The State of American Tennis

It is now February and the first major, the Australian Open, has already passed us by in dramatic fashion.  And so begins a slow period in the ATP and WTA schedules, where minor events predominate and the top-tier players usually take holiday on a sun-drenched coastal shore, either w/ or w/o their s.o.  At this time of the year, the casual tennis fan has absolutely no casual interest in tennis.  American Sports predominate.  Football, Basketball, Hockey.  Tennis is a world sport, even more so than basketball.  In America this means that there is no local team.  And considering there isn't a male American tennis player anywhere near the Top 5, it is hard for tennis to capture the Average American's attention.  Especially when there isn't anyone playing under the red-white-and-blue that stands a chance against one of the Big Three (Djokovic, Nadal, Federer), which essentially means there isn't a single male American tennis player capable of winning a grand slam.  It just will not happen.  For years.  Maybe a decade.  The others are just too good.  

So even though the Sport of Tennis is incredible with current stars that are truly transcendent and playing the game at an unprecedented level, the State of Tennis has seen better days -- in terms of Market Share and what-have-you.  The fact of the matter is: tennis in America is not as popular as it used to be.  That is the State of American Tennis.

World Tennis is better off with an American male near the top.  America, because it is the most gi-normous market in the world, could easily double the popularity of a sport that has more barriers to entry than most (i.e. cost of racquets, tennis lessons, court time).  But America, as a whole, would play more tennis if there was a likable frontman to the operation.  The problem is, players like Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic are truly transcendent, "once in a generation"-type players.  They are not readily found.  And even a perfect raw diamond can be flawed by the cut.  

America has not produced a male tennis champion since Sampras, and he wasn't all that likable.  Agassi was more likable (to some.  To others he was detestable.) but he never reached the rarified air of Laver, Emerson and Co.  The American Verve of Connors and McEnroe was a wonderful balance against the Scandinavian Coolness of Borg in the late 70s, but neither man could eclipse Borg's 10 Grand Slam titles.  And even though Connors trials as a lone wolf between tours was an intriguing storyline in the earlier 70s, that narrative is too rarely captured in today's game where entourages follow every player in the top 100.  Tennis needs powerful stories. And American Tennis is in a desperate search of its next storyline.  Sports-stories can capture a wide audience, a nation-sized audiences at times, but most nations need a countryman involved.  Right now, Americans feel under-represented.

The current American tennis scene cannot command the same audience of its heyday.  On ESPN a major sports commentator, speaking about tennis only in response to the amazing Australian Open Final between Nadal and Djokovic, could not even pronounce John Isner's name.  John "Is" - "ner" is a Greensboro, NC native and the #3 American tennis player.  The fact that a major sports commentator couldn't pronounce his name says something about American tennis.  Americans aren't in the doldrums, but France, Spain, Switzerland, Serbia, Argentina, and even Great Britain can boast better male players.

[excuse me: I've been very ATP-centric]

So how do we change things?

Right now the USTA is working with different sized courts and an array of different types of tennis balls to help develop more successful younger tennis players.  Known as "10-and-Under Tennis" the program is meant to rival other youth sports by making it easier to get started "playing" the game as opposed to learning "how to" play the game.  I've worked with kids that went through this type of program in France and I was amazed at their imagination and shot-selection.  They seemed to "see" the court differently than a lot of the American kids I'd given lessons.  The "kid-sized" equipment seemed to help them understand the geometry of tennis better.  

But really America isn't lacking in tennis-teaching institutions.  American Tennis's main obstacle is getting kids involved in the game.  The USTA simply hasn't been able to tap into its most athletic citizens, the ones that have the greatest chances of becoming transcendent athletes.  The USTA knows that Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, the NBA's MVP, is a phenomenal basketball player, but the USTA also knows that if Derrick Rose had been given the opportunity to be a tennis player he could have competed with anyone in the world, including the current best.  Transcendent athletes are just that, transcendent. The question is: how do we get them on the court?

This is the State of American Tennis

DK