Julius Caesar
Professional
The Laver cup is amazing for many things but uncertainty on the results is not among them
That sucks!Jack Sock
1st. Tennis is a skill sport. Would the top NFL athletes make it into in the top 10 ATP if they had chosen tennis? Dont you think that they had tried out multiple sports in their childhood years and eventually chose the one sport that they excel at?There's 10 other pro sports that all pay more than tennis in America. The truly athletic freaks play those sports usually because they're initially cheaper to get started in and have a higher chance of working out. Europe just has soccer and not much else for the people with extreme upper body coordination.
Australian tennis declined in the mid 1970s, ending the biggest 40+ year boom of new talent ever seen in the sport from a nation, that had been largely spearheaded by Harry Hopman. Ever since, Australia has only had a small number of really top tennis players. It used to be overflowing with such players for decades from 1930s to 1970s.It's mostly due to the decline of tennis in America and Australia since 2000
There's 10 other pro sports that all pay more than tennis in America. The truly athletic freaks play those sports usually because they're initially cheaper to get started in and have a higher chance of working out. Europe just has soccer and not much else for the people with extreme upper body coordination.
Australian tennis declined in the mid 1970s, ending the biggest 40+ year boom of new talent ever seen in the sport from a nation, that had been largely spearheaded by Harry Hopman. Ever since, Australia has only had a small number of really top tennis players. It used to be overflowing with such players for decades from 1930s to 1970s.
Who can afford to take tennis lessons and get good under these inflation ridden countries with lousy leadership? Its cheaper to go shoot hoops or throw a football. Tennis is for rich yuppies and most people can't afford groceries now in this hell-hole we call contemporary earth much less dropping thousands on tennis lessons at the club
Try listing all the good to great Australian players from the 1930s to 1970s. It's a long list. Pat Cash must have felt a little lonely by comparison in the 1980s, although there were the Macs in the doubles.Australians are about 0.1 % of the world population.
pretty much this... Australia is similarThere's 10 other pro sports that all pay more than tennis in America. The truly athletic freaks play those sports usually because they're initially cheaper to get started in and have a higher chance of working out. Europe just has soccer and not much else for the people with extreme upper body coordination.
I think the USTA made a big mistake 20+ years ago by using Sampras as their model instead of Agassi. By that, I mean big power serving, blast opponents off the face of the earth with power groundstrokes, ending the rally early. That doesn't work as well in the poly era, which favours endurance rallying more.Becausw Europeans (including us Brits) are level headed and ready for hard work unlike entitled Americans.
Because Europe doesn’t **** around and actually invites the best players for the most part. Ruud is as boring as pig snot but he’s #2 in the world.
World just invite anyone who’s flashy. Jack Sock isn’t even a tour player yet got invited lol.
Try listing all the good to great Australian players from the 1930s to 1970s. It's a long list. Pat Cash must have felt a little lonely by comparison in the 1980s, although there were the Macs in the doubles.
Basketball
NBA
NFL
Football
All those sports pay way more than tennis and the parents of future US athletes push their kids to the sports that will get them the most $$$.
Fritz is 24, the best American in the world. He's earned a total career earnings of $9 million USD. Fellow 24 year old NBA player Jayson Tatum is on a 5 year $200 million dollar deal.
Doesn't compare does it.
Playing hockey or even lacrosse. Both make outstanding tennis players.NBA and NFL definitely drain most of the African American talent but where are all the athletic talents from the other 85% of the population?
MLB, NHL, Even MLS. But its more than just that. But like I said most of the tour is centered around Europe. The American Women do fine as it is probably outside of playing on the national soccer team, or being a super high level figure skater or gymnast the most profitable sport for women in the USA.NBA and NFL definitely drain most of the African American talent but where are all the athletic talents from the other 85% of the population?
Sure, lots of jocks in affluent families but they're not living in Florida and California. McEnroe's academy doesn't seem able to recruit top notch athletes1st. Tennis is a skill sport. Would the top NFL athletes make it into in the top 10 ATP if they had chosen tennis? Dont you think that they had tried out multiple sports in their childhood years and eventually chose the one sport that they excel at?
2nd. America as a nation has always won Olympic gold medals in many sports. So the excuse of "not having the best athletes to play tennis" doesnt sound right when you have the best athletes in so many sports.
