#1 Junior Taylor Townsend "Benched" by the USTA

[Sentinel]

Originally Posted by sureshs

Time for PMac to go.

What I find baffling is how a quasi-government organization can almost infringe on someone's rights and yet PMac appears to pose as such a nice guy and get away with this as some kind of tough love.

People of some demographics are naturally chunky and the USTA should be sent a strong message with a multi-million dollar civil rights lawsuit. And there are others of any ethnicity, especially women, whose genetics and hormones make them fat.

The only situations where this kind of discrimination is allowed is in law enforcement, firefighters, and the military, and some other very specific and legally-upheld situations.

Tennis is about who wins, not whether she is thin or fat.

I hope your local club doesn't debar you from playing. Get slim fast, suresh.

[tennis_ocd]

Originally Posted by barringer97

Might be some communication issues, gotta fault the USTA on this one...

Does the USTA provide meals?

[Alohajrtennis]

Originally Posted by cluckcluck

How is she not good for the Junior ITF based on her results? She's ranked #1 in the world, won Australian Open singles and doubles, won Wimbledon doubles, and was a doubles semifinalist at the French doubles.
You're standards for being good enough seem awfully high.

Whoa, slow down. I never said say she wasn't good enough for the Junior ITF, I was just saying she wasn't too good to be playing ITF's still. I know her results, sorry, but she has had some struggles this year too, french open and Wimbledon performances were uninspiring.

[cluckcluck]

Originally Posted by Alohajrtennis

Whoa, slow down. I never said say she wasn't good enough for the Junior ITF, I was just saying she wasn't too good to be playing ITF's still. I know her results, sorry, but she has had some struggles this year too, french open and Wimbledon performances were uninspiring.

Actually you did say she wasn't too good yet for the Junior ITF. Look at your first comment.
Yes, she has struggled on clay, don't all American's struggle on clay?

[Soianka]

Originally Posted by cluckcluck

How is she not good for the Junior ITF based on her results? She's ranked #1 in the world, won Australian Open singles and doubles, won Wimbledon doubles, and was a doubles semifinalist at the French doubles.
You're standards for being good enough seem awfully high.

I agree with the other guy. She is not took good for the junior ITF at this point but she may be in another 6 months or year.

She is still getting competative junior matches and she is still losing to other top juniors.

There is no point in rushing to the pro level yet.

[andfor]

America had player a few years ago with much promise, and a weight issue. I know for a fact this player was held back by never fully getting a handle on her weight problem. Although the entire situation for Townsend is unfair on the surface, I gotta believe for the long-term if she slims down she'll be better for it. Throw her into the fire now and if she loses early and often at the pro level, then loses confidence and does not lose the weight, she may easily fad away. I hope the best for her. The only bad thing I see here is the matter is public and she's a teenager and like most sensitive to body image.

[Soianka]

Originally Posted by andfor

America had player a few years ago with much promise, and a weight issue. I know for a fact this player was held back by never fully getting a handle on her weight problem. Although the entire situation for Townsend is unfair on the surface, I gotta believe for the long-term if she slims down she'll be better for it. Throw her into the fire now and if she loses early and often at the pro level, then loses confidence and does not lose the weight, she may easily fad away. I hope the best for her. The only bad thing I see here is the matter is public and she's a teenager and like most sensitive to body image.

all of that is true, but it should never have come to this where the USTA reps are making public statements about a teenager's weight and then seemingly trying to take punative measures.

[andfor]

Originally Posted by Soianka

all of that is true, but it should never have come to this where the USTA reps are making public statements about a teenager's weight and then seemingly trying to take punative measures.

It's ashame it's public. How it got there and how the story broke who knows. It is a newspaper article and interpreting it from here and with no direct conversation with both sides leads us to speculate.

[kme5150]

Her mother and P-Mac both commented to the press, stupid on both parts.

Taylor and her mother should have waited until she was out of the tournament to talk to the press. It is hard enough for the #1 seed to compete with the pressure as it is, let alone with this kind of thing hanging out there.

