Author: ethomasparham

“TO DIE FOR” ??? (7)

On By ethomasparhamIn C. COLLEGE TENNIS and INSTRUCTION, D. INTERNATIONALSLeave a comment

Next Sunday concludes the 2023 season of tennis grand slams. TV tennis (save Disney vs Spectrum ) provides many viewing possibilities. Particularly THE TENNIS CHANNEL. Here are a few observations, plus this reminder: There many LEVELS to the game ( The pros are are many levels beyond beginners. They too break through barriers one at a time.) : There is a CLASSIC METHOD of Tennis instruction . A method that is best for most people. Viariations that work are ok ( “… if a flaw works, don’t change it !”)

GOOD NEWS

  • All kinds of improved play on the home front. Men and Women.
  • Vindication of College Tennis as a valid developmental pathway .
  • Tremendous high levels of African/American play by many.

There were so many comments like “… for the first time since—–” , it was almost routine. Not quite.

There were 25 plus players in the men and women’s singles draws that were involved, at some point, college players. The same was true of the 2023 French Open and Wimbledon. Many Americans, but also many internationals. Humans attain maximum physical ability at about 27 years of age. Think football and “red-shirting” for the worth of an extra year (one year ! ) of growth.

GIANT STEPS!

  • : CoCo ROCKS ! Semi finalistsMadison, Ben –Big Foe in quarters. Sloane Stephens, Chris Eubanks, Michael Mmoh, On Arthur’s court ! Yeah Serena, Venus and Richard Williams and to the black families that paid a big price in a difficult arena. And yet– how many atypical superstars could have made the leap with a college scholarship awarded to an international?
  • Does the success of these kids not ask a question : Doesn’t our history of Family reared, college trained players prove better overall than the Academy pathway? (See partial history at https://littlegreenbookoftennis.com/2015/03/25/top-ten-ranked-american-men-tennis-players-1960-2013-113/www.tomparham.wordpress.com for lists of great American college/pro players.
  • P.S. The ACADEMY pathway may well be best for early blooming world class players. Academy programs house them, feed them. and hopefully provide education , and teach them tennis. Actually good colleges do the same thing–and maybe more wisely at a more mature age..
  • Why not empasize high school tennis as it is the only place an average kid can get inexpensive, invaluable , match play experience? Can’t we find good coaches for our kids?
  • Technology in coaching! Heard of SWING/VISION?

TROUBLE

  • Medvedev d. Rublev 6/4, 6/3, 6/4. 29 games. Had they played the max or 5 sets of 7/6 (12 games times 5 =60 games—– plus 5 seven point tiebreakers. At a minimum, that would be 65 games. If Russians could survive that we do need to fear them!
  • HEAD, HEAT, HEART–the real dangers in sports. US OPEN casts spotlight on hotter weather!

Heat illnesses vary in danger. HEAT CRAMPS ( SYMPTOMS ARE OBVIOUS ), HEAT EXHAUSTION (SWEATTY, PALE SKIN , SICK AND WEAK ), HEAT STROKE ( HOT, RED, DRY SKIN AND POTENTIAL KILLER ).

The weather dictates change (s). Shorter formats, longer breaks, air condtioned venues, etc, “Tme for a cool change.” Spectators are avoiding 95degrees on aluminum bleachers. SAW = SALT (ELECTROLYTES ), ACCLIMITIZATION, AND WATER. PS –Ice is the best tool you have.

Lots of tools to fight heat problems. Learn them , have them , use them.

*Parity dictates change too. There are few pushover matches now, Intense points cause injury. Fatique, back to back 7/6 in the fifth, demand study. Tennis has to protect the health of it’s product. Chris Evert won 90 plus tour matches in a row on clay courts. Rarely did she have to play a deuce set until the semis.

“THINGS HAVE CHANGED “( B. DYLAN )

HACKALOOSKIS, POSSIBILES, AND QUESTIONS .

