Category: Tennis

American Junior Boys Have Stellar Performance at Wimbledon

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After a subpar performance at the French Open, the American junior boys were dominant at Wimbledon. It’s about time!

On the other hand the girls fared slightly better than at Roland Garros, which isn’t saying much.

Overall the boys won 22 matches while losing 8 and the girls won 8 matches and lost 9.

Henrik Wiersholm and Dennis Uspensky were the only two American junior boys to lose in the first round. The remaining 7 boys won their first and second round matches.

Francis Tiafoe, Alex Rybakov, Michael Mmoh, and Logan Smith lost in the third round.

Three of the semifinalists were Americans: Noah Rubin, Taylor Harry Fritz, and Stefan Kozlov. Rubin beat Fritz in his semis matches before losing to Kozlov in the finals. At the French Open Kozlov lost in the quarterfinals, while Rubin was downed in the second round. With good fortune, his strong play will carry over into the U.S. Open.

In the girls draw, Kaitlyn McCarty, Katrine Steffensen, Raveeena Kingsley, Usae Maitane Arconada, and Catherine Bellis lost in the first round. Dasha Ivanova and Sofia Kenin dropped their second round matches.

Tornado Alicia Black and Michaela Gorden won three matches before being eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Congratulations to the entire group of American junior boys and girls. A special tip of the hat goes to Koslov, Rubin, and Fritz. Hopefully, this strong showing is not an anomaly, but a sign of things to come for American tennis.

USTA Player Development MIA at Wimbledon

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There was something different about the results for the men’s and women’s draw at Wimbledon 2014 – No American advanced past the third round in the singles. In fact, only one American man and five women made it to the third round.

Sadly, the embarrassing showing of the Americans made their abysmal showing at the French Open look somewhat respectable. Even worse, Wimbledon is a tournament where the Americans usually play well.

Clearly, the results of the men and women accentuate the fact that the USTA Player Development has been MIA for a number of years. The program may be taking credit for developing players, but it is not producing elite players at the international level.

On the men’s side, John Isner was the only player to have a winning record. He exited in the third round.

Sam Querrey, Jack Sock, and Denis Kudla all lost in the second round after winning a match. Bradley Klahn, Steve Johnson, AlexKuznetsov, Ryan Harrison, Donald Young, and Michael Russell were all first round losers.

The men won 5 matches and lost 10. In other words, if the American men had combined all of their wins and allocated them to one player, they would have lost in the semifinals.

The American men are excellent players; however, with the exception of Isner and Querry, they are ranked closer to 100 than number 1. The player development programs of other countries appear to have aspirations for greatness that exceed those of the USTA Player Development program.

Memo #1 to USTA Player Development.
Topic: There were no American men players in the round of 16.

The following countries had multiple players in the round of 16:
• Spain – 3
• France – 2
• Switzerland – 2
The following countries had one player in the 16s: Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Serbia, and South Africa. The player from Serbia won the tournament.

There were 13 Americans in the women’s draw. Combined, they won 13 matches and lost 13.

The first round losers included: Anna Tatishvili, Christina McHale, Taylor Townsend, Sloane Stephens, and Vania King. They were joined on the sidelines by second round losers Victoria Duval, Coco Vandeweghe, and Varvara Lepchenko.

The following American women won two matches before exiting the tournament: Serena Williams, Alison Riske, Madison Keys, Venus Williams, and Lauren Davis. Game over for the women!

The recent American youngsters to appear on the big stage are finding that life is tougher than it looks like from the sidelines.

Memo #2 to USTA Player Development.
Topic: There were no American women players in the round of 16.

The following countries had multiple playing in the Round of 16:
• Czechoslovakia – 4
• Germany -2
• Russia – 2
• Kazakhstan – 2
The following countries had one player in the 16s: Canada, China, Denmark, France, Poland, and Romania. One of the players from Czechoslovakia was the winner.

Wimbledon 2014 confirmed what was expected last summer. At that time it appeared there were either an inordinate number of upsets or a changing of the guard. The recent results confirmed the latter has occurred.  Halep, Bouchard, Kvitova, and the host of other young players have begun to take over the top spots in the women’s game.

Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer, still control the men’s sport, but the youngsters are rattling their sabers that change is on the horizon in the not too distant future.

Hopefully the leaders of the USTA and the USTA Player Development Program were watching. Wimbledon is much more fun to watch when Americans are playing in the finals!

USTA Player Development Program – Subpar Performance of American Juniors at French Open

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The pattern of subpar performance of American open junior was evident at the 2014 French Open – yet another sign of the ineffectiveness of the USTA Player Development Program.

Some argue the issue is the clay at Roland Garros, not the leadership within the USTA. American players have not fared as well at the French Open as other Grand Slam events. The American men have only won the event four times in the open Era  (47 years) while the women have won it fourteen times (Chris Evert won it seven times).

The seven American boys started the 2014 French Open on a positive note winning their first round matches (Francis Tiafoe, Noah Rubin, Alex Rybakov, Michael Mmoh, Stefan Kozlov, Henrik Wiersholm, and Taylor Harry Fritz). Unfortunately, Kozlov was the only player to advance beyond the second round.

Kozlov eventually won three matches before bowing out in the quarterfinals. With the strong first round performance, the American Boys won nine matches and lost eight.

The performance by the girls was the weakest in years. Katrine Steffensen, Tornado Alicia Black, Sofia Kenin, Riveena Kingsley, and Dasha Invanova all lost first round matches. Usue Maitane Arconada won a match before exiting in the second round and Catherine Bellis won two matches before bowing out in the third round.

Overall, the girls won three matches and lost seven.

At best, the USTA Player Development Program has been ineffective. By comparison a player from Spain has won the men’s French Open fourteen times in the past 21 years, i.e. the Open Era. During this period players from Spain have not been in the finals on only six occasions (1995 to 1997, 2000, 2004, and 2009).

On four occasions both finalists were from Spain on four occasions (1994, 1998, 2002, and 2013). Rafael Nadal played in only one of those four all-Spanish finals.

The Spanish women have won four French Opens during the open era. Despite the increased popularity of tennis around the world, It seems like the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation has figured out a way to produce world-class tennis players. Hopefully, the leaders of the USTA Player Development Program have taken notice.

 

American Men and Women Have a Weak Showing at 2014 French Open

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Another Grand Slam event has passed and no American players were serious contenders for the title. What is the USTA Player Development Program doing?

Rafael Nadal won another French Open. Rafa has now won nine French titles.  Since the first tournament in 1891, Americans have won the event a total of 11 times. Four of those victories have come during the open era.

On the women’s side Maria Sharapova captured her second French Open. She defeated 20-year old Simona Halep in a knockdown-dragout match that lasted for more than three hours.

With the exception of John Isner and Sloane Stephens, the American players had a lackluster performance. After Isner, the highest ranking American male was ranked 64th.

In the men’s draw Bradley Klahn (71), Michael Russell (98), and Robby Ginepri (279) lost in the first round.

Sam Querrey (67) and Steve Johnson (64) won their first round matches, but lost in the second round.

Donald Young (79) and Jack Sock (75) won two rounds before bowing out in the third round.

John Isner (11), seeded 10th, held his seed by winning three matches before being defeated in the round of 16.

Overall, the American men won 9 matches and lost 8.

On the women’s side, tennis enthusiasts got a sneak peak of American tennis without the Williams sisters. Fans anticipated seeing the players face off in their third round; however, both Venus and Serena lost in the second round.

Only Taylor Townsend and Sloane Stephens advanced beyond the second round. Townsend won two matches before losing in the third round and Stephens won three before she was defeated in the fourth round.

In the last six Grand Slams she has reached the fourth round. In four of those tournaments she was the last American in the bracket. That sounds good, on paper, but….

The following American women fell in the first round: Grace Min, Lauren Davis, Christina McHale, Vania King, Shelby Rogers, Anna Tatishvili, and Madison Keys.

In addition to the Williams sisters, the second round losers included Varvara Lepchenko, Coco Vandeweghe, and Alison Riske.

