Tennis in America

Last week, I was watching a local sports show and the state of professional tennis was a topic on the agenda. The discussion centered around what was wrong with the professional game in the US and what should be done about it. While many of the questions/issues put forth were legitimate, the treatment of them was superficial and, if anything, did more to promote popular misconceptions rather than address or answer the real issues.

Quite honestly, the discussion irked me enough to write a post on this subject, and with that introduction, let’s look at some of the popular misconceptions about tennis in America and the state of the professional game.

Misconception: American tennis needs another John McEnroe.
Reality: It’s strange to invoke the name of McEnroe as the prototype for American players when the most popular and charismatic American player in history, Andre Agassi, is still active on the tour. Granted, Agassi has had some injury issues in the last year or so, but his presence in a match generates more interest from American audiences than any other player in history. Case in point was last year’s US Open singles final between Agassi and world number one, Roger Federer. That match generated more buzz among the media and casual tennis fans than any in recent memory.

Of course, the point is that in order for tennis to be successful in America, there must be an American male at the top of the game who is charismatic and media friendly. American sports fans are tremendously provincial. In order for there to be any interest in any sport, there must be an American team or player at the top. I can think of no exceptions to this. However, having an American at the top of the game won’t necessarily guarantee success. Pete Sampras dominated men’s tennis in the ‘90s, but his personality wasn’t marketable. Sampras was one of the most exceptional athletes of our time, but in the pantheon of American sport, he goes largely unappreciated because of his lack of charisma and marketability.

With all of that being said, if Roger Federer were American, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. Federer would be the Tiger Woods of tennis. He’s media friendly, personally engaging, well liked on the tour, and quite possibly the most brilliant tennis player in history. Unfortunately, American provincialism doesn’t allow us to fully embrace him and the sport he dominates.

Misconception: The ATP and WTA need to do more to develop tennis in America.
Reality: Plain and simple, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) is responsible for the development and promotion of tennis in America, not the professional tours. Certainly, the tours can do more to promote top American professionals, but there actually has to be a player near the top to promote. It’s the USTA’s job to help young Americans get to the top of the professional game, although this approach has only recently been adopted. In the past, American tennis players have basically been on their own in their quest to become top ranked professionals. This was in contrast with the approach of several national tennis federations in Europe, most notably Spain, in which young players with potential were identified and assisted in their pursuit of tennis greatness.

The USTA has now adopted this approach, but the fruits of the program may not be realized for some time. Community based programs have also been started, however the USTA faces an uphill battle in attracting young players to the game. Sports such as football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer and even lacrosse are far more organized at the local level and are readily able to recruit children into their programs, where tennis is still stigmatized as a sport for elites. Until quality, affordable coaching can be provided at the local level, tennis will most likely continue to struggle in its quest to attract top athletes to the game.

Misconception: Tennis should take a lesson from golf in terms of marketing (e.g., Tiger Woods).
Reality: There are two things to discuss here. First, golf is a sport dominated by American players. If in the last 30 years, there were only between 2 and 5 Americans in golf’s top 50 professional players, then the sport would be in the same place as tennis, so golf is not necessarily comparable. Second, Tiger Woods is the exception, not the rule when it comes to marketing. You can’t say that tennis should emulate the marketing done around Woods because Woods is more than a golfer. He’s an American sporting icon. In the last 40 years, only one other golfer has come close to receiving the kind of media attention and marketing dollars as Tiger, and that was Arnold Palmer. I can’t think of another golfer who even comes close to those two.

Again, if Roger Federer were American, he just might be the sporting and marketing icon that Tiger Woods is. However, it wouldn’t be accurate to say that tennis players aren’t marketed to the public. Let’s take Andy Roddick for example. In the last two days, I’ve seen Roddick in a Lacoste ad, an American Express ad and in a web banner on ESPN.com for a tennis video game (Maria Sharapova was also featured in the web banner). One could argue that the television ads should be run during non-tennis sporting events, but how much more marketing should we expect to be done to promote Roddick’s image? In reality, the best marketing that Roddick can do for himself and the sport in America is to start winning big titles. Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t seem to be able to do that.