As much as I am no fan of P-Mac or the USTA PD system, I don't think for one minute that the USTA told her that she has a few weeks to get into shape or she isn't going.

Weight was never brought up once in the article. With muscle weighing more than fat it would be a fitness issue, not weight.

[goober]

Originally Posted by tennis5

I guess Serena shouldn't play either.

Smacks of a lawsuit.

What is the basis of the lawsuit? If you don't want to follow their rules, don't take their money. It is not like she still can't play in tournaments. She can still play in as many as she wants just like anybody else. The USTA just pulled funding for them. I am sure there are plenty of nonfunded players that would be glad to get money from the USTA if all they had to do was stay in shape.

BTW Serena is a perfect example of how you can develop and do whatever you want (like skip junior tournaments) outside of the USTA.

[Tcbtennis]

My beef with this whole situation is that they punished her by trying to take away her home junior slam when she is the number player in the WORLD. I don't care that her recent results are below the USTA expectations. She earned that #1 ranking by winning the AO junior slam singles and doubles. It's hers until someone takes it away. So if a just turned 16 year old Lindsey Davenport or Martina Navratilova or Petra Kvitova, all who were known or are known for there perceived lack of fitness, played for the USTA PD they would have been kept out of the junior slam.

Girls' bodies are still developing at this age and I doubt that she isn't fit in the cardiovascular sense of being fit. You shouldn't force diets on teenage girls who are not obese. The developing brain of an impressionable teenage girl is sensitive. I know because I have one. You say, "Darling, you need to get into better shape" and they hear, "Hey fatty, you seriously need to lose that butt." And the fact that it's public, on the internet, the subject of tweets will only add to the humiliation. Continue to emphasize her fitness training but don't keep her out of competition. How does that help her?

[10ismom]

Originally Posted by Alohajrtennis

No I didn't..........

And she has struggled all summer, on clay, grass, hard courts, etc. She is still a great player, but she has had a challenging summer, thats all I am saying.

or maybe they know she's not playing very well and wanted to prevent another upset, losing confidence issue......so USTA asked her to work on fitness and play lower profile tournaments??.....who knows. I could speculate all day, is she pre-diabetic?..that's why they are concerned about her health.
Of course, above is a joke..... I just don't know the story from either side. Just wish her well. I always root for all these deserving young players.

[Soianka]

Originally Posted by 10ismom

or maybe they know she's not playing very well and wanted to prevent another upset, losing confidence issue......so USTA asked her to work on fitness and play lower profile tournaments??.....who knows. I could speculate all day, is she pre-diabetic?..that's why they are concerned about her health.
Of course, above is a joke..... I just don't know the story from either side. Just wish her well. I always root for all these deserving young players.

She is a kid who is maybe slightly overweight.

It is mean and punitive to try to disallow the #1 junior in the world from playing her home slam.

It's just mean and then for Patrick McEnroe to comment on her weight (coded as "fitness") is just bizarre and meanspirited.

It's not like she is 250 pounds and might risk her health by playing. She is probably 20-30 pounds higher in weight than her ideal (like a lot of other female players).

I'm sorry, I don't buy it.

The excuse that they didn't want her to play because of her fitness is bizarre and hard to believe considering she looks pretty much the same as she did when she won the Australian open earlier this year.

I've never heard any other instance of the USTA making a similar request of a top junior.

Not giving her a wildcard into the women's event is somewhat understandable, but not supporting her to play the junior tournament (where she has more right to be than any other junior as the world's #1) just doesn't make any sense.

[goober]

Originally Posted by Tcbtennis

My beef with this whole situation is that they punished her by trying to take away her home junior slam when she is the number player in the WORLD. I don't care that her recent results are below the USTA expectations. She earned that #1 ranking by winning the AO junior slam singles and doubles. It's hers until someone takes it away. So if a just turned 16 year old Lindsey Davenport or Martina Navratilova or Petra Kvitova, all who were known or are known for there perceived lack of fitness, played for the USTA PD they would have been kept out of the junior slam.