At the moment Serena Williams is the only elite American male or female player. Although John Isner has been consistent, it is unlikely he will win a Grand Slam event.

Stephens has shown that she has the potential to play in the upper echelon. Time will tell whether there are too many players such as Simona Halep, Eugenie Bouchard, Belinda Bencic, and Garbine Maguruza, who will prevent her from being an elite player.

Another Grand Slam has passed and there is no evidence the USTA Player Development Program is having an impact on American tennis.

TIA Positively Spins the Value of Tennis Industry

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On March 22, the Tennis Industry Association (TIA) issued a press release titled, ” 2014 State of the Industry Values Tennis Economy at $5.55 Billion.” The emphasis was placed on $5.55 million.

There is a reason the TIA press release did not mention the amount of change in the value of the industry. A year ago TIA reported the tennis industry was valued at $5.4 billion in 2011. Between 2011 and 2013, the value of the tennis industry increased by $.15 billion, or 2.8%. Between 2011 and 2013, the CPI for all items increased by 3.2%.

The value of the industry did not keep up with the increase in inflation. In other words, the net value of the industry declined slightly over the past two years.

Tennis is an important part of our society, it is a small industry that employs workers in all states; however, the tennis industry is not a significant part of the U.S. economy.

Nominal GDP increased from $15.5 trillion in 2011 to $16.7 trillion in 2013, an increase of 8.2%. (The nominal GDP is used because the TIA data is not adjusted for inflation).

The value of the industry increased at a rate less than GDP output. In other words, the value of the tennis industry expanded at a rate lower than the overall economy, i.e. tennis is losing market share.

There are three possible reasons for the “stagnation” of the value of the industry.
• Over the past year, the sport attracted more “occasional players” than “frequent” players. While the total number of players may have increased, the newcomers didn’t spend as much as the industry core, the “frequent” player. Historically, the industry has a poor track record of converting “occasional players” to “frequent players.” For example, there were only 5.9 million frequent players in 1999. Today that number is about 5.4 million.
• There is a flaw in the methodology for the collection of the TIA data.
• The industry is growing; however, there are weaknesses.

The TIA has to publicly spin the data – that is what they are getting paid to do. Hopefully they are accompanying the spin with a dose of reality in board rooms and behind closed doors.

Tennis Scorekeepers

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For many years, tennis facilities did not have portable tennis scorekeepers on each court. Since most play is recreational, club managers didn’t feel they were necessary. The reason for not including them was certainly not the cost. Depending on the model a scorekeeper is only $50 to $75 per unit.

The scorekeepers are ideal for league play and tournaments. In addition, they can be used for instructional drills. In many cases, they are even being used for recreational matches.

Their greatest value is for junior programs. For kids just learning to play the sport, the scorekeepers reduce the confusion of keeping score. As it turns out, most juniors do an excellent job posting the score correctly, particularly if they are winning.

The scorekeepers allow parents to be more engaged in the matches because they always know the score. They can easily follow multiple matches or keep track of the score when they are interrupted.

If you are a tennis player at a facility that does not have tennis scorekeepers, encourage the facility manager to make them available. Such a simple investment improves the tennis experience for the players and spectators alike.

tennis scorekeeper

 

Best College Tennis Players in Country Go Unnoticed in Boulder

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The best college tennis players in the country recently went unnoticed in Boulder. The  city has a poor track record of supporting (watching) great sports performances.  Boulderites would rather play than watch – which isn’t all bad.

Over a 10 day period (March 14th to March 24th) Colorado tennis fans had an opportunity to see the future of American women’s professional tennis in Boulder as the 74th-ranked Lady Buffs tennis team played USC (12th), Cal (16th), UCLA (2), and Stanford (4). Eleven of the PAC-12 visiting opponents are currently in the top 30 of the ITA singles rankings.

Zoe Scandalis, #1 Player USC, against CU Buffs. Scandalis is one of the top college tennis players in the country.
Zoe Scandalis, #1 Player, University of Southern California, in match against CU Lady Buffs.

The USC powerhouse is led by #1 player Zoe Scandalis (see photo) and includes a group of 9 elite junior players from California and 1 player from Mississippi. All were highly-ranked junior players who participated in a variety of USTA programs.