A HACKALOOSKI IS A BAD PLAYER TELLING A GOOD PLAYER HOW TO PLAY.

  • I asked Coach Roland Thornqvist , University of Florida’s Women’s Tennis, what he emphasized ? ” Hit it hard and run fast!”
  • I found magic in coaching college players to know how to play when ahead. Special moments are points 30-0 and 40-15. Up a service break ?—get a second break. I watched even Roger Federrer thinking he could benefit from that advice . ( The ultimate hackalooski ).
  • How to beat Serena ? Serena with a drop shot! How to beat Serena with a dropshot ? Serena with a drop shot and solid defensive technique against a dropshot.
  • THE TALENT CODE by Daniel Coyle says myelin is the answer. Or “deep practice” ( 10,000 hours ), plus ‘Ignition ” or the HSE (“holy shit effect “) when one committs to an arena. And find a good coach.
  • An example : There are 4, not 2, corners on your side of the net. The resurrection of the dropshot has pointed out the two corners up at the net! However, many don’t like to practice developing the different footwork, shots , defense against the drop shot, and volleying that crosscourt “dink” that most good players have perfected as the best choice responding. You have to establish myelin or motor memory, or entrenched synapses to master these different ploys.
  • You can’t drop shot on a hard court? Tell Carlito. You can’t lob a pro ? Here again another old ability, the topspin lob, is proven that “wrongy, dongy”. Hint: Refer back to practicing all these shots.
  • Again–levels of play : While even at a high level, crosscourt is the tactic of choice, As is the admonition “Don’t change the line of the ball ” ( or “don’t change from crosscourt to down the line “.) At least not until you are sure you can make the shot. Hit one more dependable crosscourt until then.
  • The problem with this advice at the top levels is you have to be able to hit these shots. And they can. Nine of 10 players are right handed. This demands concentrated crosscourt practice. Again the modern pro often defends 2/3 of the court with the forehand. It is common now that in certain situations pros will move to the exteme backhand corner , not only returning the crosscourt shot with a forehand–but creating a new and more exteme angle and a new winner.
  • Even great players have weaknesses. This year a rehabilitated Zverev looks like he corrected his 2nd serve dilema. I’m not sure about Sabalenka. The weakest link in tennis is the second serve. Teach a reliable second serve first. Hell is sitting blind folded and hearing the sound of a second serve hitting the net.
  • Hackalooski #2 —Tommy Paul ! Perfect the offensive and defensive intracacies of the drop shot and the topspin lob . P. S. North Carolina loves you.
  • Chris Eubanks Questions: I spent a lot of the early spring watching you with interest. Eariy on, your backhand looked suspect. Then I watched with amazement the shift to a great one hand top spin bomb. How did that happen so fast? Between you and me , when Medvedev finally moved up on the service return, did that cause you problems with the return volley? Or did that rush you on the serve?
  • You are capable of restoring the serve and volley as a big time advantage. Work on the time and technique between the serve and the first volley. ” Balance is the clue to good tennis and footwork is the clue to good balance.” ( Welby Van Horn ). *
  • This was Hackalooski #3. And p.s. we love you too, Chris!

BOOK REPORT (9 )

On By ethomasparhamIn K. PHILOSOPHY, M. POLITICSLeave a comment

FALTER—Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?

By Bill McKibben

“ Oh, it could get VERY bad ! “

*Author McKibben says the human game is won by staying alive and human.

*Problems and possibilities include climate change, leverage ( or greed) ,  artificial intelligence, genetic manipulation, and immortality.  Enter solar energy and common sense:  Thus hope. 

McKibben, himself a leading expert on climate change, enlists support and comment from Yuval Harari , Jared Diamond. Stephen Gould,  Steven  Pinker, Malcolm Gladwell,  and others of our best thinkers.  

