Tennis Random, Random (On Court)

[ashkor87]

watching the WTL .. since there is no other tennis happening right now! The yellow court is an eyesore, and the ball is practically invisible.. Rybakina firing on all cylinders beating everyone - Garcia, Swiatek, Sabalenka.. Thiem and Zverev doing well too, nice to see them back from injury... even in an exhibition..

[ponchi101]

watching the WTL .. since there is no other tennis happening right now! The yellow court is an eyesore, and the ball is practically invisible.. Rybakina firing on all cylinders beating everyone - Garcia, Swiatek, Sabalenka.. Thiem and Zverev doing well too, nice to see them back from injury... even in an exhibition..

An exo with a little meaning for those two. They need to get some mileage before the start of the Aussie, so this can be really good practice. As opposed to just "real practice", this can be a bit more challenging.
I bet you are happy Rybakina is playing well. I hope she will be a factor next year.

[ashkor87]

https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/wh ... tend-for-m

My immediate reaction is - who cares,? There hasn't been a serious male contender from the US since Roddick. Women is a different story..it would be interesting to explore why that is ..could it really be just the Williams effect? Thoughts?

[ponchi101]

...

My immediate reaction is - who cares,? There hasn't been a serious male contender from the US since Roddick. Women is a different story..it would be interesting to explore why that is ..could it really be just the Williams effect? Thoughts?

Opportunities.
In the USA, if you want to become rich through sports, you have several options: MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, PGA, and assorted miscellaneous other sports. FOR MEN. For the women, you are looking at a much narrower scope of opportunities: WTA or PGA. So, a considerable number of top female athletes go for tennis.
We have a few examples. The story, as I know it, is that indeed Richard Williams started both girls thinking about the money. Yuri Sharapov was open about that, as was Piotr Wozniacki. For the men, it is actually a bad choice. There are 100 top 100 players (of, course, by definition), which are the ones making the big money. FOR THE WORLD. That is nothing compared to the millionaires in the NBA, NFL and MLB.
I just looked at the 100th player in the world. It is Alejandro Tabilo. CAREER prize money: $978,567, (2022: $526,079). That is less than what an NBA player that spends the season on the bench makes.

It boils down to that. The men in the USA have many more interesting possibilities. Tennis is not one. So they are not going to come to tennis.
For the world: I would have no idea how many athletes choose the sport for the masses: football. Add to that how expensive it is to raise a tennis champion, and you see where that is going.

[ashkor87]

Very good points!

[Suliso]

That old argument... Not that it's entirely wrong, but tennis not #1 path for men anywhere really. Nor was it when Pete and Andre were top players.

[ponchi101]

That old argument... Not that it's entirely wrong, but tennis not #1 path for men anywhere really. Nor was it when Pete and Andre were top players.

Sure. It is not a path to richness for anybody.
And another reason is not that the USA is not producing top players; it is that Europe caught up in wealth and resources, and more players are coming from there.
The thought that the GOAT could/would come from a small country like Serbia was unthinkable a few decades ago. Then, it was only possible from the USA, Australia and maybe the UK and France. Now, we have great players from Norway, Greece, several from Russia, and who knows if the Danes will be very proud of Rude soon enough.

[ti-amie]

I will also say that the European men were not afraid to think outside of the box created by the Slam Countries. Specifically the US approach to tennis didn't allow for innovation and if your game was even slightly outside of their definition of how tennis should be played you disappeared into the ether.

Donald Young should've modeled his game more along the lines of Davydenko than Sampras especially based on his size. The fact that US players are now hiring coaches from Europe says it all.

[ashkor87]

Yes, big name coaches who tried to mould everyone into a certain style of play...didn't happen in other countries, so far as I know...

[ti-amie]

[ponchi101]

It's just a conversation.
What good is it to be a fan of a sport if you don't get to talk about the nuances of it? I was and always will be a fan of Pete, and I thought he had the GOAT conversation locked between him and Laver. Them Roger came along, and then Rafa, and I believe Novak is the GOAT. And I am not his fan.
It takes nothing away from my enjoyment and love for the game.

[Deuce]

I can see some people deriving enjoyment from debating who is/was the best player of a particular era; the best player among players who played against each other... but I don't usually involve myself in such debates because I feel that even in this comparison, there are too many variables involved.

But picking the greatest player of all time is to me a completely and utterly useless exercize because there are SO MANY differences between eras that they are entirely incomparable.
So... in short, I agree with the perspective Rune seems to be expressing.

[ti-amie]

[ponchi101]

Good for him.
Now go and win the Aussie.

[Suliso]

Great for FAA, but doesn't it kind of indicate lack of success last year by other Canadian athletes? Other than Davis Cup Felix didn't really win anything significant.