[Scoop Malinowski] How American Tennis can alter its course from mediocrity

[britbox]

Scoop's thoughts on altering the course of American tennis mediocrity..

http://www.tennisfrontier.com/blogs/scoop/how-american-tennis-can-alter-its-course-from-mediocrity/

Thanks Scoop.

 

[Moxie]

RE: [Scoop] How American Tennis can alter its course from mediocrity

That's a loud wake-up call to US tennis, but I think it needs it. Look at recent Davis Cup and Fed Cup finalists. Small nations doing very well, because they care more about tennis. Serena is holding up her end for the women, and US Tennis, generally. But we are running out of people to carry the standard. I hope that the academies and the USTA are paying attention to you, Scoop.

 

[uchickenvn]

RE: [Scoop] How American Tennis can alter its course from mediocrity

When can US have another Grand Slam winner? 2020?

 

[nehmeth]

RE: [Scoop] How American Tennis can alter its course from mediocrity

Thanks for the article Scoop. And the lament has been on message boards for years about the deplorable state of US (mens) tennis.

My questions is - How is what you are suggesting going to change things? It may make them fitter, but is fitness the only thing lacking? It may also make them more focused, but the current crop of players lack talent, lack the champion heart of our former greats. I don't see how the idea of boot camp will change this.

Developing talent is important and the training the kids go through in Europe seems to be way more rigorous than what they do here. But where we are also lacking is the ability to identify and recruit the best athletes, let alone the ones with that "something" that sets them apart, like a Sampras, a Courier, or an Agassi.

 

[isabelle]

RE: [Scoop] How American Tennis can alter its course from mediocrity

When can US have another Grand Slam winner? 2020?

Same for France : no GS winner around...even if we have some good players

 

[Kieran]

RE: [Scoop] How American Tennis can alter its course from mediocrity

Interesting view, Scoop, but I agree with Nehmeth. Boot camp didn't produce Sampras, Connors or McEnroe. What did? Find that out and you'll discover why you're not producing champions.

Sometimes, you know, the mojo keeps moving. The Aussies had it for decades, and then they mislaid it. They've won 5 GS titles in about 30 years. The Swedes were impeccably groomed for success. The last Swedish success at a GS tourney was in 1992. Nowadays, Spain is strutting and Serbia is prevalent: that'll change and be gone someday. Why? Maybe the game moves on and the systems don't. Maybe kids don't want to be tennis players and become gamers or football stars instead. used to be that the Irish and Scottish produced world class soccer players - now they probably don't have a single one between both nations. The culture changes too. kids don't play football on the streets any more.

In the US, tennis might have reached saturation point with Sampras, and complacency set in. How to get it back? get kids hitting balls, but also, watch out for the outliers, the likes of the WS showed it can be done differently - just like Connors showed back in the 70's, and just like Mac showed. National programs aren't the only way to find or breed great players, though of course, they have their place...

 

[scoop]

RE: [Scoop] How American Tennis can alter its course from mediocrity

I'm not sure this idea will work but the current system needs to be changed. I think a hardcore camp with all the players together, battling it out everyday in all sorts of competitions, and training harder than they ever have before, can only make them better players for next year. I think they should also add fun competitions too, such as an opposite hand playing tournament and also a wood racquet day tournament. Mini golf tournament. And of course a lot of real tennis mini tournaments, such as best 3 out of 5 tiebreakers. Also Mini soccer. Basketball. Table tennis. l00 meter sprints. Mix it up, change the normal patterns. See who comes out on top, and the bottom. One thing is for sure, I think all the players would come out of this better and sharper and tougher mentally. And another thing...I think all Americans should start to support each other at tournaments. This rarely happens now. This must change too. American team unity and pride.

 

[Kieran]

RE: [Scoop] How American Tennis can alter its course from mediocrity

One thing though, Scoop: if you have a mediocre pool battling each other in this way, you'll still produce only second class players. You've got to have a mass talent search - no, I don't mean bring in Simon Cowell to help! - but without talent, all the work is fruitless.

Are kids today playing tennis, and do they want to be the next Nadal or Sampras?

Another difficulty you'll face is that it'll be so long since you produced a crack male tennis player than kids might start to think of tennis as a "foreign sport..."

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

RE: [Scoop] How American Tennis can alter its course from mediocrity

We had this conversation in the Chris Lewis article and my thoughts have not changed since then, so I am pasting my comment here:

RE: How to develop New American Tennis Stars
I agree with Chris in that nothing good can come out of something "nationalized" and centralized, except a blueprint that might or might not work with any given player, or a coach. Tennis is an individual sport and I am a huge believer in individualism . Everyone is different.

