First time since 1973 no American men ranked in the top-30
- Thread starter weakera
- Start date
T
TheNachoMan
Guest
Americans are doing better at football (soccer) than tennis these days..
SinneGOAT
Hall of Fame
Agassi on the left having a bad hair day
Lleytonstation
Talk Tennis Guru
And they still suck in that sport too.
BeatlesFan
Bionic Poster
You mean bad wig day. He was totally bald by this time, the long thing on his head was a wig.Agassi on the left having a bad hair day
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Jack, you failed us.
Mainad
Bionic Poster
"It's a rough statistic but it's been a long & steady slide from the last glory days of Sampras, Agassi, Courier & Chang".
Hate that he doesn't include Roddick. After all, Roddick was the last American man to win a Slam and be ranked world #1. Hardly insignificant achievements!
goldenhawktennis
Rookie
Bad take here. Trying to equate two vastly different scenarios and lacking all nuance.
The Blond Blur
G.O.A.T.
Slowtwitcher
Legend
The M in MAGA stands for Mahesh.
Jack, you failed us.
#priorities
D
Deleted member 771911
Guest
It's a different world now, that's all. Tennis is less attractive to young Americans who have so many sporting options and is a more accessible and attractive option to youngsters in other countries than it was in the heyday of the U.S.
Phoenix1983
G.O.A.T.
Didn't they always have many other sporting options?
Or do you mean that those sports now pay proportionately more than tennis, when they never used to?
Slowtwitcher
Legend
Only very rich kids in the US can afford the level of coaching you need to have to be a top player. Just look at Fritz and Pegula FFS...
These kids are often not the most talented, on top of being entitled sh*ts. Their chance of getting to be top-10 players is very low.
These kids are often not the most talented, on top of being entitled sh*ts. Their chance of getting to be top-10 players is very low.
D
Deleted member 771911
Guest
Yeah it's because of the money, imo. Tennis has such a low percentage of a return on the investment.
heftylefty
Hall of Fame
What does this have to do with tennis?
JackSockIsTheBest
Professional
Ah I love wings as well (Profile Pic) and yes he let us downJack, you failed us.
MeatTornado
Talk Tennis Guru
Even though Andy was infinitely better than anything we have now, he didn't exactly represent "the glory days" of American tennis."It's a rough statistic but it's been a long & steady slide from the last glory days of Sampras, Agassi, Courier & Chang".
Hate that he doesn't include Roddick. After all, Roddick was the last American man to win a Slam and be ranked world #1. Hardly insignificant achievements!
bluetrain4
G.O.A.T.
"It's a rough statistic but it's been a long & steady slide from the last glory days of Sampras, Agassi, Courier & Chang".
Hate that he doesn't include Roddick. After all, Roddick was the last American man to win a Slam and be ranked world #1. Hardly insignificant achievements!
Yes. True, Roddick wasn't part of a larger Slam-winning group of Americans, but still, his individual career was an American "glory day" as he won and was a top player for years.
Slowtwitcher
Legend
Roddick created a generation of Roddick-wannabes that got US men's tennis to where it is now.
Slowtwitcher
Legend
He counts. But he was not a generation.
Doubles is what you play when you can't cut it at singles. This is true at every level of tennis.
That picture though. Didn’t realize USA had such a star studded team back then. As for now, yeah I do not care about U.S tennis. About as talented as U.S cricket. Our most talented athletes go to basketball, baseball, American football, and hockey. We’re starting to get soccer players with success in European leagues these days as well.
Sampras and Agassi, like Fedalovic today, were freaks and the exception rather than the rule. Same with Tilden, Laver, Hoad, Budge and Rosewall before them. The coming of these people is like the coming of Ali, Phelps, Bolt, Maradona, Pele, Jordan, Bradman, Sobers, Tendulkar, Messi, Ronaldo etc. They are extraordinary people and are not produced on demand.
bluetrain4
G.O.A.T.
