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Over the past few years (especially since the retirement of the Williams sisters) there have been precious few bright spots among the men and women. Player development has always been strong here in the US and seemingly whenever one generation fades a new crop rises to take their place. That doesn't look to be happening now and wondering if there's a valid reason or happenstance?
I think Tiafoe is a total star. Korda has been discussed in the tennis threads as having the potential to be the best of his generation. Coco Gauff is awesome. I also like Jess Pegula.
Fritz is playing well and he was good for some drama recently at the French Open (I'm all about tennis drama.)
Maybe Ben Shelton could be a big star in the years to come. His serve is gorgeous (lefty.)
There are a few more Americans I could mention, but I do understand the point of the OP. In womens tennis right now I think of Rybakina, Sabalenka, and Swiatek as the "big 3" and in mens tennis I think of Alcaraz, Medvedev, and as much as it pains me to say it, Djokovic.
Over the past few years (especially since the retirement of the Williams sisters) there have been precious few bright spots among the men and women. Player development has always been strong here in the US and seemingly whenever one generation fades a new crop rises to take their place. That doesn't look to be happening now and wondering if there's a valid reason or happenstance?
I don't know what's happened, but you're right that there's clearly been a big shift. The last dominant men's player from the US was Pete Sampras, and he retired in 2002 - more than 20 years ago.
Fortunately, the Williams sisters came on strong right about that time and carried the torch of US tennis ably for decades, but even Serena has retired.
It's a big deal for a US player of either sex to even make it into a semifinal match. I am not a close watcher of tennis these days, but I see that Coco Gauff is ranked #6 in the world right now by the WTA and she is still only 19yo, so surely she has strong potential on the women's side.
On the men's side, Taylor Fritz is the top-ranked men's player by the ATP - 8th in the world. He's 25yo and has some respectable finishes, but he's not looking like he's a serious contender for a major tournament win.
At the top, I think the level of the game today is higher than it was in the heyday of US tennis - you can well argue that Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are/were each better than all the men who came before them, but we are a nation of well over 300 million people, and why we haven't been able to compete better, at least on the men's side as the game has risen - I don't know.
Last edited by OutdoorLover; 06-10-2023 at 02:26 PM..
I disagree, countless cities have low-cost youth recreation programs and unlike other sports the gear is not expensive either.
Your question was about top players and they don't just come out of recreation programs.
The cost per year for a TOP 100 player for training, coaches, hitting partners, courts, gyms, hotels, and flights is $250,000 yearly!
Maria Sharapova came to the U.S. when she was 6 years old, she played for Russia because they financed her.
I recently saw an interview with Brad Gilbert and he says everyone always asks him your question and he said tennis is a very expensive sport. Djokovic said the same during an interview I watched on you-tube.
Cost of 12 summer weeks at Chris Evert Training Academy - $20,000
Your question was about top players and they don't just come out of recreation programs.
The cost per year for a TOP 100 player for training, coaches, hitting partners, courts, gyms, hotels, and flights is $250,000 yearly!
Maria Sharapova came to the U.S. when she was 6 years old, she played for Russia because they financed her.
I recently saw an interview with Brad Gilbert and he says everyone always asks him your question and he said tennis is a very expensive sport. Djokovic said the same during an interview I watched on you-tube.
Cost of 12 summer weeks at Chris Evert Training Academy - $20,000
I can see where that is all true, but it doesn't change the fact that tennis playing youth are few and far between. One should see that only as a benefit for the sport whether producing top-100 players or not.
I think Tiafoe is a total star. Korda has been discussed in the tennis threads as having the potential to be the best of his generation. Coco Gauff is awesome. I also like Jess Pegula.
Fritz is playing well and he was good for some drama recently at the French Open (I'm all about tennis drama.)
Maybe Ben Shelton could be a big star in the years to come. His serve is gorgeous (lefty.)
There are a few more Americans I could mention, but I do understand the point of the OP. In womens tennis right now I think of Rybakina, Sabalenka, and Swiatek as the "big 3" and in mens tennis I think of Alcaraz, Medvedev, and as much as it pains me to say it, Djokovic.
Why does it pain you to mention Djokovic, the GOAT? His accomplishments are to be celebrated. The other two you mentioned have a lot to prove to show that they are anywhere near Djokovic’s level.
it`s too solitary a sport .. it takes 2 to play .. i played a little in my youth and was pretty good .. i got to where i could not find people to play against and sometimes would play 2 or more at a time .. i did not mind practicing by myself a lot .. hitting a ball against a brick wall for hours a day is not a lot of fun for some people ..
We had that 6'10" play for like 10 hours against Nadal that year. You would think a 6'10" player have so much leverage; his shots be un-returnable.
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