STILL MAKES SENSE ( 10 )

On By ethomasparhamIn P. BOB DYLANLeave a comment

Favorite Quotes from Bob Dylan


War:
“If God is on our side, he’ll stop the next war.” (With God on our Side)
“And his brain has been mismanaged with great skill.” (License to Kill)
“Alright – where do you want this killing done?” (Highway 61)
“Is your money that good? Will it buy forgiveness? Do you think that it could?” (Masters of War)
“Things are breaking up out there, High water everywhere!” (High Water)
“Let’s disconnect the cables, over turn the tables. The place just don’t make sense
to me nor more.” (Senor)
“And I’ll tell it, and think it, and speak it and breath it.” (Hard Rain)


Faith:
“They say prayer has the power to heal so pray for me mother. In the human heart an evil spirit can dwell. I am tryin’ to love my neighbor and do good unto others. But oh, mother, things ain’t going well.” (Ain’t Talkin”)
“May you have a strong foundation when the winds of changes shift.” (Forever Young).

“There are no keys inside the gates of Eden.” (Gates of Eden)
“But you and I have been through that, and this is not our fate, so let us not talk
falsely the hour’s getting late.” (All Along the Watchtower)
I gaze into the doorway of temptation’s angry flames. And every time I pass that
way I always hear my name.” (Every Grain of Sand)
“But if the arrow is straight and the point is slick, it can pierce through dust no
matter how thick.” (Restless Farewell)
“Strap yourself to a tree with roots – you ain’t going nowhere.” “Well the book of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, the law of the jungle
and the sea are you only teachers.” (Jokerman)
“Before the sky there are no fences —“ (Mr. Tambourine Man) “The dust of rumor covers me.” (Restless Farewell)


Change
“Something is happening here, but you don’t know what it is.” (Ballad of a Thin Man)
“Ah but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.” (My Back Pages)
“It’ll soon shake you windows and rattle your walls.” (Times They are a Changin’)
“Strike another match, go start anew.” (Baby Blue)
“Well its always been my nature to take chances. My right hand draws back as my left hand advances.” (Angelina)
“steal a little & they throw you in jail. Steal a lot and they make you a king.” (What’s a Girl Like You)
“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. (Subterranean Homesick Blues)
“For he who gets hurt will be he who has stalled.” (Times They are a Changin’) “But me, I’m still on the road heading for another joint.” (Tangled Up In Blue) “The only thing I knew to do was to keep on keeping on.” (Brownsville Girl) “But to live outside the law, you must be honest.” (Absolutely Sweet Marie) “You can’t open your mind to every conceivable point of view.” (High Water) “He not busy being born is busy dying.” (It’s Alright Ma )

