Player development muscle
This year, we are in Davis Cup Group 4 and the event is played in Colombo. Most, if not all the countries in the group have the same tennis history. For Davis Cup success, a long and continuous player development approach and sustaining mechanics are pre requisites to a nation. These in most nations, does not exist within their nation’s boundaries. Overcoming these has been the lingering issue to countries in the Groups 3 and 4, especially in the Asian region. Popularity of tennis in countries is relates to facility availability, competitions and wealth of the nation.
When a nation decides to get into Davis Cup for men and King Cup for women, it set the sails to develop players with international potential to win matches. Without it, a nation will experience up and down ladder situation for decades in groups stage promotions. We have been in this unsettling situation for decades now. It has become a perpetual lock-in, without exploring a way out. A must change.
While to a nation, player development requirement is obvious, what counts in sustaining it effectively and the support it can give to live after the career. Here, even the Top 100 of the WTA and ATP players have issues with post career life. Life is not a stadium performance. Post career prospects decides a player’s commitment in development. IMG sports management group is addressing this issue. They have experts at their service to address post career path and benefits.
Unique period of life
The tennis development time for competition is mainly in the second decade of life. It is also the period in time for achievements in secondary schooling, preparation for tertiary education and finding lifeline to live. When it comes to this, nations in lower groups of Davis Cup have not found an answer in 50 or more years.
What more, in many countries the responsibility, mechanics and financing of development are borne by player families. This is a limitation. Sporadically a few find the resources and time to devote to development. These are an absolute luxury in countries in emerging economies. The outcome of Davis Cup and King’s Cup encounters are barometers of development strategy success of countries.
Colombo – Group 4 countries
Sports provides a unique opportunity to individuals to explore their own potential and to enhance it further. This self-exploration strait will stay in players throughout life. Often monetary value of sport dominates in publicity and provide misleading pictures. Players regardless whatever the sport they are trained in ‘problem solving methodologies’, this will remain as their life long companion. A great asset in life. It teaches one error is not the end of the world and one win will not be the gateway to paradise.
There are 21 countries in Asia Oceania Group 4 Davis Cup competing for two promotional spots. Sri Lanka must be the most senior nation in it (We started Davis Cup in 1950, played Canada. The 21 countries split into two, 10 countries playing in Colombo and 11 playing in Bahrain. Only two are promoted.
Sri Lanka team has Harshana Godamanne. He is in his 30s living in USA as a coach. Our reliance in older players has not ceased. When a players plays for 20 of Davis Cup, it is credit to the player and discredit to the strength of the player development process in that country.
One strong player in each team is a common feature of teams in these groups. For ITF, rights owners of Davis Cup, Group 3 and 4 are tennis promotion oriented. It takes tennis far corners of the world. ITF has relentlessly promoted tennis since 1915 with great success.
As I write this, Sri Lanka and Kyrgyzstan, with one good player, are placed well to promotion. They have good possibility to win a match in singles and clinch tie 2-1 by winning the doubles. This is the tactical approach to win a tie in Groups 3 and 4 of Davis Cup. It will not be effective in upper groups of Davis Cup encounter where there are five matches, each best of five sets. Sri Lanka was in the Group 2 of Davis Cup couple of decades ago.
America’s professional how time
The ATP and WTA professionals have completed the European segment of events for 2022 and are playing the North American events leading to the final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open in New York. The European tennis events had the pre-corona glitter and was appealing tennis with full capacity stadiums. Emerging Top 10 potential players in both gender had enough to thrill the global audience in Europe.
In men’s tennis Djokovic, Nadal delivered their share. Nadal’s withdrawal in Wimbledon from the semi-finals match against Nick Krygios did not go too well. In women, WTA No.1, Iga Swiatek was shaken a couple of times by experienced players. The US Open played on asphalt concrete surface. The present version is most probably sixth or the seventh generation. The speed of the game on these courts greatly reduced. All agree that the present version accommodates entertaining all court play to spectatorship. Playing surface dictates player development strategy in tennis.
The four Grand Slam events reveals the goal and strength of player development in tennis. Performing in Grand Slam will immortalise the name and fame of players.
– George Paldano, European and Asian competition player; coach German Tennis Federation; national coach Brunei and Sri Lanka; Davis Cup, Federation Cup coach; coached players into 200 ATP, WTA and ITF in Europe and Asia; WhatsApp +940775448880 –