Best Way to Determine Nationality of a Player

[triforce defender]

This became a controversial issue in my thread about Asian champions so I think it deserves its own topic for discussion.

I erroneously did not clarify how to determine a player's nationality. The subjectivity of where a player was born vs where they were raised vs what country's academy they were supported. Here in my opinion is the most objective way to determine nationality:

Which country's flag do they play under? Which country do they play Davis cup for? Which country do they represent in the Olympics? That's their nationality. So by that criteria Sharapova is Russian and Nishikori is Japanese regardless of where they learned their tennis. Those are the countries they represent for Davis Cup and Olympic purposes.

Yes, there are some exceptions where players switch country allegiance for davis cup and olympic sponsorships. But those are few and usually involve players outside the top 50. For the purpose of significant, top players, they normally stick with their birth country or the country where their parents were born. There is usually no controversy about what country they should represent. The closest would have been had Djokovic become a British citizen.

 

[Down_the_line]

I agree with you here. No need to go splitting hairs beyond this. Whatever flag you play under: that's your nationality. Raonic is in a lot of ways Montenegrin but he plays under the Canadian flag so he's Canadian.

 

[sureshs]

I agree with you here. No need to go splitting hairs beyond this. Whatever flag you play under: that's your nationality. Raonic is in a lot of ways Montenegrin but he plays under the Canadian flag so he's Canadian.

If you want to ignore the fact that he wins because of his height, which in turn is due to the genetics of the former Yugoslavia, sure you can kid yourself that it doesn't matter.

 

[Down_the_line]

If you want to ignore the fact that he wins because of his height, which in turn is due to the genetics of the former Yugoslavia, sure you can kid yourself that it doesn't matter.

Where did anyone say we were talking about a player's genetics or where they descend from? We're talking about nationality, which, as far as athletes are concerned, is determined by what flag you play under.

Raonic is Canadian. Everyone knows he was born in Montenegro and has Yugoslav parents and genes but that's irrelevant to the topic of nationality.

 

[uncle pollo]

Hear a man curse in his native language.

His peers will recognize him.

 

[octobrina10]

This became a controversial issue in my thread about Asian champions so I think it deserves its own topic for discussion.

I erroneously did not clarify how to determine a player's nationality. The subjectivity of where a player was born vs where they were raised vs what country's academy they were supported. Here in my opinion is the most objective way to determine nationality:

Which country's flag do they play under? Which country do they play Davis cup for? Which country do they represent in the Olympics? That's their nationality. So by that criteria Sharapova is Russian and Nishikori is Japanese regardless of where they learned their tennis. Those are the countries they represent for Davis Cup and Olympic purposes.

Yes, there are some exceptions where players switch country allegiance for davis cup and olympic sponsorships. But those are few and usually involve players outside the top 50. For the purpose of significant, top players, they normally stick with their birth country or the country where their parents were born. There is usually no controversy about what country they should represent. The closest would have been had Djokovic become a British citizen.

You can't determine nationality (I think, you mean 'citizenship') of other people! It's determined by the laws!

Wikipedia: ¤¤ Nationality
Nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a state. Nationality normally confers some protection of the person by the state, and some obligations on the person towards the state. What these rights and duties are vary from country to country. It differs technically and legally from citizenship, although in most modern countries all nationals are citizens of the state and all citizens are nationals of the state. /---/

The noun national can include both citizens and non-citizens. By custom and international conventions, it is the right of each state to determine who its nationals are. /---/
In English, the same word is used in the sense of an ethnic group (a group of people who share a common ethnic identity, language, culture, descent, history, and so forth). This meaning of nationality is not defined by political borders or passport ownership and includes nations that lack an independent state (such as the Scots, Welsh, English, Basques, Kurds, Tamils, Hmong, Inuit and Māori).¤¤

 

[triforce defender]

You can't determine nationality (I think, you mean 'citizenship') of other people! It's determined by the laws!

Wikipedia: ¤¤ Nationality
Nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a state. Nationality normally confers some protection of the person by the state, and some obligations on the person towards the state. What these rights and duties are vary from country to country. It differs technically and legally from citizenship, although in most modern countries all nationals are citizens of the state and all citizens are nationals of the state. /---/

The noun national can include both citizens and non-citizens. By custom and international conventions, it is the right of each state to determine who its nationals are. /---/
In English, the same word is used in the sense of an ethnic group (a group of people who share a common ethnic identity, language, culture, descent, history, and so forth). This meaning of nationality is not defined by political borders or passport ownership and includes nations that lack an independent state (such as the Scots, Welsh, English, Basques, Kurds, Tamils, Hmong, Inuit and Māori).¤¤

By that definition, nationality still applies. There is a legal relationship between Sharapova and Russia that her wins count as "titles by a Russian." If Nishikori ever wins the U.S. Open this year, he will be the first Japanese player to win the U.S. Open. He will not be the first U.S. male since Andy Roddick to win the U.S. Open regardless of his Bolleteri ties.