I think , especially at the beginning, it is up to the parents. Look at Agassi's father, driving around Vegas to find a lot big enough to build a tennis court. Look at Connor's mother developing and shaping Jimbo's career. Or countless other parents relocating to places where they think their kid will have a better chance of improving...I don't want to get into parenting and deeper issues here, but it seems to me that none of these parents subscribed to the more laid back philosophy of " My kid will be whatever he wants to be...we will not force anything on him"...Guys like Agassi were almost already pros before they realized they had other choices in life.

Another thing is the competition from other sports that are more popular. It is tough to compete with baseball and basketball and etc. in the US. One reason is the pay structure in those sports. In tennis , the only way you make money is if you win. In baseball or basketball, you get paid guaranteed money, AND THEN you play. Sure, one might say you work really hard to get that contract and I am not disputing that, but a tennis player works just as hard , has to travel from place to place out of his own pocket, stay in the crappiest places and still end up with no money in his pocket . A basketball player on the other hand, playing high school ball, travels with a coach, a therapists and does not pay out of his pocket to travel. All he has to do is play basketball, nothing else to worry about...That is really tough to compete against when you are a parent that wants his kid to play a sport somewhat seriously.

Another thing that I believe to be true is a totally personal observation and I am sure reasonable people might disagree with : The decline of personal responsibility and individual accountability in the US. To me it seems like everyone is looking to blame someone else for their shortcomings and people are looking to the government or other places more and more to hold their hands as opposed to getting things done. That type of thinking lends itself way better to team sports where you can easily blame your teammates for failure..not so in tennis. In tennis, you are all alone in the court, you against the world, and as Sampras said "There is no place to hide, you cannot pass the ball".

In a nutshell, it is the parents and the kids themselves that will get it done, not a national program, IMHO, unless you put together a program that recognizes each individual, develops them in a way that does not mold the kids into one style.

 

[herios]

RE: [Scoop] How American Tennis can alter its course from mediocrity

The Swedes were impeccably groomed for success. The last Swedish success at a GS tourney was in 1992.

Kieran, it was 2002, Thommy Johansson at the AO.

 

[Kieran]

RE: [Scoop] How American Tennis can alter its course from mediocrity

The Swedes were impeccably groomed for success. The last Swedish success at a GS tourney was in 1992.

Kieran, it was 2002, Thommy Johansson at the AO.

Ah that's right, thanks!

 

[masterclass]

RE: [Scoop] How American Tennis can alter its course from mediocrity

The Swedes were impeccably groomed for success. The last Swedish success at a GS tourney was in 1992.

Kieran, it was 2002, Thommy Johansson at the AO.

Ah that's right, thanks!

I would also count Robin Söderling as a Swedish success. He beat Rafa at the 2009 Roland Garros, a feat even more rare than winning a major. That he was able to continue past that win without suffering a let down, as so many upset artists do these days, and make it to the final is even more credit to him.

FYI, here is #18 Johansson's run to the 2002 AO title:

Round   Player               Rank      Score
R128  Jacobo Diaz (ESP)       89 	W 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 	
R64   Markus Hipfl (AUT)      75 	W 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 	
R32   Younes El Aynaoui (MAR) 23 	W 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 	
R16   Adrian Voinea (ROU)    107 	W 6-7(8), 6-2, 6-0, 6-4 	
Q 	Jonas Bjorkman (SWE)    64 	W 6-0, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 	
S 	Jiri Novak (CZE)        24 	W 7-6(5), 0-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 	
W 	Marat Safin (RUS)       11 	W 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(4)

And #25 Robin's run to the final at Roland Garros 2009:

Round   Player               Rank      Score
R128  Kevin Kim (USA)          91 	W 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 6-2 
R64   Denis Istomin (UZB)      92 	W 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-4 	
R32   David Ferrer (ESP)       14 	W 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-2, 7-6(5) 	
R16   Rafael Nadal (ESP)        1 	W 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(2)
Q 	Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)  11 	W 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 	
S 	Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)  12 	W 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 	
F 	Roger Federer (SUI)       2 	L 1-6, 6-7(1), 4-6

Respectfully,
masterclass

 

[Kieran]

RE: [Scoop] How American Tennis can alter its course from mediocrity

Johanson and Soderberg only show that Sweden still produces good players, but has ceased production of great players, the same as America has ceased producing great players, and recently has only produced good players, like Roddick and Blake...