Sysyphus
Talk Tennis Guru
Thought it would be interesting to do a quick check of the family backgrounds of the top 30.
It seems a reasonable assumption to me that the vast majority of people who play tennis do not have parents who were pro tennis players, pro athletes or tennis coaches, as these are all rare professions overall. But it also appears to me that players with parents in these groups are overrepresented at the top of the game.
Parents who played pro tennis:
Alex Zverev (both parents were pros).
Tsitsipas (both parents were high-level players and coahces)
Casper Ruud (dad was top 50)
Taylor Fritz (both parents were pros, mother was top 10 on the WTA)
Shapovalov (mother on Soviet national tennis team)
Hurkacz (mother a Polish junior champ, both uncles were tennis players)
Parents or close family who were pro athletes or tennis coaches:
Rafa Nadal (uncle on Spain's national football team and Toni was a tennis coach)
Domi Thiem (both parents tennis coaches)
Andrey Rublev (dad a pro boxer, mother a tennis coach)
Bautista Agut (dad a pro footballer)
Monfils (dad a pro footballer)
Dimitrov (dad a tennis coach, mum a volleyball player)
Khachanov (dad played 'high-level' volleyball in the Soviet)
Karatsev (dad a pro footballer)
* David Goffin. (I missed him at first, but dad was a tennis coach)
* Felix Auger-Aliassime (Missed him as well. Dad was a tennis coach)
Parents seemingly without tennis or pro sports backgrounds:
Rog Federer (remind me what his parents did for a living again)
Novak Djokovic
Daniil Medvedev
Diego Schwartzman
Berrettini
Carreno Busta
David Goffin
Jannik Sinner
Milos Raonic
Felix Auger Aliassime
Stan Wawrinka
Christian Garin
Alex de Minaur
Dan Evans
Fabio Fognini
Borna Coric
Some of them did not have readily available info on their family backgrounds, in which case I have assumed their parents weren't pro athletes / tennis players. Feel free to correct me if you have more info.
In any case, it seems that roughly half of the top 30 have parents or close family members who had backgrounds in tennis or pro sports. That seems to me a very healthy representation and suggests that it's a pretty useful advantage.
It seems a reasonable assumption to me that the vast majority of people who play tennis do not have parents who were pro tennis players, pro athletes or tennis coaches, as these are all rare professions overall. But it also appears to me that players with parents in these groups are overrepresented at the top of the game.
Parents who played pro tennis:
Alex Zverev (both parents were pros).
Tsitsipas (both parents were high-level players and coahces)
Casper Ruud (dad was top 50)
Taylor Fritz (both parents were pros, mother was top 10 on the WTA)
Shapovalov (mother on Soviet national tennis team)
Hurkacz (mother a Polish junior champ, both uncles were tennis players)
Parents or close family who were pro athletes or tennis coaches:
Rafa Nadal (uncle on Spain's national football team and Toni was a tennis coach)
Domi Thiem (both parents tennis coaches)
Andrey Rublev (dad a pro boxer, mother a tennis coach)
Bautista Agut (dad a pro footballer)
Monfils (dad a pro footballer)
Dimitrov (dad a tennis coach, mum a volleyball player)
Khachanov (dad played 'high-level' volleyball in the Soviet)
Karatsev (dad a pro footballer)
* David Goffin. (I missed him at first, but dad was a tennis coach)
* Felix Auger-Aliassime (Missed him as well. Dad was a tennis coach)
Parents seemingly without tennis or pro sports backgrounds:
Rog Federer (remind me what his parents did for a living again)
Novak Djokovic
Daniil Medvedev
Diego Schwartzman
Berrettini
Carreno Busta
Jannik Sinner
Milos Raonic
Stan Wawrinka
Christian Garin
Alex de Minaur
Dan Evans
Fabio Fognini
Borna Coric
Some of them did not have readily available info on their family backgrounds, in which case I have assumed their parents weren't pro athletes / tennis players. Feel free to correct me if you have more info.
In any case, it seems that roughly half of the top 30 have parents or close family members who had backgrounds in tennis or pro sports. That seems to me a very healthy representation and suggests that it's a pretty useful advantage.
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