There is an emerging cri de coeur around America right now concerning the lack of US tennis stars. The only exceptions to this concern may be the Williams sisters, but they are so often offside and erratic that they do not seem to count as true stars.
Jimmy Connors sounded the alarm in 2006 but there has been no noticeable change since then. There seems to be a consensus that the USTA has the responsibility to turn this around, given that they make a fortune off the US Open. Some good ideas making the rounds are to spend some of that money improving school courts, supporting school teams and tournaments and providing more financial support for those players with talent who dare to shoot for the top. It is a very demanding process, requiring a huge commitment of time and money.
I do not agree with Pablo Eisenberg, that starting later in life, enjoying other sports and going to college will solve the US dilemna. in fact, committing early to a tennis career and not having a well rounded life are the reasons why Nadal, Federer, Connors, Navratolova, Everet and Graf became the world’s best players.
