Alexander Antonitsch - "The college path is far too rarely taken"
The Americans are rolling up professional tennis. First in width, maybe soon right at the front. The reasons for this were analyzed in the current episode of "Quiet, please - the tennisnet podcast".
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jan 31, 2023, 05:20 pm
Ten men and nine women in the top 50 in their respective world rankings. The position of the USA in the tennis business is better than it has been for a long time. How did it come about, what do you do differently and better across the pond?
For Alex Antonitsch, formerly on the ATP tour himself and currently also an expert at ServusTV in addition to his work as tournament director of the Generali Open in Kitzbühel, university sport is a very important factor.
"Meanwhile, the Americans alone currently have Jenson Brooksby, Maxime Cressy, Marcos Giron, Brandon Nakashima, Mackenzie McDonald, JJ Wolf, Ben Shelton, a lot of top 100 players who come from college," Antonitsch explains in the current issue from "Quiet, please - the tennisnet podcats". And it's not just the Americans who benefit from this system. "Francisco Cerundolo and especially Cameron Norrie also played in college."
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The ATP wants to make it easier for college players to get started
This has not escaped the attention of the professional tennis players' association. "ATP boss Andrea Gaudenzi said that you still want to support this trend," Antonitsch continued. "Namely by keeping wild cards free for college players in Challenger tournaments."
“This path is taken far too seldom. In the meantime, the game has become so athletic that some players simply need more time. There is hardly anything better than studying at a college, getting really fit and playing tennis.” Added to this is the tough competition that you get in the matches between the universities, as Eurosport commentator Oliver Fassnacht adds.
Great coaches, great camaraderie
Alex Antonitsch continues: "In one aspect, the large amount of money that is available to the USTA definitely plays a role: for players like Tommy Paul or Taylor Fritz there are great coaches like Brad Stine or Michael Russell, who work in the background Fritz also Paul Annacone. Or Frances Tiafoe with Wayne Ferreira.”
For Paul Hauser, who comments on the big tournaments for Sky, there is also another aspect: "There is simply an incredible camaraderie, like after the match between Paul and Shelton."
Korda with the best conditions
"But the best tennis for me is played by Sebastian Korda," enthuses Alex Antonitsch. "You can already hear on the TV how well he hits the balls." Which is not a big surprise given the 22-year-old's environment: After all, father Petr, Andre Agassi and Radek Stepanek are also involved.
College is less common among women, with Danielle Collins being an exception. Oliver Faßnacht knows one of the reasons for this: "Some of the players who are about to start a college career suddenly realize that they could actually go on to the professional tour."
Which of course is also a luxury problem that players from other nations want.