What is Up With Tennis in The US Right Now?

Question

Despite the (from what I heard) incredible match between Nadal and Federer, the sport still suffers in the US. Here is my (somewhat tongue in cheek) take on the whole thing

http://thoughtsfromthejockstrap.blogspot.com/2008/06/why-tennis-sucks.html

What do you guys feel about it?

Answer 1

dude i seriously believe that what u say sorta... actually... is true. I was thinking that about the William sisters and how they care more about designing cloth than playing tennis.... yet still beat girls that actually want to win. that just pisses me off (and the cloth they design looks like ****). The other thing I believe is true is that for this Wimbledon, it started b4 i was even beginning to sleep....  and then the tennis ppl complain so much that tennis is so underrated....  

so in general... that article is true.

Answer 2

are you talking about the sport’s popularity or the lack of top players or both?

we have 10 players from the USA in the top 100.

is there another country with more? i guess spain has 12.

http://www.atptennis.com/3/en/rankings/e...

reading your blog, point #2 is most relevant, as far as i can tell. certain personalities made certain sports popular for their time...larry bird, magic johnson and michael jordan = NBA. since they're passing NBA popularity is down. currently Tiger Woods = Golf and there is no doubt that he made golf what it is today. there is also no doubt that tiger and golf have chipped away at tennis' popularity over the past 12 year.

for me, McEnroe put spice into an otherwise bland game back in the late 70's early 80's. As we can see with Tiger and Golf, it only takes one sensational personality to revive an entire industry.

Are we experiencing a tennis lul? is it not as popular today as it's been in years past? I'm not entirely sure. It would be nice to see some statistics on the matter. It certainly seems that the sport was more popular in the 80’s, but that’s when I was playing, so I may be blinded.

i'd say that the game is more one-dimensional today, too. you made note of the art of the game. i'm not entirely sure of how much the racket comes into play in all of it? But it seems to me that players choose to stay back and pound away, rather than make there way into the net . is this because they fear getting passed because passing shots are more effective with today’s rackets, or is it that they just haven't honed their game to hitting the killer approach shot which sets up the incredible volley for a winner? i'm not entirely sure, but the game (in general) seems boring these days. i wish some American players would start playing the game differently, taking more chances and getting to the net. actually training to be an all-court player that pounces on short balls, that creates openings and through superior athletic ability, takes to the net, knocks off any passing shot or topspin lob, and ends the opponent's monotonous play from the backcourt.

Answer 3

3 reasons:

1. Theres a huge decline in talent on the mens side for the US players. Venus and Serena can still play, as we saw last week, but womens tennis isnt as entertaining as mens. And the sad thing is that the us mens players are all pretty talented. They just cant win tournaments. And it may take a while before we get another crazy good american tennis player that can at least win something.

2. American sports fans are also to blame for this though... Some people have a huge problem with liking athletes from another country, but i, personally, dont have a problem with it at all. Most of my favorite athletes are from other countries. And ive realized that american athletes dont have to rule the world of sports in America. Why do we have a problem with Nadal or Federer being great and Andy Roddick getting crushed by them. If Andy really wants to be a great player and bring tennis out of its state then he should step up and beat somebody, but its getting too late for him. Hes like 26. And I guess it destroys our pride in a way because we dont like the fact that one of us is out there getting beat by someone other than another american.

3(kinda goes with number 2).

In america we have football..... And that sport pretty much dominates in america and unlike other sports such as tennis, hockey, soccer, and other sports that americans dont really watch that much, it is primarily americans. Im not even sure if they have anybody from another country in it cuz i think its just an american sport. Idk. But it has a lot more Americans. And people can usually take pride in the fact that no matter who wins, theyre almost always going to be American or there at least from an American team.

So pretty much its all because we have no americans. And its not a contact sport either, like basketball and football. I think americans like hitting or contact of some sort. And i read your blog and tennis is not a weenie sport. If you play it right against actual competition, then it can really be tough. And golf took over because of tiger woods. I mean, Seriously..... Golf. I love tennis. Its the one thing that i look forward to during the summer and i actually get up on time (partially because i have to) to watch the Wimbledon coverage which starts at 6 where i am but the good matches dont start til about 10. So i dont see the problem unless u like to sleep in late which a lot of people do. And its just as competitive as any other sport... maybe more.