Why aren't there more Asian stars (male)?

gogo

gogo

Legend
Nishi is great, but he has his injury problems and needs more cavalry in support.
Hyeon Chung looks like a top talent in the making. I hope he continues to progress.
Duckhee Lee, as much as I admire him, isn't going to be a star.
Nishioka is solid, but he's not going to be a star.
Can Yibing (Jason) Wu pick up the baton? He won USO Jrs and immediately followed up with a Challenger title.
And, where are the stars from India? Did British influence not impart the tennis gene? India doesn't have one player ranked in the top 100 and no real young guns in sight.

I think tennis needs a few stars from Asia in order to grow the sport. Will they emerge anytime soon?
What are your thoughts?
 
George Turner

George Turner

Hall of Fame
Cricket is the superpower in India, tennis is not a massive sport there. Same for Pakistan. Their football teams are hopeless aswell and they have no relevant golfers. Growing a sport in new countries is easier said than done,

Also genetics may be a factor, with 6 foot being considered the minimum for a player to reach the very top these days.

Men%2527s%2Bsingles%2Btennis%2Bolympic%2Bwinners%2B2016.jpg
 
U

User123

Hall of Fame
Some sports are more popular there, some are less. Snooker has a lot of players from Asia. Tennis not.
 
O

ONgame

Semi-Pro
Most Asian countries lack the infrastructure to develop top level tennis players.
Tennis is also very expensive.
Li Na is pretty much a miracle given the circumstances.
 
D

Deleted member 743561

Guest
Matter of time. China's sorting out some sociopolitical stuff. They've got some phenomenal athletes. And more and more of the population has money to throw around. You know how Sweden was a tennis powerhouse once upon a time? I'd go so far as to say that in 100 years they'll be wondering what became of European tennis powers. "Dad, why do we win everything?"
 
Meles

Meles

Bionic Poster
gogo said:
Nishi is great, but he has his injury problems and needs more cavalry in support.
Hyeon Chung looks like a top talent in the making. I hope he continues to progress.
Duckhee Lee, as much as I admire him, isn't going to be a star.
Nishioka is solid, but he's not going to be a star.
Can Yibing (Jason) Wu pick up the baton? He won USO Jrs and immediately followed up with a Challenger title.
And, where are the stars from India? Did British influence not impart the tennis gene? India doesn't have one player ranked in the top 100 and no real young guns in sight.

I think tennis needs a few stars from Asia in order to grow the sport. Will they emerge anytime soon?
What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Chung is the Asian future, but needs some real coaching especially for 2018 clay season where he could have a breakout year. He needs to find a top of the line coach given his potential. He's to breakaway from the South Korean team for his long run potential. Too many holes in his serve game. His groundstrokes already take a lot of timing which is not easily recovered when injury takes him away from the game.
 
Faris

Faris

Professional
George Turner said:
Cricket is the superpower in India, tennis is not a massive sport there. Same for Pakistan. Their football teams are hopeless aswell and they have no relevant golfers. Growing a sport in new countries is easier said than done,

Also genetics may be a factor, with 6 foot being considered the minimum for a player to reach the very top these days.

Men%2527s%2Bsingles%2Btennis%2Bolympic%2Bwinners%2B2016.jpg
Click to expand...
I think you have a point there with genetics... smaller height for guys def a factor. Also resources a big one as well...
 
Faris

Faris

Professional
George Turner said:
Cricket is the superpower in India, tennis is not a massive sport there. Same for Pakistan. Their football teams are hopeless aswell and they have no relevant golfers. Growing a sport in new countries is easier said than done,

Also genetics may be a factor, with 6 foot being considered the minimum for a player to reach the very top these days.

Men%2527s%2Bsingles%2Btennis%2Bolympic%2Bwinners%2B2016.jpg
Click to expand...
I think you have a point there with genetics... smaller height for guys def a factor. Also resources a big one as well...
 