Girls' bodies are still developing at this age and I doubt that she isn't fit in the cardiovascular sense of being fit. You shouldn't force diets on teenage girls who are not obese. The developing brain of an impressionable teenage girl is sensitive. I know because I have one. You say, "Darling, you need to get into better shape" and they hear, "Hey fatty, you seriously need to lose that butt." And the fact that it's public, on the internet, the subject of tweets will only add to the humiliation. Continue to emphasize her fitness training but don't keep her out of competition. How does that help her?

Uh the did not prohibit her from anything. She is currently playing in the US open juniors. Hello anybody in there? They are just not paying for her. Any private organization can give money to somebody with whatever stipulations they want. Again if you don't want to follow their rules, then don't take their money and pay yourself.

[Soianka]

Originally Posted by goober

Uh the did not prohibit her from anything. She is currently playing in the US open juniors. Hello anybody in there? They are just not paying for her. Any private organization can give money to somebody with whatever stipulations they want. Again if you don't want to follow their rules, then don't take their money and pay yourself.

Uh, goober. Don't live up to your name.

They have been paying for her tournaments, travel, training, and coaching for 2 years now.

To suddenly decide to not support her playing this tournament is not par for the course or normal.

As for their rules, I am sure this is not a rule.

I've never heard of the USTA telling any other #1 player not to play the US Open. I have not heard anything similar.

It sounds like arbitrary punishment meted out unfairly to their best player.

[tennisforlife77]

Originally Posted by kme5150

Her mother and P-Mac both commented to the press, stupid on both parts.

Taylor and her mother should have waited until she was out of the tournament to talk to the press. It is hard enough for the #1 seed to compete with the pressure as it is, let alone with this kind of thing hanging out there.

As much as I am no fan of P-Mac or the USTA PD system, I don't think for one minute that the USTA told her that she has a few weeks to get into shape or she isn't going.

Weight was never brought up once in the article. With muscle weighing more than fat it would be a fitness issue, not weight.

Read the article - it refers to her need to slim down.. Coaching 101 says you don't discuss weight with a teenage girl - this something they could have taken up discreetly with her parents - not in the Wall Street Journal - private organization or not if the girls end up with even the slightest traces of an eating disorder the USTA and PMac will have a lawsuit on their hands!

[tennisforlife77]

Originally Posted by tennisforlife77

Read the article - it refers to her need to slim down.. Coaching 101 says you don't discuss weight with a teenage girl - this something they could have taken up discreetly with her parents - not in the Wall Street Journal - private organization or not if the girls end up with even the slightest traces of an eating disorder the USTA and PMac will have a lawsuit on their hands!

And in fact talking about the need to slim down i.e. body image is even worse!

[HIGH-TECH TENNIS]

We have known TT and her family for YEARS-since she competed at around 10 in the G12 National Open in Sea Island, GA (which she would not have been able to enter now with restriction of 32-draw...and which she returned to the following year and won).

THIS WHOLE SITUATION HURTS MY HEART BECAUSE I FEEL IS IS WRONG ON EVERY LEVEL. I cannot imagine how she must feel - having her weight discussed like this... TT has never been small---and she's the #1 junior girl in the world. SURELY they could have handled this in a more appropriate way - just feel sooo bad for her.

[Misterbill]

On a spectrum with Goober on one end and Soianka on the other, I'm a lot closer to the Goober end.

Benefits given by one party to another are voluntary (gifts) or contractual.

The cessation of a voluntary gift is not punishment unless a recipient has unjustifiably developed a sense of entitlement to the gift, and in any case voluntary gifts are not enforceable.

Contractual benefits are defined by the contract. I haven't seen the contract. All those saying lawsuits would be in order please post up the contractual terms that you think have been violated.

As for a civil rights claim...that helps me understand a lot about this Board

[tennis_ocd]

Originally Posted by Soianka

It is mean and punitive to try to disallow the #1 junior in the world from playing her home slam.

Are all the other kids going on the USTA's dime?