Upon further reflection, I don't think it's THAT terrible to exclude Roddick from "glory days" since they're referencing a decline from "glory days" of 4 top 10 and Slam-winning players to today's state of no top-30 players. And Roddick's era is a point in between. But, still, I think there's a case for mentioning Roddick as well.
Moon Shooter
Hall of Fame
This seems to be a pretty good explanation of the problem:
bluetrain4
G.O.A.T.
Who is this guy and where did he play college tennis?
bluetrain4
G.O.A.T.
not only sporting options but non-sporting options like gaming (I guess that can be a sporting option too since schools have teams), and simply something like engaging with social media all the time - tweeting, making TikTok vids, posting to instagram, and on and on.
Crazy Finn
Hall of Fame
Honestly, I'm surprised that it's only happened now. American male tennis has been mostly trash for a long time.
If you're putting hope in Jack Sock to save American (male) tennis, that says everything you need to know about the state of American (male) tennis.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
Raul_SJ
G.O.A.T.
If you are going to wear a wig why wear a ghastly wig like that? Was long hair even in style then? That must be his real hair. If not he is a fool to wear that.
Fortunately for him there was no social media then to mock him.
bluetrain4
G.O.A.T.
They weren't immigrants.
aliceinpains
Rookie
American kids are lazy. Football participation is down among young kids in the U.S. as well. Takes alot of ambition to play a sport like football or Tennis.
Crazy Finn
Hall of Fame
Immigrants, no. Children of immigrants, yes.
Kralingen
Talk Tennis Guru
Coached and pushed by immigrants in their early childhood then (especially in Agassi’s case) - i think it makes a clear difference. What I mean is rich kid types like Isner and Sock are mostly the only ones who are actually going into tennis. There is a 0% chance of a Djokovic type situation where a kid is playing tennis in an empty pool and then discovered - they’re all playing basketball or football.
Crazy Finn
Hall of Fame
Sure.
I wasn't disagreeing with the point, just pointing out that Andre and Pete weren't themselves immigrants.
There's plenty of rich kid types playing tennis elsewhere, too. But, it does SEEM to be more prevalent here, and the primary source for men's tennis in the US.
THUNDERVOLLEY
G.O.A.T.
Nothing--but thoughful/moral people kneeling against police brutality and racial injustice obviouly angers the one who brought kneeling into this thread.
OP, interesting point I wonder how many non-Americans that use American resources on the US soil are in the top 30. Just asking for I know that there are so many fine places, coaches, schools and youth tournaments in states that see some amazing talent in the sport. My thought is that the American citizens aren't comfortable with and/or committed to the sport enough for it costs much and does not offer adequate financial remuneration to most of the ones in. I also feel that the high school support for sports like football, basketball and even some other sports such as hockey and athletics is unequal to tennis.
NoleIsBoat
Hall of Fame
Dude’s banging her, eating pizza all day and having the occasion jolly in some challenger events or doubles.Jack, you failed us.
MichaelNadal
Bionic Poster
NoleIsBoat
Hall of Fame
WinningAnd he's rich and in Charlotte which is an awesome city
Mainad
Bionic Poster
He was the last of a long line of American champions. He deserves to be acknowledged and remembered.
Mainad
Bionic Poster
Isn't his fault that none of them can carry it off like he could.
football has gotten a lot of bad press over the last twenty years. No parent wants dementia type symptoms in their 35 year old son and no pediatrician is likely to recommend that option when talking about the value of sport in the lives of kids.
Tshooter
G.O.A.T.
It turns out head trauma is not good for your short or long-term health so more parents don't want their kids playing football. I don't know there is evidence that American kids in general are any lazier than kids from elsewhere.
Should Parents Be Afraid To Let Their Kids Play Football?
Football’s concussion crisis has been part of the NFL for almost two decades. But the pros aren’t the only ones reevaluating their relationship with the game.
fivethirtyeight.com
President Trump Doesn't Want His Son Playing Football
Trump nevertheless said on Super Bowl Sunday that he loves watching the sport.
www.thedailybeast.com
