The sad downfall of swedish tennis

I think that is a very sad story. traditionally sweden was one of the best tennis countries. they have like 30 grand slam wins and a couple of davis cups too.

however in the last years (even when sod was still playing) most the swedish guys were gone. I can understand that countries go through waves. germany lso had a big downfall after becker but at least they still had 6 or 7 top 100 guys while swedens second best player after sod (or now best player) is ranked like 400. even kasachstan has about 3 players higher ranked than the best swede:D.

I think such a downfall is absolutely unprecented in tennis. has ever a country gone from world class to nothing in such a short time? what happened?

of course the country was unlucky to lose two of the biggest hitters to ever pick up a tennis racket relatively early in their careers to injuries but still you would expect more depth in the field even with those losses.
 

OHBH

Semi-Pro
I think that is a very sad story. traditionally sweden was one of the best tennis countries. they have like 30 grand slam wins and a couple of davis cups too.

however in the last years (even when sod was still playing) most the swedish guys were gone. I can understand that countries go through waves. germany lso had a big downfall after becker but at least they still had 6 or 7 top 100 guys while swedens second best player after sod (or now best player) is ranked like 400. even kasachstan has about 3 players higher ranked than the best swede:D.

I think such a downfall is absolutely unprecented in tennis. has ever a country gone from world class to nothing in such a short time? what happened?

of course the country was unlucky to lose two of the biggest hitters to ever pick up a tennis racket relatively early in their careers to injuries but still you would expect more depth in the field even with those losses.

Not unprecedented, just look at U.S. tennis
 
Not unprecedented, just look at U.S. tennis

the USA still have 6 top100 guys. there are around 30 americans before the first swede.

yes american tennis declined too but sweden declined to absolute obsucrity while the USA are still around even if not top class anymore.
 

Sid_Vicious

G.O.A.T.
Did Sweden recently get good at another sport? That could also explain why the attention is drifting away from tennis in Sweden.
 
We still have plenty of guys in the top 100. As dominik said, Sweden's second best player is ranked in the 400s and the best Swede, Soderling, has been missing for over an year now.

Sweden does not have a system as well as the American collage one. Swedish population is 9 million compared to 300 million. You can't compare the two.

BTW its not just Sweden its all scandinavian countries, men and women.
 
I know. Does Sweden even have an up and coming juniors to show for ?
At least, Australia has Tomic etc in their roster.

australia is bad too but at least they have 2 top100 guys (hewitt ight join them again soon of he stays healthy) and a ton of juniors (saville, the guy that won this years AO and some others).

sweden has daniel berta (born 92) who won 09 junior FO but he is already 21 yo now and has done absolutely nothing (high rank 600, now 1000+).
 

WhiskeyEE

G.O.A.T.
You may as well title this thread "The sad downfall of Sweden." They've gone downhill in every way imaginable.
 
Did Sweden recently get good at another sport? That could also explain why the attention is drifting away from tennis in Sweden.

they have always been good in hockey and handball. they used to have a couple very good track and field guys, but this went downhill too.

maybe this is because sweden is a very rich country. only an idiot tries to become a pro athlete because the chances are so small:D. just kidding but maybe they go for schooling and university instead of sports because they have a good future anyway.

however I'm not sure how recent that trend is, weren't the swedes already rich in edbergs and wilanders time?
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
We still have plenty of guys in the top 100. As dominik said, Sweden's second best player is ranked in the 400s and the best Swede, Soderling, has been missing for over an year now.

Nearly two. His last match was the final of the Swedish Open in Bastad in July 2011 (which he won).
 
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WhiskeyEE

G.O.A.T.
they have always been good in hockey and handball. they used to have a couple very good track and field guys, but this went downhill too.

maybe this is because sweden is a very rich country. only an idiot tries to become a pro athlete because the chances are so small:D. just kidding but maybe they go for schooling and university instead of sports because they have a good future anyway.

however I'm not sure how recent that trend is, weren't the swedes already rich in edbergs and wilanders time?

Sweden is not a rich country. They try to be Norway but they don't have the oil money Norway does so they just go deeper into debt to achieve the same lifestyle as them.
 

Bartelby

Bionic Poster
All the Swedes seem to have gone into fashion design.

You can trick yourself out in Acne, Nudie, etc., etc., etc., and even Bjorn Borg underwear.
 

