Top Ten Trouble ahead for American Tennis Players

Each time I scan the tennis headlines from around the world, I see a new article on the sad state of American tennis. I have not covered it much at On the Baseline, mainly because it was starting to sound like the proverbial broken record. The United States was a super-power in the tennis world for decades, but it cannot rest on its laurels and expect to win Grand Slams just on sheer will power. The US is in a tennis drought right now and the players know it, and most importantly the United States Tennis Association knows it.

Out of all the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournaments so far this season, an American has won one singles event. Meghann Shaughnessy gave the US its only ladies title of the year at the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem. You may think it sounds prestigious, but guess again. The Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem is a Tier IV event in Morocco.

The chickens will be coming home to roost on Monday when the new rankings are released. Charles Bricker at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel has already done the math and figured out the projected rankings. Lindsay Davenport will be hanging onto a spot in the top ten by the skin of her teeth. Venus Williams will tumble out of the top twenty. Davenport’s stay in the top ten could be over within a month, depending on Anastasia Myskina’s performance. Bricker estimates that only about thirty points will be separating Davenport and Myskina. Myskina can breeze through a few rounds at any of the upcoming Tier III or Tier IV events and make up that difference!

It may take a few seasons, but I think that the US will be able to rebound and once again become a top competitor on the women’s circuit. The USTA announced this week a new partnership with the Evert Academy as the new training facility for the nation’s top junior players. Chris Evert knows a thing or two about tennis and hopefully with her on board with the USTA, some key things will be set in motion to help bring the US back to where it belongs.

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