3rd. America still has a good number of well-off families. If a sport is too expensive, it would still favour the Americans more than folks from European nations. Just look at golf.
Not really sure what you mean by most sports. Different countries play different sports. The USA consistently wins the most Olympic medals in the summer games by far. The USA also plays American football which no one else plays. And baseball which maybe 10 countries produce players. These are thousands of high payed pro athletes right there. Also almost half the NHL is American players. Europe dominates soccer and tennis and bicycle stuff which makes sense. There are so many sports I dont know how someone could say Europe dominates most sports. The whole thing is silly anyway. The UK doesn't produce any skiers which is understandable. Countries with mountains and snow do.When you think of it. Most sports are dominated by Europe: Lots of population with high income. State sponsored programs. Lots of different countries to foster competition, ridiculous distances...
And n a sport where travel makes or breaks your career, Europe will always dominate. If south American/Australian trained instead of spending a bajillion hours on a plane results could be different.
Basketball
NBA
NFL
Football
All those sports pay way more than tennis and the parents of future US athletes push their kids to the sports that will get them the most $$$.
Fritz is 24, the best American in the world. He's earned a total career earnings of $9 million USD. Fellow 24 year old NBA player Jayson Tatum is on a 5 year $200 million dollar deal.
Doesn't compare does it.
I think the USTA made a big mistake 20+ years ago by using Sampras as their model instead of Agassi. By that, I mean big power serving, blast opponents off the face of the earth with power groundstrokes, ending the rally early. That doesn't work as well in the poly era, which favours endurance rallying more.
Basketball
NBA
NFL
Football
All those sports pay way more than tennis and the parents of future US athletes push their kids to the sports that will get them the most $$$.
Fritz is 24, the best American in the world. He's earned a total career earnings of $9 million USD. Fellow 24 year old NBA player Jayson Tatum is on a 5 year $200 million dollar deal.
Doesn't compare does it.
The sport centers around Europe. It’s really like asking why Europeans win most tour de frances. Most of the tournaments are there. Most of the tour is there. This whole thing is really silly. It’s like asking why Canada dominates hockeyThe conventional wisdom is that it comes down to...
1. European players usually having a background in soccer when younger, thus developing good footwork skills from a very young age, and
2. A much greater availability of clay courts in Europe leads to more players developing a more complete skill set. On clay, you can't dominate with just a big forehand and a big serve, like you can on hard courts, especially when you're a young junior player. Thus, players often have to develop consistency, a drop shot, play the angles, etc. and when a player comes into their body and benefits from the power that comes with that, it's an added tool in an already-wide arsenal.
The sport centers around Europe. It’s really like asking why Europeans win most tour de frances. Most of the tournaments are there. Most of the tour is there. This whole thing is really silly. It’s like asking why Canada dominates hockey
I agree, but Russia will be banned from such competitions (and Wimbledon) for the next 10 years...Very simple solution. They just need to put Russia on team world since Russia can also be considered an Asian country
Yea and Australia before that but the center of the tennis universe now is europe. The infrastructure is there the players don’t have to travel as much, the incentives are higher.I think it's an interesting question, since the US has had a good number of great players over the years up until the last 20 years or so. If you look at a list of all-time greats, the US and Australia are both extremely overrepresented in comparison to Europe.
But you're right about simply having more access. In Europe, you're always at least a decent drive's distance away from high level completion. A player can sustain himself playing club tennis, while still working on their game. In the US, you may need to fly and those tournaments are much less common.
Exactly I would maintain a guy like nishikori coming out of is a anomaly. Japan has like 130 million people but most don’t ever even pick up a racket. They have no infrastructure for it . And if you actually are a good Japanese player you are gone from home almost all year. Being a tennis player is hard enough. Trying to do it while living in Japan is another story all together. So you then have to decided ok I will live on the road. Sounds easy enough but it’s a whole different challenge than most euro players face straight up. You are already dealing with things many don’t have to. If your a French tennis player your an hour plane ride away from 70 percent of the atp tournaments. And heck lots not even talk about playing on the challenger circuitTennis is a truly global sport now, whereas in the "golden days" it was still a predominantly English-speaking game and the best players rightly came from the Anglosphere. Sampras and Agassi were the last holdovers from that era
So as the Anglosphere declined in influence, so did the tennis