What the heck happened to American mens tennis?

[Cesar Rodriguez]

Just been doing some Saturday night binge wikipedia'ing (my favourite pastime) and came across the curious fact that it is fully 10 years since the last tennis open final that was contested by an American male. For someone whose interest in tennis is long since lapsed but who well remembers the glory days of Jimmy Connors, McEnroe, Sampras and Agassi can someone catch me up to speed? What happened?

I'm sure one of the reasons is simply that other countries caught up and got better but is there are there any other widely accepted reason as to why US mens tennis has gone into the doldrums this century?

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Who was their last finalist? Andy Roddick?

[Jimski]

Last winner - Roddick 2003 (US)
Last finalist - Roddick 2009 (Wim)
Semi-finalists since Roddick in 2009 - Querrey 2017 (Wim), Isner 2018 (Wim)

Even despite the fact that the big four hoovered up many of the places, two semifinals in 10 years is pretty poor going for males from the richest tennis nation.

[Kevin S]

Always worth remembering what happened when Murray was asked about Querrey in 2017 too.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/vi...g-female-video

[Janik]

Which was ableist and ageist by Murray. And overlooked doubles as well. ;-)
Unless we are saying that senior, able-bodied and singles was clear in context. But if we are, so was 'male'. "First American senior able-bodied male Grand Slam semi-finalist in singles since [whenever]" is a clunky phrase. "First American slam semi-finalist" fully sufficed. But even if the journo in question had been quick witted enough to put Murray down in turn, it was probably not wise to do so for getting an answer he wanted for his question.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

Interesting question in the OP. There are articles to be found online analysing the contributory factors.

[Satchmo Distel]

The rest of the world got better. The leading men's singles players this century are a Swiss, Serb, Scot and Spaniard. Tennis has to compete with many more sports that require similar physical qualities in the US than most other countries.

But inequality is definitely an issue, and the fact that facilities in the US are beyond the price range of even many middle-class white families. It is perceived as a sport that requires expense.

Finally, lack of male role models creates a circular issue. The Williams sisters have inspired the next generation of US women across the racial divide; Roddick didn't do that for the men.

[Hot Pepsi]

Tennis really isn’t very popular here compared to elsewhere. That’s maybe a bit over-general but not much.

There are lots of public courts around, though maybe not as many as there used to be. Rackets aren’t cheap but one good enough for kids’ aren’t too expensive. Not much more than basketball shoes, for example. And yet it’s still mostly a rich kid’s sport.

That seems to be almost entirely cultural rather than anything to do with the costs of playing.


I’ve noticed that most of the people I see playing on the public/high school courts near my house are Asian. So perhaps the future of American tennis will be in those communities. But if those communities are cut off from the US tennis “establishment,” then the most talented young players won’t get plugged into the talent development system. Same problem with kids from recent immigrant communities and US soccer.



I’d love to learn the game, but there are apparently no classes for adults on the public courts here. The local parks and rec agency couldn’t find enough potential students or teachers. I’ll have to hire a private teacher or just figure it out on my own or join a club, which I can’t afford.

[Cesar Rodriguez]

Who was their last finalist? Andy Roddick?

Yup.

Finally, lack of male role models creates a circular issue. The Williams sisters have inspired the next generation of US women across the racial divide; Roddick didn't do that for the men.

This is a great observation. Many sports exist only on the periphery of the American consciousness unless America has a really, really good performer in that discipline. It takes a transcendent performer to capture the national imagination and this is a phenomenon that has been repeated through the ages from Babe Ruth to Mary Lou Retton, Michael Jordan, Michelle Kwan, Lance Armstrong & Michael Phelps for example. I think Americans only identify with winners.

[Sporting]

But inequality is definitely an issue, and the fact that facilities in the US are beyond the price range of even many middle-class white families. It is perceived as a sport that requires expense.
.

You could say the same for golf, but here Americans more than hold their own on the world stage.