BeHappy

Hall of Fame
I really don't agree. Soderling would be top 10 if he came back. He's a 2 time RG finalist.

Magnus Norman was doing well before him, then you had Thomas Enqvist, Larsson, Gustaffson, Then back to the glory era of Wilander and Edberg and ultimately Borg. An unbroken string of success.

Belgium, not to mention the USA are FAR more troubling!
 

BeHappy

Hall of Fame
joaquim johansson would've done well had he not gotten so injured as well

Yeah and I forgot about Tomas Johannnson as well. Honestly there are so many it's very hard to remember them all.

I really hope Soderling comes back. He was my favourite player to watch when he played well because the pure power made such a good match up against the retrieving style of Murray/Nadal/Djoker.

I'm, beginning to wonder if he's trying to emulate Borg with his early retirement.
 

mariecon

Hall of Fame
I really don't think Soderling's coming back. He's been out a year and a half. And he's 28 years old. He's recently had a baby. I'd be very surprised. His career high ranking was 4. I quite liked him and am sorry to see his career end this way.
 

WhiskeyEE

G.O.A.T.
he apparently has chronic fatigue syndrome and if that's the case he's probably done for good. treatment for that and most syndromes is **** tbh.
 

Tennusdude

Semi-Pro
We still have plenty of guys in the top 100. As dominik said, Sweden's second best player is ranked in the 400s and the best Swede, Soderling, has been missing for over an year now.

Soderling beat Nadal and got the final of the French Open and lost to Federer more recently than Roddick lost to Fed at Wimbledon. No other Americans have made any grand slam finals lately
 

MAXXply

Hall of Fame
Swedish women are lauded as the most beautiful and desirable women in the world, so it ain't all bad. But yes, it's a disappointment for the sport that the fabled Swedish conveyor belt of champions has stopped producing any major talents.
 

Fedex

Legend
Swedish women are lauded as the most beautiful and desirable women in the world, so it ain't all bad. But yes, it's a disappointment for the sport that the fabled Swedish conveyor belt of champions has stopped producing any major talents.

I was in Malmo, Sweden recently.
Honestly, I struggled to see one ugly woman.
They are truly stunning but in a Stepford wives kind of way.
Even the pensioners were hot.
 

kiki

Banned
Swedish women are lauded as the most beautiful and desirable women in the world, so it ain't all bad. But yes, it's a disappointment for the sport that the fabled Swedish conveyor belt of champions has stopped producing any major talents.

I thought it was Russian chicks
 

MAXXply

Hall of Fame
I thought it was Russian chicks

30df247.jpg
2wddl5e.jpg


I'd still choose the Scandinavian
 
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J

JRAJ1988

Guest
Russian women are wayyy better looking and they don't have this "I'm better than everyone" complex
 

Phoenix1983

G.O.A.T.
I really don't think Soderling's coming back. He's been out a year and a half. And he's 28 years old. He's recently had a baby. I'd be very surprised. His career high ranking was 4. I quite liked him and am sorry to see his career end this way.

He'll always have his place in immortality though:

610x.jpg
 

merwy

G.O.A.T.
Hey, we may not have a GS contender right now, but at least we have a few in the top 100, unlike Sweden.

You can't compare Sweden to the damn USA. Don't you people realize that your country is like, really, really big? There's bound to be at least a few good players in the whole country. That's why you guys or China or Russia always win the olympics. Anyway, you have to be realistic. At the moment, the US is doing very, very bad. But that's okay, they used to have a lot of legends (McEnroe, Agassi, Sampras, etc. etc. etc.) It's probably just a matter of time before things turn around again.
 

dman72

Hall of Fame
I was in Malmo, Sweden recently.
Honestly, I struggled to see one ugly woman.
They are truly stunning but in a Stepford wives kind of way.
Even the pensioners were hot.


You see very few people in Sweden who are overweight. It's probably a combination of healthy living habits and the fact that the food sucks. :).

Gotta love the guy calling Swedish women "lipless feminists".

:shock:

Whatever suits you, pal.
 

