The US Open Tennis final (man’s) 2016 was awesome. Stan Wawrinka won against the seemingly unbeatable world no.1 Novak Djokovic in four sets in an unbelievable display of super tennis.
The bad news is less people saw both the men’s and women’s events. While 1.7 million viewers saw Novak and Stan, the previous year saw 2.3 million viewers watch Novak and Fed.
Similarly the ladies event saw 1.5 million viewers, down from 1.6m a year back and 4.3 million two years back when Serena Williams played the Final
This could mean that the popular Fed draws more viewers. This could also mean that Serena Williams being an American champion drew more viewers.
If the latter hypothesis is true, then it’s bad news, especially for the men’s event which has not seen an American champion since Andy Roddick in 2003.
That would make it 52 Grand Slams without an American Champion, which is not acceptable for a country which has seen 51 Titles, more than two times any other tennis playing nation.
The last time an American male was in a final was 11 years back, and there have been only four in the quarters in the last ten years. Certainly not acceptable for a proud sporting nation with such a rich history.
The decline of American tennis is puzzling as tennis has seen increase in popularity worldwide.
There is a constant increase in prize money. The top sponsors such as Nike, Adidas, Fila, Lacoste, Asics and Lotto for instance are steady in their support and there are newer sponsors every year.
Top players like Federer and Djokovic are among the highest paid athletes in the world with only top footballers like Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and top basketball players or boxers like LeBron James and Floyd Mayweather ahead of them.
Yet while the sport is flourishing everywhere else in the world, it is struggling in USA. No American male tennis player is in the top 10.
An American playing even a quarter final of a Grand Slam is a surprise and a talking point. USA hasn’t won the Davis Cup since 2007.
More worryingly, there seem to be no exciting young talent who seems to have potential in the near future.
Why?
Apart from the absence of an American male superstar, the main reasons seem to be that it is a costly pursuit. There is also a huge percentage of tennis scholarships going to non-Americans and interestingly a sudden decline in Americans playing college tennis and breaking into the pro level.
John McEnroe came from Stanford. Connors and Ashe from UCLA. However no top player in recent times seems to have come from the American colleges, barring Isner from Georgia – and he is not a top ten player, nor a Grand Slam semi-finalist so far.
Reduction of major tennis tournaments in USA is also a factor. California has only one major tennis tournament – Indian Wells. Cincinnati and Miami Open are the only other important tennis tournament one can think of.
Reduction of important tournaments in USA has coincided with increase of tournaments in Europe and Asia. Examples are there of tournaments shifting from USA to Rio and even Tokyo.
Do all tennis players make money?
A closer look would however reveal that only three of the top 25 earners in sport are tennis players. No surprises that they are Fed, Novak and Rafa.
Thereafter there is dramatic decrease in earning capacity. The American kid is preferring these sports over tennis.
One more reason could be the growing perception that tennis is an increasingly elite sport. Cost of coaching, travelling and tournament participation could cross $100000.
If someone breaks into top 50 and preferably top 30 in the world then the returns will be worth it. But its not easy to be among top 50 and top 30 in the world?
Hope for the future however remains. The USA is a great sporting nation will definitely not like to see this decline continue. In recent times there has been an increase in tennis at the junior level.
There has been a renewed interest in tennis in New York at junior level, which probably is one of the greatest tennis cities in the world. This may well see a growth and revival after say 8-10 years or so.
Until then, America is likely to see no champion – which is not great news, nor good for the future.
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Roar Guru
"The last time an American male was in a final was 11 years back, and there have been only four in the quarters in the last ten years." Andy Roddick made the final in 2006.
Ritesh Misra
Roar Guru
Excellent Points Anindya. However i feel the college system may still play a role as suddenly from a peak of 25-26 for tennis champions, now we are seing them peak at 27-28. will gibe a thought to your points which have excellent material for research
MJ
Guest
Deleted, wrong article
MJ
Guest
In terms of TV ratings, it's probably the fact that the US Open has gone from CBS to ESPN that hasn't helped. Naturally more would have stayed with CBS for an NFL game.
Anindya Dutta
Roar Guru
Well written Ritesh and very true. I think there needs to be more in depth research conducted into the reasons, and would love you to do it. Here are some initial thoughts for you to ponder about. You talk about the American colleges not producing champions in recent times. My view on this is that given how young the top players are when they turn pro these days, it's not possible for the college system to produce NCAA champions who are also world beaters later. By the time they come into ATP circuit, their peers have had a 4 year start on them at the top level. It's impossible to catch up. As far as ATP tournaments are concerned, Americans have so many domestic sports that pay well and where they can see local heroes perform, why would spectators pay to see foreign players they don't know beat their locals in the early rounds? In Asia, people want to see the top players who are almost 90% foreigners anyway and they are much more into international sports as a spectator group. Europe anyway is a different animal and always has been. They appreciate the sport and play it plus have local players everywhere doing well. So it's a bit of a chicken and egg for America and only the US Open is important.