Relationships:
“Bad luck women will stick like glue. Its one or the other or neither of the two.” (Nettie Moore)
“Love is all there is, it makes the world go ‘round, love and only love, it can’t be denied. No matter what you think about it you just won’t be able to do without it. Take a tip from one who’s tried.” (I Threw it All Away)
“But its not that way, I wasn’t born to lose you.” (I Want You)
“Kick your shoes off, do not fear, buy that bottle over here. (I’ll be your Baby To- night) “I ain’t lookin’ to block you up, shock or knock or lock you up, analyze you, categorize you, finalize you or advertise you. All I really want to do is, baby, be friends with you.” (All I Really Want to Do)
“I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail, poisoned in the bushes an’ blown out on the trail, hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn. ‘Come in,’ she said, ‘I’ll give you shelter from the storm’.” (Shelter from the Storm)
“I’d just be curious to know if you can see yourself as clear as someone who has had you on his mind?” (Momma You’ve Been On My Mind)
“Goodbye is too good a word girl.” (Don’t Think Twice)
“If your mem’ry serves you well, you’ll remember you’re the one that called on me
to call on them to get you your favors done.” (This Wheel’s on Fire)
“So many roads, so much at stake, so many dead ends, sometimes I wonder what
its going to take to find Dignity.”
“Its only other people’s games you’ve got to dodge.” (It’s All Right Ma)
“You’re right from your side, and I’m right from mine.” (One Too Many Mornings)
“Now, there’s a certain thing that I learned from my friend, Moss. A fella who always blushes and that is that ev’ryone must always flush out his house if he don’t expect to be housing flushes.”
“When you’re out there trying to heal the sick, remember you must first forgive them.” (Open the Door, Homer)
“Friends will arrive, Friends will disappear!” (Buckets of Rain) “You’d know what a drag it is to see you.” (Positively 4th Street)
“You went to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely. But you know you only used to get juiced in it.” (Like a Rolling Stone)
“”As she takes your voice and leaves you howling at the moon.” (Tom Thumbs Blues)
“Time is an ocean but it ends at the shore.” (Oh Sister) Tough Moments:
“I’ve just reached a place where true willow don’t bend.” (Going, Going, Gone) “Blues this morning fallin’ down like hail – Gonna leave a greasy trail.” (Nettie
Moore)
“I got sidetracked in El Paso, stopped to get myself a map, went the wrong way into Juarez with Juanita on my lap. Then I went to sleep in Shreveport, woke up in Abilene wonderin’ why the hell I’m wanted at some town halfway between.” (Wanted Man)
“Bury the rag deep in your face, for now is the time for your tears.” (Hattie Carol) “Like a cork screw to my heart.” (Big Girl)
“That long black cloud is coming down.” (Knockin’ at Heaven’s Doors)
“You can always come back, but you can’t come back all the way.” (Mississippi) “don’t even hear the murmur of a prayer.” (Not Dark Yet)
“When you think you’ve lost everything, you find out you can always lose a little more.” (Tryin’ to get to Heaven)
“As soon as you awake, you trained to take, what looks like the only way out.” (Political World)
“Conceit is a disease doctors got no cure.” (Disease of Conceit)

SCOTUS, ADMISSION, AND SHOOTIN’ THE ROCK (12)

On By ethomasparhamIn E. SPORTS COMMENTARYLeave a comment

COLLEGE ATHLETICS FUBAR ?

Between Portal/Nil issues and the recent Supreme Court ruling on college admission the NCAA doesn’t know whether to punt or bunt. Nor does anyone it seems. Very few venture solutions.

The link below dares to take a shot. If nothing else it exposes the range of different opinions.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/09/opinions/college-admissions-elite-sports-harvard-affirmative-action-macintosh/index.html

HATTIE CARROLL REVISITED (13)

On By ethomasparhamIn M. POLITICSLeave a comment

SCOTUS–JUNE 2023

( from THE LONELY DEATH OF HATTIE CARROLL, by Bob Dylan )

In the courtroom of honor, the judge pounded his gavel,
To show that all’s equal and that the courts are on the
Level
And that the strings in the books ain’t pulled and
Persuaded,
And that even the nobles get properly handled

…

…

…

Oh, but you who philosophize, disgrace and criticize all
Fears,
Bury the rag deep in your face, for now’s the time for your
Tears.

PUT ME IN, COACH ( 14 )

On By ethomasparhamIn C. COLLEGE TENNIS and INSTRUCTION, D. INTERNATIONALSLeave a comment

2022 offered some silver linings in the American efforts in elite player development. 2023 ( French Open starts the rock throwing again : No Americans in the running! )

Forgive the pilvering: I can’t find the true author of a recent attempt to identify American shortcomings and causes in player development. Several systemic flaws listed are capsuled : Inadequate care of player’s injuries—lack of parental involvement—motivation and mental toughness—lower birthrate—lots of other attractive sports.

The first and main problem listed is described this way:

“… if you don’t start out with a trust fund, you’re stuck, especially for a sport like tennis that requires years of youth investment. This is a major, fatal disadvantage for American tennis. In Europe, South America and lately in Asia, kids from all social classes have a shot at a tennis career. If they show sufficient talent and motivation, there are numerous community organizations, government programs and general social assistance systems to help build up their careers, in part because these other societies strongly support investment in their youth. “

My inclination is to cite #1 as the core flaw to be dealt with.

“After all is said and done, more is said than done~” a.k.a. –What can we do?

