other things. The countries that dominate now have set their goals, and their developmental pathway and teaching systems flow logically from the stated goal to put out the best players in the world. We would be smart to follow their lead, although the likelihood of a government funded elite tennis program that would be free to the participants is highly doubtful. Save for that, everything else the rest of the world is doing, can easily be transferred and incorporated here.
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1 comment:
so true!
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