On the other hand Cal’s team is comprised of a mix of accomplished American and International players. For example, Hungarian Zsofi Susanyi, #3 singles player, advanced to the singles finals at the 2009 Junior Wimbledon.

The Stanford team includes 5 Californians, two East Coast players, and a Canadian. Three of the six players (Krista Hardebeck, Carol Zhao, and Carolyn Doyle) played in various junior Grand Slams and Kristie Ahn, #1 player, played in the main draw of the U.S. Open.

UCLA is coached by Stella Sampras, older sister of Pete Sampras. All six Bruin players (Robin Anderson, Jennifer Brady, Catherine Harrison, Chanelle Van Nguyen, Kyle McPhillips, and Courtney Dolehide) played in multiple junior Grand Slam events. In addition, one player played in the main draw of the U.S. Open. All of the players except Dolehide are currently in the top 50 of the singles ITA rankings.

It is disappointing that there weren’t more people in attendance to watch some great college tennis by the Buffs and their opponents. (Average estimated attendance for the four matches was less than 200 people.)

It is an even greater travesty that the Colorado tennis community doesn’t give the Lady Buffs the ongoing support the team deserves!

 

 

Is it Fair to Bash the USTA for their Men’s Player Development Program?

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Is the USTA Player Development Program getting the job done?

A quick look at the January 6 ATP rankings shows that 32 countries have players ranked in the top 100. They are:

  • Spain 14 players
  • France 11 players
  • Germany 8 players
  • USA 8 players
  • Argentina 6 players
  • Russia 5 players
  • Australia 4 players
  • Czechoslovakia 4 players
  • Columbia 3 players
  • Croatia 3 players
  • Italy 3 players
  • Kazakhstan 3 players
  • The Netherlands 3 players
  • Poland 3 players
  • Serbia 3 players
  • Canada 2 players
  • Switzerland 2 players
  • 15 countries have 1 player

Tennis is an international sport, but the combined total of ranked players from Croatia, Kazakhstan, and Serbia is greater than the U.S. total.

A closer look at the men’s rankings shows the following for the American men:

  • 14 John Isner
  • 46 Sam Querrey
  • 89 Tim Smyczek
  • 91 Michael Russell
  • 95 Bradley Klahn
  • 96 Donald Young
  • 99 Ryan Harrison
  • 100 Jack Sock.

If you asked 1,000 people to name the top American male tennis players in the U.S., they most likely couldn’t name one of these individuals. In fairness to the USTA, part of the problem is the popularity of tennis in many foreign countries. Some in tennis also feel that the best American athletes play sports other than tennis.  Still others will say that American youth lack the work ethic to be world class tennis players.

These factors play a part in the lack of dominant American tennis players; however, the major source of the problem is USTA Player Development. Pancho Gonzalez, Jack Kramer, and Arthur Ashe have to be rolling over in their graves at the state of American men’s tennis.

 

What’s Coming Down the Pipeline for American Women’s Tennis?

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For the past couple of years the American women have had respectable showings in the Grand Slam events, in large part due to the dominance of Serena Williams. What lies ahead for American women’s tennis when Serena retires? Is the USTA Player Development Program getting the job done?

On a positive note, there are more American players in the top 100 than any other country. Unfortunately, a closer look at the January 6, 2014 rankings shows that most of the American women are not in the upper echelon, i.e. only two are ranked in the top 25. Right or wrong, this creates the perception that the focus of the USTA Player Development program is on quantity rather than quality.

The American women, their age, and their ranking in the top 100 follow:

  • 1  Serena Williams, 32
  • 13  Sloane Stephens, 20
  • 28  Jamie Hampton, 24
  • 36  Madison Keys, 18
  • 38  Venus Williams, 33
  • 48  Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 28
  • 52  Varvara Lepchenko, 27
  • 55  Alison Riske, 23
  • 65  Christina McHale, 21
  • 67  Lauren Davis, 20
  • 71  Vania King, 20.