WhiskeyEE

G.O.A.T.
North americans don't seem to know what scandinavian women actually look like. They glorify them just because they're blonde and from an exotic part of europe. Or they see models and think that they commonly look like that. But that's the truth bro, sorry.
 

tommyfr

Rookie
The reason for swedish downfall in tennis is

a) lack of courts during indoor season sep - april

b) the tennis schools lack ambition and high performance profil, no try outs, no selection, all should play, no one should lose, good players should not go to elite group etc, tennis should just be play up to age 14, not serious sport....therefore strong athletes dont get challenged in that environment, and go to other sports

c) related to a and b above, not enough practice in terms of hours, a couple of hours per week is not enough when there are kids over the globe that practice 3-4 hours per day

d) homeschooling not allowed by swedish government/dept ed regulations

e) a bit passive people at Swedish tennis association

On the positive side is Good to Great tennis academy founded by Magnus Norman, Kulti, Bergstrom 3 years ago. They have sponsors and majority of swedish top juniors are training there. Ymer brothers for example and the 16 year older brother is ranked top 10 ITF, ang the younger brother top europe 14 U
 

rolliges

New User
Just wait a few years.

Elias Yemer, 16, finalist in 2012 Orange Bowl 18s and semi-finalist in 2012 Eddie Herr 18s. Recently ranked 10 in ITF!

His younger brother Mikael is just as talented. Semi-finalist in 2012 Orange Bowl and in both 2010 Orange Bowl and Eddie Herr.
 

rolliges

New User
Forgot to mention Gustav Hanson and Rebecca Peterson. Both should do well in future professional tournaments.
 

BeHappy

Hall of Fame
US UK Sweden France Germany.

Not the tennis powerhouses of old.

Meet Argentina Spain and Serbia

Argentina, Spain and Serbia aren't producing anyone anymore either.

Argentina just have Del Potro, a few years ago they had Nalbandian, Coria, Gaudio in the top ten at the same time and Felix Mantilla.

Spain hasn't produced a new top player in 10 years.

Serbia hasn't produced a top player in 7 years.

Australia's decline is the worst. Remember when Rafter, Philipoussis and Hewitt were all top players in 2000?
 

djones

Hall of Fame
Argentina, Spain and Serbia aren't producing anyone anymore either.

Argentina just have Del Potro, a few years ago they had Nalbandian, Coria, Gaudio in the top ten at the same time and Felix Mantilla.

Spain hasn't produced a new top player in 10 years.

Serbia hasn't produced a top player in 7 years.

Australia's decline is the worst. Remember when Rafter, Philipoussis and Hewitt were all top players in 2000?

Mantilla is Spanish
 

slowfox

Professional
Even the pensioners were hot.

MILF heaven? Or shall I say GILF...

The reason for swedish downfall in tennis is

a) lack of courts during indoor season sep - april

b) the tennis schools lack ambition and high performance profil, no try outs, no selection, all should play, no one should lose, good players should not go to elite group etc, tennis should just be play up to age 14, not serious sport....therefore strong athletes dont get challenged in that environment, and go to other sports

c) related to a and b above, not enough practice in terms of hours, a couple of hours per week is not enough when there are kids over the globe that practice 3-4 hours per day

d) homeschooling not allowed by swedish government/dept ed regulations

e) a bit passive people at Swedish tennis association

On the positive side is Good to Great tennis academy founded by Magnus Norman, Kulti, Bergstrom 3 years ago. They have sponsors and majority of swedish top juniors are training there. Ymer brothers for example and the 16 year older brother is ranked top 10 ITF, ang the younger brother top europe 14 U

What did they do before to produce Borg, Edberg, Wilander et al?
 

The-Champ

Legend
Gone are the days when we could proudly say "we are a great tennis country". Borg, Wilander, Edberg, Enqvist, Larsson, Järryd, Johansson, Penfors, etc. Today, we have nothing.

Gone are the days when we could send prisoners to the Bahamas for vacation as part of their rehabilitation. Prisoners no longer riot due to not having enough cream on their strawberry dessert. Gone are the days when we could leave our motorcycles, bikes and cars on the streets unlocked. Gone are the days when we could proudly say we have the best health care system in the world. Gone are the days when our state could provide a handicapped child 2 nurses to attend its needs on a daily basis.