Misconception: The ATP and WTA should market up and comers as they climb through the rankings, not just when they’ve reached the top.
Reality: The funny thing about this one is that the ATP actually tried this a few years ago and the campaign flopped in the US for two reasons. One, out of the 8 to 10 players promoted, only one was American (Roddick). Americans didn’t know who the international players were and a couple of them never really succeeded (ever hear of Mariano Zabaleta?). Second, Americans couldn’t understand why the ATP was solely promoting the young players and not Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras.

The other thing about this misconception is how can you possibly predict which players will make it and which won’t? Obviously, including Zabaleta in the ATP’s prior marketing attempt was a mistake, but how could they have known? There’s been some buzz around young American Donald Young, but he’s yet to win a set in eight ATP Tour matches. Should someone sink marketing dollars into him right now? What kind of return are you going to get on that investment? Ashley Harkelroad is a female example of the same thing. She had some sex appeal, but the results simply weren’t there.

How about James Blake? Part of the detail of this misconception was that Blake should have been promoted as he made his way back up the rankings. However, that suggestion is somewhat ridiculous as Blake was a mid-level player before his various injuries/illnesses occurred, so why would anyone believe that he could surpass his previous ranking? Sinking marketing dollars into players who haven’t made it yet, is not a wise financial decision. Sometimes spending dollars on established players doesn’t work either – remember the American Express ad campaign for Andy Roddick and his mojo during last year’s US Open? Roddick’s first round exit ensured disaster for that promotional idea.

Misconception: Women’s tennis is more popular than Men’s tennis.
Reality: A few years ago when the Williams sisters were at the top of their games, this was true, but not so anymore. While the casual male sports fan may tune into an occasional Maria Sharapova match, the fact is that men’s tennis is more popular now because the matches are interesting from the first round through the finals. On the women’s side, it’s rare to see one of the top seeds being challenged before the quarterfinals. The first 3 to 4 rounds of any women’s tournament produce a lot of boring tennis. The sex appeal factor can’t overcome that in a long-term view. The disappearance of the Williams sisters has also led to less interest in America, and quite simply, the women’s game needs more depth. From that perspective, it can’t thrive without the Sisters.

The men’s game is extremely intriguing right now because of Federer’s bid to completely dominate the sport (ala Tiger Woods) while the other top players try to knock him off. Rafael Nadal, when healthy, has emerged as a potential foil for Federer, and that budding rivalry has the potential to reach the same heights of the rivalries between Pete and Andre, and Borg and McEnroe. Unfortunately, neither Roger nor Rafael are American so the pairing seems to have less appeal in the US, but both players are supported strongly internationally.

Misconception: There are too many tournaments – 27 every weekend. Players are getting injured because there are too many tournaments.
Reality: There is an element of truth to this one, but not as presented above. Are there too many tournaments? No. The fact that there are anywhere between one and 3 events each week for each tour is not the problem.

The real problem is two-fold. First, the players need to manage their own schedules more effectively so that injuries and fatigue do not become a problem. With big dollar exhibitions and high-priced appearance fees for various tournaments, players find it hard to say no to event promoters. They must learn to do so.

Part two of the problem has more to do with scheduling rather than volume of tournaments. Too many big events are scheduled within a short time frame. For example, the tournaments at Indian Wells and Key Biscayne, two of the bigger events outside of the Grand Slams, are within a two-week span of each other and the top players are technically required to play both. This year, the Nasdaq-100 Open at Key Biscayne suffered for it by losing some players to injuries while others gave half-hearted efforts in first round losses. The Indian Wells event was far more intriguing.

The same problem could occur in upcoming weeks when there are 3 ATP Masters Series events scheduled in the run-up to the French Open.


Tennis is a fantastic sport that takes as much athleticism as any on the planet. The top professionals are among the greatest athletes in the world. However, that’s not enough to get tennis onto the agenda of the average American sports fan. In order to do that, America must start to produce champions at the Grand Slam level; champions that sports fans can identify with and be proud of consistently. McEnroe clones need not apply.