The average age of the players in the top 100 is slightly over 25 years old. Four of the American women are older than 25 and 7 are younger. The average age of the American players in the top 100 is 24 years old.

From a practical standpoint, an argument can be made that the younger players will become difference makers as the older players retire or their level of play drops off. If that argument holds, then the 7 American women below the mean are likely to move up and those above the mean will move on.

This viewpoint is supported by the data. Statistically there is a slightly negative correlation between the ranking of the top 100 women players and their age. In other words, the higher ranked players are older and the lower ranked players are younger (see chart below).

Thirty of the top 100 players are 27 years old or older and 9 are in the top 25. Of the 4 Americans in this age group, Serena Williams is the only one in the top 25.

Twenty of the top 100 players are either 25 or 26 and 7 are in the top 25. No Americans are in this age category.

In other words, there are good players at all levels, but 16 of the players are at least 25 years old. For the younger players, the good news is that most will move on in the next 5 years.

The remaining 50 players in the top 100 are less than 25 years old. Nine of them are currently in the top 25. Their rank and age are listed below:

  • 2 Victoria Azarenka, 24.5
  • 5 Agnieszka Radwanska, 24.9
  • 6 Petra Kvitova, 23.8
  • 10 Caroline Wozniacki, 23.5
  • 11 Simona Halep, 22.3
  • 13  Sloane Stephens, 20.8
  • 15 Sabine Lisicki, 24.3
  • 21 Dominka Cibulkova, 24.7
  • 22 Sirana Cirstea, 23.8

Stephens is the only American in that top group of players. Keys and Hampton are in the top 50.

Currently the top American women under age 25 (Stephens, Hampton, Keys, Riske, McHale, Davis, and King) will face tough competition if they are to become elite players. In addition to the above mentioned names, they will be challenged by Alize Cornet, France; Mona Barthel, Germany; Urszula Radwanska, Poland; Laura Robson, United Kingdom; Annika Beck, Germany; and Eugenie Bouchard, Canada. Spain, Germany, Eastern Europe, and Russia have excellent junior development programs and the popularity of Li Na is expected to create increased competition from China and other parts of Asia.

It is interesting and entertaining to speculate about who the next great American women players will be. Some of the young Americans will win Grand Slam events, but most will be top-ranked players.

Age of ranking WTA players - Is the USTA player development program getting the job done?
Age of Ranking WTA Players.

Time will tell!

 

 

U.S. Men Continue to Disappoint in Grand Slams (Australian Open)

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Julius Caeser is credited with saying, “Veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered). Clearly Caeser was not in charge of the USTA Player Development program.

Of the 12 American players entered in the Australian Open 9 were first round losers (Ryan Harrison, Bradley Klahn, Tim Smyczek, Rhyne Williams, Wayne Odesnik, John Isner, Steve Johnson, and Michael Russell).

  • Jack Sock finished the tournament 1-1 and exited in the second round.
  • Donald Young and Sam Querrey won 2 matches before bowing out in the third round.

Overall the 12 men won 5 matches and lost 12.

Based on the performance of the U.S. men in this and previous Grand Slam events, it is clear the USTA needs someone with a Julius Caesar mindset to take charge of USTA Player Development.

Note:  In 2003 Roger Federer won his first Wimbledon. There have since been 43 Grand Slams Including that event and the most recent Australian Open. Only eight men have won titles during that period:

  • Roger Federer 17
  • Rafael Nadal 13
  • Novak Djokovic 6
  • Andy Murray 2
  • Stanislas Wawrinka 1
  • Juan Martin del Potro 1
  • Gaston Gaudio 1
  • Andy Roddick 1
  • Marat Safin 1

As an aside, Murray defeated Djokovic in the finals of both his Grand Slam victories, del Potro upset Federer in his only Grand Slam victory, and Wawrinka upset Nadal in the most recent Grand Slam. In other words, at least of the trio (Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic) have been in the finals of all but three Grand Slams since the 2003 Wimbledon tournament.

It is safe to say that Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have dominated the sport for the past decade.  Unfortunately, they are only part of the reason the U.S. continue to disappoint in Grand Slams. A major part of the problem is the USTA Player Development program.