What we have today: Influx of illiterate immigrants whom when granted citizenship do not even want to be a part of the Swedish society. They refuse to learn the culture nor the language. The school is free yet they refuse to attend one. Instead they stay at home with 10-15 kids and get 30000 SEK a month while having all their bills paid. Swedish police and justice system is too weak to counter the new types of crimes perpetrated by immigration. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame these immigrants for coming to Sweden, I blame our politicians. For me immigration per-se is a good thing because of the cultural mix but it has to be managed well. Having said that, not all immigrants are "parasites" as the racist Sweden Democrats want us to believe. Many second and third generation immigrants have been very productive parts of our society and they come from everywhere: former Yugoslavia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. As an ethnic Swede (not really, my ancestors moved to Sweden in the 15th century from Belgium), I'm worried about the future of my country because of how badly managed it is both economically and socially. I'm sure many Western European countries are in the same situation.
 

Flash O'Groove

Hall of Fame
Gone are the days when we could proudly say "we are a great tennis country". Borg, Wilander, Edberg, Enqvist, Larsson, Järryd, Johansson, Penfors, etc. Today, we have nothing.

Gone are the days when we could send prisoners to the Bahamas for vacation as part of their rehabilitation. Prisoners no longer riot due to not having enough cream on their strawberry dessert. Gone are the days when we could leave our motorcycles, bikes and cars on the streets unlocked. Gone are the days when we could proudly say we have the best health care system in the world. Gone are the days when our state could provide a handicapped child 2 nurses to attend its needs on a daily basis.

What we have today: Influx of illiterate immigrants whom when granted citizenship do not even want to be a part of the Swedish society. They refuse to learn the culture nor the language. The school is free yet they refuse to attend one. Instead they stay at home with 10-15 kids and get 30000 SEK a month while having all their bills paid. Swedish police and justice system is too weak to counter the new types of crimes perpetrated by immigration. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame these immigrants for coming to Sweden, I blame our politicians. For me immigration per-se is a good thing because of the cultural mix but it has to be managed well. Having said that, not all immigrants are "parasites" as the racist Sweden Democrats want us to believe. Many second and third generation immigrants have been very productive parts of our society and they come from everywhere: former Yugoslavia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. As an ethnic Swede (not really, my ancestors moved to Sweden in the 15th century from Belgium), I'm worried about the future of my country because of how badly managed it is both economically and socially. I'm sure many Western European countries are in the same situation.

Beside your senseless general political babbling, I find it funny that you mention immigration (though without directly blaming it) in a thread about the downfall of a nation in sport, when a good part of the best sportsman comes from the immigration in all the rich countries. Henrik and Zlatan can tell you.
 

WhiskeyEE

G.O.A.T.
Beside your senseless general political babbling, I find it funny that you mention immigration (though without directly blaming it) in a thread about the downfall of a nation in sport, when a good part of the best sportsman comes from the immigration in all the rich countries. Henrik and Zlatan can tell you.

This thread is more about the downfall of Sweden in general. And a lot of that can be blamed on immigration.
 

m2nk2

Hall of Fame
This thread is more about the downfall of Sweden in general. And a lot of that can be blamed on immigration.

Only ignorant fools will blame the downfall of Sweden on immigration. Sweden used to be a socialistic democratic country for 4-5 decades up until the 90's when the population decided that they instead want capitalism. That's the root of the downfall if anything.

Don't forget that the top 5% in Sweden are much richer now compared to the late 80's. This happens almost everywhere in the western world.

Anyway, this probably doesn't have that much to do with the state of swedish tennis. At least sweden has 4 juniors atm who's got the potential to become top 50 in the next 10 years. And should they do well in the grand slams, then surely the swedish public service (the swedish BBC if you will) is gonna start to broadcast French Open, Wimbledon, Stockholm Open, Swedish Open etc like they just to do in the 80-90's. And that will spawn more interest etc etc
 
Only ignorant fools will blame the downfall of Sweden on immigration. Sweden used to be a socialistic democratic country for 4-5 decades up until the 90's when the population decided that they instead want capitalism. That's the root of the downfall if anything.

Don't forget that the top 5% in Sweden are much richer now compared to the late 80's. This happens almost everywhere in the western world.

Anyway, this probably doesn't have that much to do with the state of swedish tennis. At least sweden has 4 juniors atm who's got the potential to become top 50 in the next 10 years. And should they do well in the grand slams, then surely the swedish public service (the swedish BBC if you will) is gonna start to broadcast French Open, Wimbledon, Stockholm Open, Swedish Open etc like they just to do in the 80-90's. And that will spawn more interest etc etc

didn't sweden have ridiculously high taxes at one Point?

I heard that Astrid lindgren once had a tax bill of 101% of her income:D.
 
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