Only two Americans remain at Roland Garros, but better than other Slam lands
By Liza Horan
Paris—It's Week 2 at Roland Garros, and many people say the second week of a major is like a new tournament unto itself. Today begins with back-to-back matches of the last Americans standing in the singles draw: Robby Ginepri takes on Novak Djokovic, then Serena Williams meets Shahar Peer. The Bryans are out of doubles, but the Williamses are in.
That only two players from the United States—one of the four Grand Slam nations—has advanced to the second week of singles is astonishing, though not surprising.
I read with interest Roy S. Johnson's story, "Approaching extinction of U.S. tennis." Approaching extinction of U.S. tennis," on ESPN.com. He expresses disappointment with a touch of frustration that Andy Roddick and the Williams sisters don't seem to have any strong heirs to carry the flag when they retire.
My progression of reactions went like this:
- While reading the story: When the U.S. dominated the rankings, the competitors were from other "mature" tennis countries; that's no longer the case so there's more competition from every angle. And, the USTA's player development plan to cull talent from local communities up to the top level takes time—not 2-5 years, but at least 8-10 years.
- After reading the story: To see who is in the pipeline, you have look at the junior scene. So, how does the U.S. stack up on the ITF Junior circuit (international)? There are two girls and four boys in the Top 25 rankings.
- After realizing that the other Grand Slam nations aren't doing any better than the U.S.: America's got Ginepri and Serena Williams left in the singles draw; Australia's got Sam Stosur and Jarmila Groth; the U.K. and France have no one left. Hmm. Take a look at the junior rankings, too, and you'll see the story's the same.
Actually, America looks better prepared for the future, according to the ITF Junior rankings. The U.S. has six players in the Top 25, France has two, Great Britain has one and Australia has none. It could change at any moment and the fact is that the competition really is "everyone else," not just the Slam countries. But it's fascinating that nations that do not have the resources that the Slam lands do are faring better.
An encouraging note since this week is the world premiere tournament on clay: The Italian Open junior tournament (one of five ITF "Grade A" clay events) has been in American possession for two years straight now: Sloane Stephens won in 2009 and Beatrice Capra (Maryland native who trains at Evert Tennis Academy) won on May 24. Also, two Americans—Donald Young and Coco Vandeweghe—won last week's LA Tennis Open USTA Challenger.
A good place to catch some on-the-rise junior talent is at Roland Garros this week. The junior tournament is going on now [click for draws], and Lauren Fishbein, a 12-year-old from New Jersey, is the only American among those playing in a Longines-sponsored tournament on Thursday and Friday at the tennis center [scroll to "Story Ideas" for contact info].
P.S. I'm not a Pollyanna and I'm not on the USTA's payroll, but I am noting positive points in U.S. tennis to play devil's advocate to Mr. Johnson's despair.
Paris—It's Week 2 at Roland Garros, and many people say the second week of a major is like a new tournament unto itself. Today begins with back-to-back matches of the last Americans standing in the singles draw: Robby Ginepri takes on Novak Djokovic, then Serena Williams meets Shahar Peer. The Bryans are out of doubles, but the Williamses are in.
That only two players from the United States—one of the four Grand Slam nations—has advanced to the second week of singles is astonishing, though not surprising.
I read with interest Roy S. Johnson's story, "Approaching extinction of U.S. tennis." Approaching extinction of U.S. tennis," on ESPN.com. He expresses disappointment with a touch of frustration that Andy Roddick and the Williams sisters don't seem to have any strong heirs to carry the flag when they retire.
My progression of reactions went like this:
- While reading the story: When the U.S. dominated the rankings, the competitors were from other "mature" tennis countries; that's no longer the case so there's more competition from every angle. And, the USTA's player development plan to cull talent from local communities up to the top level takes time—not 2-5 years, but at least 8-10 years.
- After reading the story: To see who is in the pipeline, you have look at the junior scene. So, how does the U.S. stack up on the ITF Junior circuit (international)? There are two girls and four boys in the Top 25 rankings.
- After realizing that the other Grand Slam nations aren't doing any better than the U.S.: America's got Ginepri and Serena Williams left in the singles draw; Australia's got Sam Stosur and Jarmila Groth; the U.K. and France have no one left. Hmm. Take a look at the junior rankings, too, and you'll see the story's the same.
Actually, America looks better prepared for the future, according to the ITF Junior rankings. The U.S. has six players in the Top 25, France has two, Great Britain has one and Australia has none. It could change at any moment and the fact is that the competition really is "everyone else," not just the Slam countries. But it's fascinating that nations that do not have the resources that the Slam lands do are faring better.
An encouraging note since this week is the world premiere tournament on clay: The Italian Open junior tournament (one of five ITF "Grade A" clay events) has been in American possession for two years straight now: Sloane Stephens won in 2009 and Beatrice Capra (Maryland native who trains at Evert Tennis Academy) won on May 24. Also, two Americans—Donald Young and Coco Vandeweghe—won last week's LA Tennis Open USTA Challenger.
A good place to catch some on-the-rise junior talent is at Roland Garros this week. The junior tournament is going on now [click for draws], and Lauren Fishbein, a 12-year-old from New Jersey, is the only American among those playing in a Longines-sponsored tournament on Thursday and Friday at the tennis center [scroll to "Story Ideas" for contact info].
P.S. I'm not a Pollyanna and I'm not on the USTA's payroll, but I am noting positive points in U.S. tennis to play devil's advocate to Mr. Johnson's despair.
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