The Outsourcing of American Tennis

Although some stalwart supporters decry assessments that American tennis is at death’s door, it cannot be denied that our once vaunted racket prowess is in steep decline. Longtime and thoughtful connoisseurs of the game have sobering explanations for this troubling athletic collapse. One increasingly common refrain is that the sport has been outsourced—hollowed out from within, leaving junior players disillusioned and adrift, while the collegiate ranks are increasingly dominated by foreign players.

The moribund state of American tennis can be easily documented by a host of disturbing signposts. Most apparent to the casual fan is that there is not one American among the world’s top 20 players on the professional men’s tour. Even more discouraging, an American man has not won a title at one of the four major tennis tournaments (Wimbledon, Roland Garros, Australian, and U. S. Open) since 2003. That 17-year gap is the longest period of ineptitude since American men first picked up a heavy wooden racket and cloth-covered tennis ball in the 1870’s. And, unfortunately, the trend seems likely to continue for a good while longer.

One close observer of the game claims much of the decline has to do with spots on American college teams being farmed out to players from Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia. “I’ve been fighting against the foreign player glut in American college tennis for the past 20 years,” admits Wayne Bryan, “but have been spectacularly unsuccessful in reducing the size of this giant elephant” in our midst. A former player and coach as well as the father of the accomplished Bryan brothers (Bob and Mike) doubles team, he goes on to forcefully argue it’s okay for “professional tennis to be international, but college and high school tennis should be for our American kids.”