The Importance of Family Background in Pro Tennis

[daphne]

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.

Why Damir Dokic is not on the list? - Srdjan complained.

 

[PDJ]

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.

From personal experience my parents being relatively good at sport meant myself and my brothers were all encouraged to be sporty. My mother played hockey and netball for England, county tennis player, county swimmer, county diver and county 100m. My father, whilst not being the natural athlete my mother was, played football, cricket and tennis at first team level. And a marathon runner.
My two brothers and I have all represented our country in different sports at least once, and county level in many others.
That said, education was equally important and we are all academics.

 

[SonnyT]

I think it is, especially since tennis is ultimately still kind of a niche sport compared to football, basketball etc.

Niche sports are like curling and darts. Tennis is one of the 2 most popular individual sports (golf), widely available on TV throughout the world (rich and poor). No individual sports is going to be as popular as the most played team sports! World wide, tennis players probably number in hundreds of millions, hardly niche!

 

[octobrina10]

No. The point is that Rafa's father paid Toni 50% of company profit without asking Toni to work because Toni was tasked in training Rafa.
So, in another words, Toni was paid for training Rafa

The point is that Rafa comes from a wealthy background.

 

[blablavla]

The point is that Rafa comes from a wealthy background.

lol

 

[D.Nalby12]

The point is that Rafa comes from a wealthy background.

You lost the point here lol

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

Oh Octo, please....

The Nadal family has been the second richest family in Mallorca long before Rafa was even born, as you well know. The family's net worth is in the hundreds of millions (aside from Rafa). You know that Sebastian is the owner of an extremely lucrative insurance company, the elite window company Vidres Mallorca and the restaurant Sa Punta. Among many other business endeavors.

'insurance company'? how unsurprising......

 

[TheFifthSet]

Niche sports are like curling and darts. Tennis is one of the 2 most popular individual sports (golf), widely available on TV throughout the world (rich and poor). No individual sports is going to be as popular as the most played team sports! World wide, tennis players probably number in hundreds of millions, hardly niche!

Recreational players may number in the hundreds of millions, but the amount that can viably pursue tennis as a career is vanishingly small, both due to the fact that it is an affluent sport and also that it simply doesn’t pay well enough to create that sort of incentive. Perhaps I speak loosely by calling it niche, but the points remain.

 

[octobrina10]

'insurance company'? how unsurprising......

Fed devotees have always manufactured imaginary stories about Tio Toni. No surprise.

 

[octobrina10]

You lost the point here lol

And your point is?

 

[blablavla]

Fed devotees have always manufactured imaginary stories about Tio Toni. No surprise.

no mentions about Fed parents working for pharma?

 

[octobrina10]

no mentions about Fed parents working for pharma?

I don't know if Fed devotees have mentioned it.

 

[D.Nalby12]

no mentions about Fed parents working for pharma?

Of course she can't mention it in this thread !

 

[D.Nalby12]

And your point is?

You lost the point is precisely my point !

 

[octobrina10]

You lost the point is precisely my point !

Your point doesn't change the fact that Rafa grew up in a wealthy family.

 

[blablavla]

Your point doesn't change the fact that Rafa grew up in a wealthy family.

This doesn't change the point that we discuss second time with you that Rafa's father paid Toni to coach Rafa, and you didn't learn anything from our first discussion.
This stubbornness could have been used for a far more noble cause frankly speaking

 

[octobrina10]

This doesn't change the point that we discuss second time with you that Rafa's father paid Toni to coach Rafa, and you didn't learn anything from our first discussion.
This stubbornness could have been used for a far more noble cause frankly speaking

We talk about "The Importance of Family Background in Pro Tennis" in this thread (See the title). You are trying to derail the thread.

 

[blablavla]

We talk about "The Importance of Family Background in Pro Tennis" in this thread (See the title). You are trying to derail the thread.

Nadal devotee you are cheating TT readers

 

[octobrina10]

Nadal devotee you are cheating TT readers

I wonder why you are so desperately trying to derail the thread.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

I wonder why you are so desperately trying to derail the thread.

please stay on topic.


muchas gracias

 

[blablavla]

please stay on topic.


muchas gracias

As a little and insecure kid, who mistakenly confuses achievements of an established and famous person with my own life, I must admit that it's difficult to stay on the topic of the thread when so many posters try to destroy the myths I carefully protect and believe about this player

 

[octobrina10]

please stay on topic.


muchas gracias

You, too.