John McEnroe’s Bold Move To Revive US Tennis

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 16, 2010

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Kudos to John McEnroe for taking a very bold step to revive American tennis. He recently opened a $18 million dollar, 20 court tennis facility on Randall's Island in New York.

The most successful player in US Davis Cup history was always ready and willing to represent his country in Davis Cup play. The passion he displayed on the tennis courts is matched by his commitment to bring the US back to its rightful place of prominence in the sport. His passion for this country and tennis is unquestionable.

Unlike many who talk a good game and do nothing, McEnroe has put his money where his mouth is.

I share his long standing frustration to get the USTA, (the governing body of tennis in the US by an act of congress) to construct and put into effect a well thought out and systematic agenda to bring the United States back into the forefront of Tennis and develop the next generation of players to carry on the great tradition of American tennis.

With the exception of Venus and Serena Williams and perhaps Andy Roddick and James Blake the US program has fallen on hard times.

Where are the current counterparts to past top players such as Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe? There is no question that the USTA has the resources and money for this.

When I last checked Donald Young, a 21 year old African American who had a sensational junior tennis record, has been relegated to playing on the pro satellite tour. What ever happened to Lavar Harper Griffith, another African American player from few years ago who showed promise? When I checked, he was relegated to being a practice player of the US Davis Cup team.

It will be interesting to see if the USTA will find a way to partner with John McEnroe on this project. His younger brother Patrick is the USTA’s General Manager of Player Development.

It is a precarious situation, John as the outspoken innovat...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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