Here are two starting suggestions:

  1. Reserve a large portion (50 % ? ) of college tennis scholarship aid for Americans.

2. Support Hgh School boys and girls varsity teams.

High School teams are one place that participation is relatively inexpensive,

The coach is the key.

Team play adds a whole new element to the process. And teammates share the pressure.

A tremendous wealth of knowledgable people could help the coaches. players, teams, and parents.

This is not going to be easy. Money, Time, and effort are “musts”.

THE HARDEST THING TO GET IS GOING!

“JUST KEEP PECKING AWAY AT IT!”

THE KING OF ROCK AND ROLL ( 15 )

On By ethomasparhamIn C. COLLEGE TENNIS and INSTRUCTION, D. INTERNATIONALSLeave a comment

There have been a couple of documentaries lately about LITTLE RICHARD.   He was a leader in the Rock and Roll “Boom”  in the mid to late 50’s .  Fats Domino, Chuck Berry,  Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, LaVern Baker, Marvin Gaye.  Many other “greats”.  I think Little Richard was the first to claim he was The King of Rock and Roll, but others entered the show by wearing a king’s crown and dancing down the aisle once the red carpet was laid down for this “king”.

About ten years later (1968 )there was another BOOM—-“Open Tennis !  The professionals could now enter the tournaments.  The timing could not have been better.  One reason was television.  Tennis fit the screen perfectly.   The Australians led the way,  Borg and the Swedes, Spaniards.  Connors, McEnroe, Sampras, Agassi, Evert, Austin’.  Tons of Americans fueled the  craze,  Craze ? Boom?  You Bet!

 And it wasn’t just the players .  A whole new market developed.  Sure enough  everyone needed some lessons and a green Yonex.   When the USTA  hosted a coaches clinic along with the USOPEN, would be “Kings of Tennis Teaching” cropped up from everywhere with “the way, the truth and the light !   From Elmer Gantry to Dennis Van Der Meer.   Spreading like Kudzu or Pickleball.  

So—1968 until 2023 —Who is the King ( or Queen ) of Tennis Coaching/Teaching ?

Good News:  By and large the boom created an intense ,competitive, effort to learn, to earn, to win.  

One high school coach proclaimed “…I can earn more teaching tennis in the summer than painting the classrooms or teaching Driver’s Ed”.  

The surge of interest  caught the attention of science, particularly sports

 oriented scientists.  Diet, psychology, —-all of a sudden winners thanked  “my team “

Technology is about to radically improve the game.  

Still there is BAD NEWS.  

Where did you go Joe Dimaggio?

French Open 2023 (last week)  ROUND OF 16 WOMEN- American Women ?  One —CoCo.

American  Men ?  zip, zero , nada. 

With the exceptions of Venus and Serena there has been no USA in “winning “ for decades.

As the old saying goes “… if we so smart, why ain’t we rich? “

Where did we go wrong?  What can be done about it?  What can I do about it ?

Last year several American men gave us a glimmer of hope.  Tommy Paul,  Francis Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz , Sebastian Korda provided impressive “shining moments”.  Their training included the THE ACADEMY method of living, lodging, and practicing with master teachers.   The latest French Open  Draws had 11 men and 6  women in  singles who played some college tennis.  The COLLEGE method is strikingly like an academy that houses, feeds, finances, with professional coaches and hopefully education too boot.   Even one season of college play affords an often needed extra year to develop one’s game.  Think “redshirting”.

John Isner Is a North Carolina product of the FAMILY METHOD.  John stayed at home, played high school, then college team tennis.  Scholarshipped to the University of  Georgia, John is quick to credit those 4 years as gateway to our finest player’s success.  

And,  historically , the FAMILY METHOD produced  a large portion of elite American players.

There is no limit on the number of internationals playing college tennis.

  And the number of and percentage of internationals awarded scholarships  is staggering.   We have paid for their training, while abandoning our own.  And quite often at tax-payer’s expense.  Many of these go from college play to the pro circuit.

