American Tennis’ Glory Days Are Gone, but There’s Still Plenty of Hope

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: September 2, 2014

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This time every year, the obituary page in the newspaper gets more crowded. That's because with the U.S. Open underway, it's time to once again brush off the eulogies for American tennis.

If you haven't heard, it's dead.

You might have read about it this week in The Atlantic or The New York Times Magazine. You might have heard that Americans can't do anything but serve, that there's nobody but Serena Williams and that there is no hope for the future.

You might think that we're doomed, perhaps forever.

I'm here to tell you we're not. Not only is the future of American tennis very bright, but the present is pretty good too. Right now, the biggest enemy is perception.

But first of all, let's start with the truth: American tennis isn't what it once was, and it never will be again.



We're never going back to 1984, when 12 men in the top 20 were from the United States, or to 1994, when American Slam winners Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Andre Agassi and Michael Chang were all battling for supremacy. Gone are the days when Lindsay Davenport, the Williams sisters, Jennifer Capriati and Monica Seles were all contending for Slams and the question wasn't if an American would win a major that year, it was which one and how many.

Those days were fantastic and should be looked back on fondly. But they shouldn't be a reason to dismiss what's happening right now.

***

First, it's important to look at how we got here. While the criticism of American tennis often lands directly in the laps of the players, it's important to note that they don't exist in a vacuum—domestically, the United States Tennis Association and the American tournaments are a big part of the story.

The USTA in particular has been under intense scrutiny lately. The New York Times reported on its incredibly shady financials before this U.S. Open tournament, suggesting that the reven...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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