U.S. tennis missing starlets

When Venus Williams said she felt like a "lone flag waving gently in the wind" as the sole American into the French Open's second week, it was no idle remark. Wimbledon began Monday; the once-dominant U.S. women face dim hopes.

It's not only that the usual contenders are aging or ailing but that the pipeline of potential champions is thinner than ever. "If I give you my top 10 most exciting players at 16-17, there isn't an American in that group," says Larry Scott, CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

There aren't many Americans of any age in the top rankings. Only three are in the top 50: three-time Wimbledon winner Venus Williams, who is 26; three-time Grand Slam tournament winner Lindsay Davenport, who is 30; and one-time tournament winner Jill Craybas, 31.

The Tour, though, is banking on its stable of U.S.-trained, English-speaking stars such as Russian Maria Sharapova and Czech Nicole Vaidisova. "We have to market what we have differently," Scott says.

Others are more troubled. "Frankly, I'm a little concerned about the emergence of Eastern Europeans, because it's harder for them to become stars in the U.S.," says Mike Ryan, who oversees ESPN's more than 600 hours of tennis coverage annually. "The next generation (of Americans) isn't there yet."

Two decades ago the sport brimmed with Yankee starlets such as Tracy Austin, Kathy Rinaldi, Kathleen Horvath and Andrea Jaeger. The Williams sisters, who rose to stardom from the public parks of Compton, Calif., masked the recent problems.

"I would say we took our eye off the ball," says Jean Nachand, director of the U.S. Tennis Association's high performance program, which is charged with helping the best young male and female prospects become top pros.

With national centers in Key Biscayne, Fla., and Carson, Calif., the USTA-funded program runs camps where the best tennis talent can train, provides coaching and even offers grants to travel and play tournaments. An independent and supplemental program, its goal is "the betterment of American tennis," Nachand says.

Yet Williams, the defending Wimbledon champ, arrives as the only true U.S. contender. The sidelined stars include multiple Grand Slam champs Davenport, Jennifer Capriati and Serena Williams.

Davenport, a Wimbledon finalist last year, has a lower back ailment and, after contemplating retirement in 2004, says she is one serious injury from calling it quits. Capriati, 30, has a career-threatening shoulder injury and hasn't played in more than a year.

Serena Williams, only 24, is recovering from a knee injury and hasn't played since losing in the third round of the Australian Open in January. She dropped out of the top 100 in April and has fallen as low as No.108, her worst ranking since November 1997. She continues to have a busy calendar of minor acting gigs, award shows and celebrity appearances.

For the first time in a long time, no one is in the wings. Just two American teens, No.58 Jamea Jackson and No.88 Vania King, are ranked in the top 100. Neither is considered strong top-10 material, but USTA development coaches don't rule it out, either.

Atlanta native Jackson upset 2004 Wimbledon champ Sharapova on June17 to reach the final of a grass tuneup in Birmingham. King, of Long Beach, reached the second round of the 2005 U.S. Open as a qualifier and has posted a 12-11 record this year, including wins against two top-50 players.

But a breakdown of more than 20 years of WTA year-end rankings shows a pattern of declining success among U.S. teens, an age when most champions make their marks.

Last year, 19-year-old Jackson was the only American teen to crack the top 100. By contrast, 20 teens overall, led by fourth-ranked Russian Sharapova, earned spots in the top 100. The gap is growing for several reasons.

Money a big draw

Escalating prize money has the attention of non-U.S. players and makes the competitive landscape more challenging for Americans.

Consider that in 2006 the WTA will dole out more than $60million in prize money at 63 events in 35 countries, 40% more than the $36million offered a decade ago.

"It's one of the few sports where women can make a living," Scott says of the increasing cadre of girls and their families willing to take big risks to enter the pro ranks.

"I made about $2million, and I won 30 titles!" says Austin, a two-time U.S. Open champ, who would have taken home half her earnings with a win in New York last year.

The opportunity to cash in is exemplified by the career of Sharapova, 19. The self-described "global brand," who launched a perfume line last year and earns more than $20million annually from endorsement deals with Canon, Motorola and other companies, will inspire even more to take the plunge.

"Young players can see that there's a lot of opportunity for them in tennis to succeed, especially in Eastern Europe," she says.

Title IX and education

Once there might have been scant options for the Siberian-born Sharapova, who famously showed up at the Bollettieri/IMG tennis academy in Florida at 9 with her father with virtually no economic parachute.