C

Cecilia

Rookie
ONgame said:
Li Na is pretty much a miracle given the circumstances
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It is really a miracle the reasons you mentioned and the fact that her farther died when she was very young but she kept on fighting and the problems she had with the Chinese government. She really had a ground breaking carrer very inspirational
 
C

Cecilia

Rookie
ONgame said:
Li Na is pretty much a miracle given the circumstances
Click to expand...
It is really a miracle the reasons you mentioned and the fact that her farther died when she was very young but she kept on fighting and the problems she had with the Chinese government. She really had a ground breaking carrer very inspirational
 
toby55555

toby55555

Hall of Fame
eelhc said:
To be fair... Asians dominate 2 racquet sports (Badminton and table Tennis... yes ping pong is considered a racquet sport and at the top level it' no basement rec center game).
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Pakistan has historically been good at Squash too, Egypt is the powerhouse now.
 
gogo

gogo

Legend
George Turner said:
Cricket is the superpower in India, tennis is not a massive sport there. Same for Pakistan. Their football teams are hopeless aswell and they have no relevant golfers. Growing a sport in new countries is easier said than done,

Also genetics may be a factor, with 6 foot being considered the minimum for a player to reach the very top these days.

Men%2527s%2Bsingles%2Btennis%2Bolympic%2Bwinners%2B2016.jpg
Click to expand...

But with a population of over a billion, I'm guessing they have more > 6 foot people than we do in Canada, or they have in Great Britain, Australia, Chile, Croatia, etc. Such a large sample size.

I'm guessing it's about culture and facilities.
 
moon shot

moon shot

Hall of Fame
George Turner said:
Cricket is the superpower in India, tennis is not a massive sport there. Same for Pakistan. Their football teams are hopeless aswell and they have no relevant golfers. Growing a sport in new countries is easier said than done,

Also genetics may be a factor, with 6 foot being considered the minimum for a player to reach the very top these days.

Men%2527s%2Bsingles%2Btennis%2Bolympic%2Bwinners%2B2016.jpg
Click to expand...

I always thought they might have been on uneven pedestals, found a pic and I was wrong.

tennis_pro said:
Too short. Nishikori is actually quite tall for Japanese standards.
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Kei credits moving to Florida and the dietary change with it for his comparative stature and bulk.
 
Faris

Faris

Professional
moon shot said:
Kei credits moving to Florida and the dietary change with it for his comparative stature and bulk.
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Very interesting...did he move to Bolitteris academy when he was very young? Usually i always thought it was the nutrition from young age and not just in the latter stages of adolescence which gave way to taller stature.
 
moon shot

moon shot

Hall of Fame
NEW_BORN

NEW_BORN

Hall of Fame
Tennis is a rich man's sport. It's hard for a middle-class family to fund their kid's development.
 
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kimguroo

kimguroo

Legend
tennis is not big popular sports in Asia that's the reason. probably most of people prefer to become soccer players or baseball players.
Probably badminton might be more popular.
Chung is one of rare players since he is over 6'1" and still moves and slides like faster small guys on tours.

Duckhee Lee almost made to a big stage and it can be a hugely inspiring story. He has talent but too short in my opinion. Still hope he will continue to make efforts instead of quitting. He already set a record but want to see higher achievements.
 
Mainad

Mainad

Bionic Poster
HipRotation said:
India isn't exactly the country to look at for any prowess in sport apart from Cricket.
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Indian tennis prowess tends to be focussed mainly on doubles. There have been many notable Indian doubles players over the years eg. Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza.
 
NaomiKonjuhPotapova

NaomiKonjuhPotapova

G.O.A.T.
gogo said:
I think tennis needs a few stars from Asia in order to grow the sport. Will they emerge anytime soon?
What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...

Hard, very few tennis court at least in SEA and we're good at Badminton.
There's no good academy, Nishikori moved to US at age 14.

Probably in the future there's some Chinese star as Justine Henin & Carlos Rodriguez open an academy there.
 