My guess is that some form of this conversation has repeated itself between internationals:  Player 1—“My country would not scholarship non-citizens like America!”  Player 2.  “Mine either.   Can you believe how they simply gave college tennis to us?”

What should we do?  One suggestion is to reserve at least half of our scholarship money for our kids.

Player development is expensive.  Profitable playing careers are  truly  rare.  Scholarship aid is the only reasonable way to recoup expense. 

What can I do?  

Having quit a job that I wasn’t suited for, I was advised to “ Do what you can do!”

I payed on every team that would give me a uniform. Little league, high school, two varsity college teams.  Coached basketball and 40 years of small college tennis.  

Along the  way there were tons of hours on the  court.  And most with fine college players.  Yet camps, recreation classes , club pro and public tennis, yielded a laboratory  for all levels of  players. 

A lifelong North Carolinian, retired at the beach,  The “what can I do “question  was answered by —-HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS.

I believe in TEAMS.  Team play. Sacrifice for my mates.  Playing for my school.  

I know that the coaches need help that we can give.  Some schools can’t find anyone to coach teams.   THE ARE MORE GIRLS PLAYING HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS THAN BOYS—yet finding girls  teams a good coach is particularly tough.   “The route to the most improvement is through coaching the coaches”.

 I dream we will scholarship our kids first. 

I suspect scholarships are the best bet to motivate our people  to invest what is needed to

get to our share.

BORROWED TRUTH ? (16 )

On By ethomasparhamIn C. COLLEGE TENNIS and INSTRUCTION, E. SPORTS COMMENTARYLeave a comment

Right on ., Michael H

Mike H

Youth Tennis Coach for More Than 35 Years

RelatedWhy is professional tennis dominated by players from European countries?

As a US tennis coach at top training programs for more than 35 years I can answer this decisively, as I’ve personally witnessed this dispiriting fall from the United States ruling the tennis world to becoming an also-ran since 2003—and it has little to do with “training on clay”, “the everybody wins culture”, “new string technology” or the usual excuses, the reasons are much broader and deeper problems in American society and sports preparation.

