Though U.S. tennis is far from its heyday when Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi dominated the Grand Slams, there is hope for the future, according to Patrick McEnroe, general manager of USTA player development.
“I feel as optimistic as I’ve felt in a while,” he said.
McEnroe recently was in Atlanta on behalf of the BB&T Atlanta Open. There are a few Americans between the ages of 21 and 24 who are taking their lumps on the pro tour: Atlanta’s Donald Young (No. 96), Jack Sock (No. 104), Ryan Harrison (No. 102), Denis Kudla (No. 115).
While the players’ rankings may not be high, McEnroe likes the quantity and potential.
McEnroe said the more players from the United States who are in the top 100, the greater the chance that one of them will have a breakthrough.
“The reality is the nature of the men’s game is it’s taking longer to make it up to the big time,” he said.
McEnroe pointed to the women’s game as an example of how patience can yield results. He said two years ago, the USTA’s board was asking him about the future of the U.S. women’s game. At the time, other than Venus and Serena Williams, things didn’t look good. McEnroe said get back to me in 18-24 months.
“Lo and behold, we’ve got the most (women in the top 100) of any country,” he said.
McEnroe spoke about several topics. The questions and answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: What’s next for the Atlanta tournament? The venue’s been talked about, the fields have been similar the past three years. What can they do now to further the experience?
A: First, the experience for the crowd and the fans is fantastic.
We need more Americans in there. The reality is you are going to get your foreign players. Probably not going to get the top, top guys at that time of the year.
What I would like to see is to see not only the best Americans, but the young Americans. That’s what American tennis fans are dying for. That’s the question I get asked all the time.
That’s what I envision for this tournament is to really be a spring board for a (player such as) Sock.
Q: How much influence does the USTA have with the young players when they choose their schedules?
A: We have some influence, but at the end of the day they decide. The reality is Atlanta is a perfect situation for them. It's a perfect time of the year: middle of the summer, great location, great city, U.S. Open Series. To me, there's no reason you wouldn't have every American player playing there. It's a couple of weeks after Wimbledon, it's the start of the summer.
Q: It’s also one of the few American tournaments left.
A: There you go. To be honest, the reason there are fewer tournaments is because we have fewer players. Economics are part of it. But the big events have gotten bigger and better. The mid-level events have struggled.
This event has the opportunity; the model it wants to be is to be a mini-U.S open, or mini-U.S. Open of the south.
Q: Atlanta has the self-proclaimed title of Tennis Town, USA. So, who are the up-and-coming players from the city that people should be aware of?
A: We have quite a few girls: Grace Min, Taylor Townsend …
Donald Young is still young, Jarmere Jenkins (No. 338) is doing well. We are very optimistic about him. He’s a good athlete, good worker.
Bobby Reynolds is hanging on. Kevin King is starting to win some singles matches.
Look at cities that have had pro players, if Atlanta’s not on top of the list, it’s pretty close.
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