American Men's Tennis Woes, Part II: Top 10 Ways to Make It Better

Yesterday, I expounded at length on the topic of what ails American men's tennis. Today, I'm giving my top 10 suggestions on righting this shi...p. Some doubt that we'll ever see greatness like we saw before, but I think it's a different day, and a different game (real athletes rule, no smoking in the locker room, etc.) and anything is possible. Without further ado:

1. Take it to the streets. If the USTA wants to fulfill its mission statement, it need look no further than its own backyard. Kids playing basketball, football, basketball (hockey?) exhibiting signs of being gifted tennis players. Sponsor them. Give them shoes, racquets, and some instruction, hook them up with opportunities to get college scholarships to play tennis. Boom.

2. Advertise the game. As I said yesterday, tennis has to advertise playing the game. It has to look cool to play again. Celebrities need to be "caught" playing it. They ought to hire people to play on the courts in populous neighborhoods and invite their friends to play. People want to be a part of something that looks cool. Make tennis cool again.

In advertising the game, I think it's important to emphasize the health benefits over a sport like golf. The move to golf as the social game of choice seems to be resulting in less physically fit people these days. When the importance of still doing cardio comes back into focus, tennis should be leading the way. "Cardio tennis" programs have picked up, but this is more for adults who just want a good workout. However, tennis-playing parents will likely produce tennis-playing children.

3. Support the ones they already have. I think the USTA should put more effort into building up the ones they do have, and expanding the assistance they provide to include the players who want it, not just the ones they think deserve it. People blossom at different points in their playing careers. People should be trained to recognize pure talent that needs molding. Maybe a formal mentor system with former players would do the trick so that they don't have to use their own resources.

4. Look here. In truth, most of the tennis academies in this country are filled with players from other countries. Nothing wrong with that, but I think sometimes the locals suffer at the expense of the foreign players. From my experience, I think part of this is because these guys who are here are considered to have "raw talent" and are pretty much like their children since their parents don't live in the States. It will take a coach or academy that wants to build their reputation on developing champions rather than making money. Good luck with this one.

5. Show tennis on TV more often. This one may be hard, because no network is going to want to take a chance on a sport that doesn't have a proven audience, and this is not something that the people who play and run the sport can necessarily control. But I think if people saw tennis more often than just during the four major tournaments, they might actually start watching it, and eventually start playing it.

6. Stage American Idol-type auditions. Seriously, American Idol has found some pretty good talent over the years. The USTA could do the same thing by holding "tournaments" of sorts -- maybe just showcasing skills -- in order to win sponsorships or "support packages" from the USTA. Then you could see who really wants it.

7. Look for opportunities in unexpected places. Here's one: At every charity auction, there is usually some kind of lesson offered, whether it be golf or horseback riding. The USTA should make sure that tennis lessons make it in these packages. Every little bit helps at this stage.

8. Make it less expensive. This is related to the first one, but involves some simple economics. Lower the cost of something, more people will buy more of it. Racquets nowadays cost $300 or more. Only the well-to-do can afford one, but every tennis player needs at least one back up racquet in case the strings break. The shoes cost over $100. Lessons are about equal to buying a new tennis racquet every week. And if you live in a cold climate, you have to pay for a membership to a tennis club. This adds up. There should be a "starter" line for tennis. Stop being elitist and make it affordable for the people who just might be the next Pete Sampras.

9. Ease up on the NCAA regulations. Not every tennis player goes to college first. Some do, some don't. Blake and Roddick are examples of two divergent ways of getting close to the top, the former having attended Harvard for a few years, and the latter foregoing college altogether. To the extent that a player might want to go to college, at least for a little while, current NCAA regulations make it a violation to do just about anything that could help the men compete. Whereas a lot of foreign players have been playing international competition since they were 13 or 14 years old, here, it's hard for most American players to play in those events because it costs a lot of money to travel everywhere and get good playing experience. (Note: The Williams sisters played exactly zero junior tournaments, but the key is not junior tournaments, but getting good international competition, which they did.) Not helping matters much, the NCAA rules prohibit players from accepting a dime for playing any sport. If they do, then they are ineligible, period. I see the point of the rule for most sports, but we're not talking about getting perks when it comes to tennis. Unlike the most popular sports in this country, the majority of the tennis events (major and minor) do not take place in the United States. Unless you're one of the top 50 players in the world and have endorsements , accepting money for winning matches is only just enough to help you get to pay your coach and get to the next tournament. Without it, it's hard to access the competition. If we want Americans to be able to compete on an international playing field, then I think the rules have to be relaxed to allow American players to afford to play the best in the world.

10. We need a hero. Although this list is not necessarily in order, I would still place this last, after everything above has been done. Not that the current crop doesn't have pizzazz, because I think the American men are quite likable, but I don't think every kid wants to be like them. Kids go on the basketball court because they want to be like Michael Jordan. They want to be Michael Jordan. Guitars have a hero. Where is tennis' hero?