By Blair Henley
The United States Tennis Association is an easy target.
Any conversation about the conspicuous lack of American tennis talent usually leads to an Arthur Ashe Stadium full of fingers pointing squarely in their direction. But after looking into what the organization has accomplished recently, it becomes a little harder to blame them for what many perceive to be a lingering talent drought.
Tennis’ governing body seems to have the key tools necessary to create the next attention-grabbing American star: money (lots of it), talent (in leadership, coaches) and motivation (from the Board of Directors and sponsors).
The US Open attracted a record 721,059 fans in 2009, cementing its status as the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world. The tournament provides the bulk of the USTA’s yearly windfall with eye-popping revenues totaling around $210 million. The remainder comes from the yearly dues of its 700,000 plus members.
The organization has used that seemingly recession-proof cash flow to develop and launch programs designed to expose tennis to a broader audience. Their wildly successful QuickStart program for young beginners and their “no-cut” program, which encourages schools to expand their rosters in exchange for discounted equipment and a training guide, have both been extremely effective.
As a result, the number of children age 6-17 playing tennis jumped to 9.5 million from 6.8 million between 2006 and 2009. For all ages, tennis participation has grown 43% since 2000, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association.
With numbers like those, it’s no wonder the USTA is now racing past its country club counterparts at the U.S. Golf Association in terms of junior participation (the number of golfers age 6-17 dropped 24% between 2005 and 2008, according to a National Golf Foundation participation report). An article published recently in the Wall Street Journal laid out those statistics and applauded the USTA for its adaptability.
In addition to expanding the potential talent pool, the USTA has made some recent personnel changes. Instead of replacing Arlen Kantarian, the former chief executive of professional tennis who resigned at the end of 2008, the USTA elected to disperse his responsibilities among existing staff and save much of the $9 million he reportedly got paid during his last year with the organization. Also in 2008, the USTA hired well-respected U.S. Davis Cup coach Patrick McEnroe as head of USTA Elite Player Development.
According to the USTA, the move “is part of a new strategic direction for the development of future American champions…this initiative will provide a greater focus on top American junior players and young pros in an effort to achieve championship status.”
In the past few years, they have also financed construction of a brand new training center at the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, FL. They are now training and housing top U.S. talent full time.
It’s doubtful we would see such sweeping adjustments if the USTA hadn’t itself acknowledged that there were problems in the first place. So now that they’ve done their part, it seems we should start seeing results in the form of more highly ranked Americans on the pro tour, right?
Truth is there’s no instruction manual for nurturing kids with prodigious talent (although currently Spain and Russia seem to know something we don’t). In fact, the USTA can’t take sole responsibility for producing even one Grand Slam champion. It’s the maniacal tennis parents who seem to be best at that – Mike Agassi, Richard Williams, Stefano Capriati, Peter Graf, Jim Pierce, Gloria Connors and the list goes on.
Instead of shipping kids off to a tennis academy where each child is one of many, tennis parents can beat balls at their offspring for 8 hours a day, taking breathers only to belittle them (all without getting slapped with a lawsuit)!
Of course, that game plan also produces innumerable “waste products.” For every champion, there are countless ex-junior players sitting on their shrink’s couch rehashing the trauma of their youth. But, for better or worse, parents can insulate and micromanage their kids’ careers in a way that the USTA could never duplicate, no matter how good the coaches or facilities.
USTA Player Development is also suffering as a result of the recent explosion in squash, lacrosse and other team sports options available to youngsters. Unless there are parents present to tell their child, “You will give up having a normal life for the one in a million shot that you will be a tennis champion,” it’s hard to imagine many kids taking that road voluntarily. Unfortunately, many American parents have come to prefer the cooperation and diffused accountability of team sports over the perceived angst and anxiety of one-on-one competition.
During her run at last year’s US Open, Melanie Oudin provided a perfect example of what a self -motivated competitor looks like. Her will to win was unmistakable and inspiring – and rare. The talent may be out there, but in the American culture of comfort and excess it’s becoming harder and harder to find that talent coupled with drive and discipline. That makes the rise of a new young star (and his/her parents) less and less probable.
So while we’re praying that a crazed tennis parent is out on a public court as we speak feeding balls to their protesting four-year-old, let’s give the USTA a break. History says they probably won’t be producing a new big-time champion any time soon, but they have managed to bring thousands of new players to a lifetime sport despite a poor economy. Maybe that’s what it’s all about, anyway. In the meantime, let’s enjoy the current American crew of Williams/Williams/Roddick/Isner/Querrey while we have them.