  1. The American “class bias” in tennis and the general collapse in America’s youth investment and social mobility. Tennis classes and equipment can be expensive, costing thousands of dollars a year, but in America, if you don’t already come from a rich family, you’ll get squat as far as help or assistance for your career, or you’ll be forced into debt. The USA has basically rejected the idea of community youth investment, for sports and in general, the same reason our college grads have $1.4 trillion in student loans for essential education. This is a dramatic change from when I started tennis coaching and it’s part of the general shift of America away from a socially mobile society to a practically feudal aristocratic one, that has pulled up the ladders for its lower, middle and even many of its “less than rich” upper classes. The short version: if you don’t start out with a trust fund, you’re stuck, especially for a sport like tennis that requires years of youth investment. This is a major, fatal disadvantage for American tennis. In Europe, South America and lately in Asia, kids from all social classes have a shot at a tennis career. If they show sufficient talent and motivation, there are numerous community organizations, government programs and general social assistance systems to help build up their careers, in part because these other societies strongly support investment in their youth. Even those who don’t show initial tennis promise are encouraged to keep at it, and many go on to develop that talent later on. Thus the other countries have a much greater talent pool and motivated, mentally tough kids from the lower and middle classes who see tennis as a shot to a solid career as a professional athlete and a tool for social mobility. Myself and a number of other coaches do what we can to provide free or reduced-cost tennis lessons to kids without major means, but every year we realize how much we’re swimming against the tide in the US, compared to our European and South American counterparts for whom there’s much more community support to assisting kids from all social classes.
  2. The US healthcare and general health insurance mess. Anyone who’s followed the careers of tennis athletes from the Top 100 through the Challenger Tour and Futures Tournaments knows that injuries happen in tennis. A lot. So good general health care and medical assistance are a must. For Europeans, South Americans, Asians and Aussies this isn’t a problem, when you get injured, you simply go to a physician and get the problem fixed, and you’re back on the court with no financial hardships. In the USA? If you get sometimes even a minor injury on the court, let alone one that requires surgery, you can be set back tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket, even if you are insured! I can’t describe the frustration of seeing great tennis prospects going bankrupt or losing their savings due to medical bills from the lunatic American medical system. Again, the breakdown in American tennis is due to a much more fundamental breakdown in American society and policy, and until this is fixed, America will not have a tennis resurgence.
  3. Parental involvement and family leave. Again this is a broader societal problem that has trickled down to throttle America’s tennis competitiveness. in Europe, Asia and parts of South America, parents are able to take advantage of a variety of family leave policies that allow them to take off time from work without a major career penalty, and focus attention on their kids, including taking them to tennis practices and academies and generally just being with them as they improve. America has Third World parental leave policies as well as skyrocketing costs of living that force both parents to constantly work or search for jobs when the economy is down, which then makes it impossible to help nurture kids’ budding tennis talent. The result? Very depressing and I see it all the time. A budding talent simply doesn’t have the family support network to do the little things that help their talent develop, causing them to get frustrated and quit.
  4. General lack of motivation and mental toughness, maybe associated with all the social media obsessiveness today, from my observations much more in the US than in other countries. I was coaching US kids intensively back when Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Andy Roddick, Todd Martin, MaliVai Washington and Michael Chang were rising through the Juniors Circuit, and worked directly with a number of kids out of the Bollettieri and other top academies. Those guys and girls were motivated to get better and better, building up confidence and not being rattled by setbacks. Today, there just seems to be much less patience for that sort of thing and a lack of the sustained attention that’s needed to become great at the sport. This applies to both the men’s and the women’s game—once Venus and Serena Williams retire, we just don’t really have anyone else of their sustained discipline and drive. On the men’s side, Jack Sock, Steve Johnson, Donald Young, Sam Querrey and John Isner— and potentially Frances Tiafoe, Noah Rubin, Ryan Harrison, Stefan Kozlov, Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz— certainly have a lot of the right stuff, but the difference compared to 20 or 30 years ago is that we’d have dozens of prospects like that in contention, and the sheer number of talented Americans would help to ensure that at least one or two of them would break through into the top ranks. Our talent pool is much thinner now in part because the persistence to develop that talent just isn’t there as much as before.
  5. Plummeting birth rate in the US. This is a more subtle factor but ever since 2007 it’s been picking up steam and it’s hitting the USA especially hard. The costs of living, healthcare, student loans and other factors in the USA are much more of a financial burden in the United States than in any other country, combining to push the US fertility rates down to their lowest levels in our history, and those of us involved in youth sports coaching have been seeing the effects over the past 3 years especially with a steep and worsening decline in the number of young prospects we even have a chance to recruit and train. My team and I are involved in multi-city coaching clubs, and the talent pool among young kids has dried up in part because the births themselves, the country’s general TFR, have dried up. While it’s true that this is happening to varying extents in other countries too, it’s hitting the United States much harder since it compounds all the other factors above, and makes it that much harder for American youth tennis to make a recovery.
  6. American kids opting for other sports. Yes, this is a factor but not nearly as much of one as is often made out. It is true that tennis is America has to compete with football, basketball, baseball, hockey, track-and-field, soccer, swimming, volleyball and wrestling for popularity, and this does reduce the potential talent pool. But here’s the thing, the same challenge was facing American tennis 20 and 30 years ago back when Agassi, Sampras, Courier and the other American top champions were working their way through, and if anything the basketball craze was even more intense than it is now. Yet we still had a massive talent pool for tennis, unsurprising given our overall population size. Not to mention that other countries also have similar competition for recruits into these other sports except for American football, and soccer is much more of a craze abroad. Yet they’re able to field and recruit top talent. So it’s really the other actors above that explain the sharp decline in American tennis, and the factors we’ll need to address if we hope to turn it around even slightly.
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