Agents, coaches and USTA officials say the explosion of team sports such as soccer and softball have siphoned talent from tennis. Those sports tend to be cheaper to play, more available and more likely to hook youngsters.

Nick Bollettieri, whose eponymous academy has spawned such Grand Slam champions as Monica Seles, Andre Agassi and Jim Courier, says a more concerted effort to align the USTA's programs with those at private academies like his would help.

"We need to develop more of a farm team," he says. "It's not a lack of talent. It's how can we channel them and get them going."

Likewise, the landmark Title IX legislation of 1972, which banned gender discrimination in schools receiving government funding, has opened up scholarship opportunities that didn't exist in previous generations.

"The only way we will get more young players is to position tennis as a team sport" for them, says tennis champ and women's sports pioneer Billie Jean King, founder of World TeamTennis. "From that pool of talent our future superstars will rise to the top."

Globalization

The pipeline problem can't be viewed parochially. The international spread of tennis through the Olympics, TV and Internet invariably attracts more non-Americans.

In particular, relaxed restriction on movement after the collapse of the Soviet Union is one reason the women's game is jammed with Russians and players from former Soviet Bloc nations. Ten Russians and three Chinese -- as many as the Americans -- are in the top 50.

The proliferation of top-notch tennis academies has provided opportunities for players to live and train closer to home. Many, such as Sharapova and 2006 French Open semifinalist Vaidisova of the Czech Republic, have come to the USA. But others, such as 2004 U.S. Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova, No.5 Nadia Petrova and top-20 player Dinara Safina, honed their skills at academies in Europe.

"That's where we found a lot of opportunities," says No.33 Tatiana Golovin, who was born in Moscow, trains in the USA and carries a French passport. She is 18.

U.S. players lack desire

Perhaps the most intangible reason, but one cited repeatedly, is a lack of hunger or driving force among American girls vs. their foreign counterparts.

"It's the extra effort at the end of the day," says Austin, who comments for Britain's BBC during Wimbledon. "I think we're a little softer than other countries."

On the courts of junior and pro events around the world, it's noticed. "Here sports are a complement to life, rather than in other countries, where it's a means to an end," says Mickey Lawler, head of women's tennis for Octagon, whose clients include No.1 Amelie Mauresmo and Martina Hingis.

To address it, coaches with the USTA's high-performance program have enlisted the help of more sports psychologists to boost mental toughness among their most promising juniors. They have devised more structured sessions to build discipline. It's an uphill battle.

"There is a sense of entitlement," says Eliot Teltscher, a former top-10 player who oversees the high-performance program for men and women. "Kids are a little spoiled in America."

Clay courts

Some point to the absence of clay courts for the thinning ranks of great players. The USTA Player Development headquarters in Key Biscayne has 18 hard courts, six clay courts and two grass courts. At Carson, the USTA uses six hard courts and four clay courts.

Most U.S. juniors are schooled on hard courts, where points are quicker and the nuances of strategy, fitness and mental toughness are less important. "It is the game's finest classroom," TV commentator Mary Carillo says of clay courts.

How is it being fixed?

USTA high performance officials are scrambling to revamp programs, but they acknowledge it won't happen overnight.

In previous times they focused on girls at 13-14; now they are holding camps at national training centers for kids as young as 9. They are trying to bring more talent to the game by working with coaches across the country to identify gifted athletes younger than 12.

Because some promising players live far from national training centers, officials are looking into relocating to another Florida site where players could be housed longer-term.

Where once there were quotas for U.S. players in the top junior events worldwide, now they are forced to travel abroad at an early age to earn valuable International Tennis Federation ranking points. The expense of travel, plus balancing school and other activities, can put Americans at a disadvantage.

Others worry some girls are playing in too many overseas events rather than focusing on regional and national tournaments. "Sometimes it's harder to play Suzie down the street than Suzie from Argentina," Teltscher says.

Serena and Venus Williams were largely kept out of junior tournaments and away from the USTA's programs, although that is not a model most would advocate -- even Venus.

"My parents were eager that we had a childhood," she says in acknowledging the merit of that path chosen by her father, Richard. "At the end of the day, being a young tennis player is about developing your game, not necessarily about winning junior titles. Winning a lot of junior events can get you wild cards into events. But if you never develop your game, that's not going to make a difference."

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