S

slice bh compliment

G.O.A.T.
NaomiKonjuhPotapova said:
...Probably in the future there's some Chinese star as Justine Henin & Carlos Rodriguez open an academy there.
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Wonder why they are passionate about running an academy in China. Are they following an opportunity for money and recognition? Playing the odds? Or do they have some ties there? What's the connection?

Carlos Rodriguez is Argentino, sí? She is a Francopone Belgian (walloon).
Maybe they enjoyed their travels to China, or loved the Chinese food there. But there has got to be some connection.
 
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NaomiKonjuhPotapova

NaomiKonjuhPotapova

G.O.A.T.
slice bh compliment said:
Wonder why they are passionate about running an academy in China. Are they following an opportunity for money and recognition? Playing the odds? Or do they have some ties there? What's the connection?

Carlos Rodriguez is Argentino, sí? She is a Francopone Belgian (walloon).
Maybe they enjoyed their travels to China, or loved the Chinese food there. But there has got to be some connection.
Click to expand...

Yeah a bit weird. But Justine also has one somewhere else I think.
But Carlos stopped working with Li Na due to the academy in China. Probably because a lot of potential there in China. They have the numbers after all and commitment for sport.
 
jussumman

jussumman

Hall of Fame
Faris said:
I think you have a point there with genetics... smaller height for guys def a factor. Also resources a big one as well...
Click to expand...

We have several non Asian short players highly ranked like David Ferrer, Schwartzman.. given the population size of Asians and Indians, they should have some in the mix despite height challenges.
 
jussumman

jussumman

Hall of Fame
Faris said:
I think you have a point there with genetics... smaller height for guys def a factor. Also resources a big one as well...
Click to expand...

We have several non Asian short players highly ranked like David Ferrer, Schwartzman.. given the population size of Asians and Indians, they should have some in the mix despite height challenges.
 
jussumman

jussumman

Hall of Fame
Faris said:
I think you have a point there with genetics... smaller height for guys def a factor. Also resources a big one as well...
Click to expand...

We have several non Asian short players highly ranked like David Ferrer, Schwartzman.. given the population size of Asians and Indians, they should have some in the mix despite height challenges.
 
WhiskeyEE

WhiskeyEE

G.O.A.T.
NaomiKonjuhPotapova said:
Hard, very few tennis court at least in SEA and we're good at Badminton.
There's no good academy, Nishikori moved to US at age 14.

Probably in the future there's some Chinese star as Justine Henin & Carlos Rodriguez open an academy there.
Click to expand...

I play with several Filipinos who say they have tons of courts there. I guess they crush sea shells and make pseudo-clay courts out of them.
 
U

upriser7

New User
In India,biggest problems are cost, lack of facilities and our sports culture. Tennis is mainly restricted to tier 1 cities in India...it's very tough to find a decent tennis court in most of the tier 2 cities. Even in tier 1 cities, not everyone can afford it. It's very expensive game to afford for a typical middle class Indian. Moreover, our sports culture sucks, we still have some catching up to do.
I did understand the significance of facilities required, especially for a game like tennis when I visited a school in US recently. It was a public high school in Minnesota...damn the courts were so good. I studied in a Tier 2 city in India and not even single school in our city even had a single tennis court :D
 
S

slice bh compliment

G.O.A.T.
I know the top cities in india are Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta, and New Delhi. Are there others? Bagalore, Hyderabad, etc.?
What are the Tier 2 Cities of India? Who tiers them? Is this by population, financials, or something else?
 
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S

slice bh compliment

G.O.A.T.
Cost, facilities, of course.
That is wild....sporting culture. I always saw India as a sport-loving nation with deep tradition in tennis. The men do not seem abnormally short at all. Seems like Greece or Italia. Short guys, tall guys, average guys, built to withstand some sun, heat, etc.

Maybe it is just that y'all have good priorities. like placing academics and professional success over sporting success?
 
