Time for name and fame; Europe’s clay and grass
View(s):The origin and sustenance of tennis interest is European. Globally the model for events they seek to achieve is European. Simply the popularity of the game sustained by Europe. In accordance, the coveted titles in tennis is European.
Their season is with northern spring. Best of the world stay in Europe until Wimbledon. There is enough for them for full three months, in three progressive professional tiers. Thanks to methodology of WTA and ATP, Europe is packed with spring and summer events.
WTA and ATP have done well to bring the best of tennis under their umbrella with global ranking. Event use this instrument to achieve attractive status. Events may fail without WTA and ATP framework. Their benefits provide players, cities, media and fans event organisers with good bonanza. Europe go into a long preparatory phase, they cannot accommodate a failure. Media and attendees revel their presentation.
Wimbledon seats, reserved few years before the event. Even now, with world at wars, the factions of the world, willing to leave tennis alone with other sports. Respect for peace.
The stars
In WTA tennis, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus done well in the past two years. Last week she won the Stuttgart title in Germany beating Jelena Osterpenko. Both had close matches in the semi-final. The top players in both gender know each other’s game. Their form of the day decides the winner. Often in these situations, Sabalenka is proving to be one in the recent past. Iga Swiatek of Poland has a good game but not placing the weaponry well to be effective and not conclusive in winning sets.
Coaching issue
In player development, young players with experience in other discipline tend have an advantage. Eugene Buchard of Canada was a gymnast and had more latitude in the use of her body she acquired in Gymnastics. With such players, coaching will not be the traditional. [Buchard would squat at the base line to play her stroke and had no issue in recovery for the next shot] Even now, there are a good few top end players with excellence in other sporting disciplines.
Beyond coaching
In a well-matched encounter, a player faces challenges beyond coaching intensities, tactics and in quantum. Coaches, however good in player development, in global elite game they can fall short. In other words, coaches can develop players for 500 but be short in shaping up players into top five of global ranking. Good wisdom is, when players fail, players stay and coaches have to go. There is an upper plane for every player, where he or she will be alone. Novak Djokovic is there now and is trying all available, nothing is saving him. With ATP No.1 Italian Jannik Sinner, sidelined for three months by WADA, will play in May. Although WADA accepted his explanation of his team’s negligence, they insisted on suspension.
New names in WTA
There is always a new Russian women’s player every year with all the winning qualities. Their physical excellence supports all aspects of tennis. This gives them the capability to outlast opponents with quantity when unable to do so tactically.
Even Aryna Sabalenka has this capacity and good many of her wins in third set were from this. Mirra Andreeva of Russia is 17 and is WTA ranked seven. Her coach is former WTA No.1 Conchita Martinez. Spanish academies are the most popular in player turnout in the past decade. For this, newcomers must have inherent requirements.
Andreeva has the makeup of Elena Rybakina. Rybakina, a Russian, took Kazakhstan nationality for her tennis career. In sports, trading nationality is rare and there are not many instances of it.
Height and athleticism are pre-requisites to be a good player. Russian land extent gives all what modern sports need. A good coach and can add up all if player potential is high. [This also explains why Indian, Sri Lankan and other Asians disappear after an early stint of winning streak]
Land and tennis
In recent time, Italy has come up with best of WTA and ATP tennis. For a good three decades, there were no Italians in prominent position. They now have men and women in the Top 10. They have identified and developed channels streams needed. Tapping talent stream for a sport has few guidelines. Until these pre-requisites are in place, efforts of individuals will go in vain. ‘Early maturity’ is critical in tennis player development.
Tennis, being an individual sport, there is no such thing as substitution, only in teams. Some countries provide development within the country, naturally or engineered. Most countries do not go into this line of thinking; their desire to produce tennis players suffers without development pre-requisites, only the desire exists.
–George Paldano, European and Asian competition player; Coach German Tennis Federation; National coach Brunei and Sri Lanka; Davis Cup, Federation Cup coach, coached ATP, WTA and ITF ranked players in Europe and Asia; WhatsApp +94775448880–