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A

AllCourtHeathen

Guest
George Turner said:
Cricket is the superpower in India, tennis is not a massive sport there. Same for Pakistan. Their football teams are hopeless aswell and they have no relevant golfers. Growing a sport in new countries is easier said than done,

Also genetics may be a factor, with 6 foot being considered the minimum for a player to reach the very top these days.
Click to expand...

Say that to Suresh's face and not online, and see what happens LOL

Leander Paes is an incredible volleyer, though an arrogant little bugger.

I also used to hit with an indian bloke who was awesome at tennis, and a really top bloke. He could seemingly get to anything and had an aggressive topspin baseline game. I'd be lucky to get a game or two off him in sets. I think maybe the lack of facilities, and the fact tennis is an expensive sport to get into, is a barrier getting in the way of any prospective youth talent in India.
 
tusharlovesrafa

tusharlovesrafa

Hall of Fame
slice bh compliment said:
I know the top cities in india are Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta, and New Delhi. Are there others? Bagalore, Hyderabad, etc.?
What are the Tier 2 Cities of India? Who tiers them? Is this by population, financials, or something else?
Click to expand...

Government Tiers them..They are primarily based on the criteria of Population.I am from a city called Lucknow in Northern India which is a Tier 2.Facility & mentality of the people here is the biggest problem. People are simply not willing to shell out any money for sports apart from cricket.Government policies regarding sports also lack vision.Until unless government gives a push, I don't see any players coming out from India.
 
Aussie Darcy

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
ONgame said:
Most Asian countries lack the infrastructure to develop top level tennis players.
Tennis is also very expensive.
Li Na is pretty much a miracle given the circumstances.
Click to expand...
Actually, it's not just Li Na. The Chinese have a variety of successful female players who've cracked the top 50 or better whilst the men have been sorely lacking.
Zhang Shuai has made a slam QF and the top 30, Zheng Jie made two slam SF's, won 4 titles and made the top 15. Peng Shuai also made a slam SF, was top 15 in singles and world #1 in doubles. There's also Duan Yingying who won a tour title and Zheng SaiSai who's been top 15 in doubles, both have been ranked as high as #60.
 
Aussie Darcy

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
It is an interesting question. I think as others have said, height is the main reason. Women from Asian nations haven't struggled, there's been a wide variety from China as mentioned above but also Japan (Kimiko Krumm), Thailand (Luksika Kumkum and Tamarine Tanasugarn), Taipei (Hsieh-Su Wei and the Chans). But obviously that's because women tend to be shorter and height has never been a major point of difference for the tour unlike the men's with players like Isner and Karlovic dominating over players.

The ATP does have successful short players but just seems to not have many from anywhere in Asia. Perhaps they get pushed into other sports, who knows. China is heavily investing in tennis with several tournaments on both the women's and men's tour, so I'm sure we will see some big stars in the future.
 
S

slice bh compliment

G.O.A.T.
Tusharlovesrafa, thanks for the demographic information. Funny. As much as our census bureau is large und in charge, i do not seeing the US govt calling miami, SF, Seattle, philly or boston a tier 2 (below our four largest cities, Houston, Chicago, LA, NY). Certainly not Poobiego. They just poast the numbers and ranks. We mostly celebrate and market each city for tourism and convention business. Tiering would be unAmerican.

2good4U said:
Asians tend to have short, stumpy legs.

Not a good thing for a tennis player.
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Got it, but what does Jimmy the Greek say about these legs?
These legs must be bred for something useful, right?

Manufacturing,
computer science,
swimming and diving,
Cricket,
Table tennis,
gymnastics,
resisting human rights violations,
dominating spelling bees,
Squatting down for a chainsmoking break,
standing desks, standup comedy,
A lot of singing and dancing within scenes in movies,
karaoke,
making really great food,
Driving poorly,
Administering acupuncture,
Medical arts and sciences,
Making the world's best rices and teas,
martial arts, martial law?

Sorry Asians, I tried to think of all the stereotypes.

Oh, and are we talking about all of Asia or just South and Southeast Asia?
 
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