Thursday, 15 January 2009

• 11 Reasons American Men Won't Embrace Tennis

  Guest post submitted by Linteria
  

  

  It's 2009, the tennis season has just started, and we're in arguably the most exciting time in tennis history.

  Roger Federer, easily the most complete and dominant player ever, lost the top rank to Rafael Nadal (pictured) last year, and many more young guns are gunning to claim spots in the upper echelons of the world rankings.

  There's drama, rivalry, and brutal competition as the pros start the new year off swinging.

  And... you still don't care about tennis.

  For nearly 5 years now, I've been patiently waiting and wishing for tennis to creep into the mainstream U.S. sports consciousness. If it has, it's only been by inches. But I think it's actually gone backwards since the previous decade.
  

  No matter how amazing the players and matches are these days, guys just don't give a damn about tennis. Leaving other guys, like me, to bludgeon their girlfriends with trivia and stats no (straight) female will ever care about.

  It's a shame, really. I've had arguments with other dudes over the 'manliness' of tennis, or lack thereof, and how that's the reason they sneer at the mere mention of its name. I've arranged to play tennis with a number of my guy friends several times, yet the only person I've ever played against is, you guessed it, my girlfriend.

  All guys have at least a little knowledge of tennis. They recognize names like Sampras, Agassi, McEnroe, Venus and Serena; terms like ace, serve, out, backhand. Clearly, there's a foundation to be built upon here.

  In my previous post, I asked if tennis will ever be considered a manly sport. Today, I'll do my own posturing.
  

  Aside from the ones already mentioned, there are several circumstances which I think are holding tennis back from acceptance the most. And they are:

  1. What's With the Girls?

  Tennis is far and away the most gender balanced major sport in the world. In many professional tournaments, the women and men play simultaneously. Sometimes they even play together, in mixed doubles competition.

  I believe this to be the most significant factor on this list for a very simple reason. Even though pretty much any male pro can handily outplay any female pro (except, maybe Serena), the casual observer perceives that the women and men are on equal footing. For jocks, this is the ultimate offense.

  2. Too Much Flair

  Some players play with style, others play with muscle. But because all tennis players are taught to play with a very specific technique, almost all their motions tend to exhibit a little bit of flair. This might be a bit too balletic (aka, gay) for most guys to accept in quick, passing glances.

  And that backup hand doesn't do them any favors, either.

  

  See what I mean? (He does this a lot.)
  

  3. Tennis is Hard to Play

  Hey, Joe Q. Quarterback. Pick up a racket. Then, find a court to play on. Now, hold that racket loosely (but firmly) in a semi-western grip, serve it out wide, add some spin to your cross-court forehand return, and remember to change your grip according to the type of shot you're making.

  Don't forget to split-step for balance, keep your eye on the ball, follow through with a complete shoulder rotation, prepare enough back swing, and always hit the ball in front of you. And don't lose your posture during your serve motion, either.
  

  There's a reason the best players started playing at 3 or 4 years old. Tennis is friggin' hard.

  4. The Tennis Physique

  In American football, players are built like trucks. In baseball, the typical player has already developed his beer gut by age 27. In tennis, the average player is wiry and averages around 6' tall.
  

  With the exception of a handful of nearly 7' monsters, baseball player-esque dudes like Nalbandian, and beef cakes like Nadal, there are very few beast-men in tennis.
  

  5. Where Is The Next American Icon?

  
  

  While basketball has LeBron, Kobe, and Shaq, tennis doesn't produce many American male superstars anymore. Since Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi retired a few years ago, American icons in men's tennis have been sparse.
  

  One-Slam Wonder Andy Roddick and pushing-retirement-age James Blake, who both reached the pinnacles of their fame early in their careers by way of sex appeal rather than skills, now float around the bottom half of the top 10 as the unqualified heirs to the Sampras/Agassi American dynasty.
  

  That's not a bad place to be in the tennis world, but players ranked several spots below them get a lot more cred and recognition than these two underachievers. And often, these two Americans are humiliated by their European competition.
  

  Americans need a Hulk Hogan-like, super-dominant, Red White and Blue icon in men's tennis to really get behind the sport in general. Too bad that Swiss guy won't go away. Which leads me to my next point...
  

  6. Tennis is Too Global

  While I do believe that Americans sorely lack a tennis hero they can idolize again, I think that the lack of one reflects the country's general disinterest in the sport more than the other way around.
  

  The U.S. was a tennis heavyweight for a very long time, but these days, you're more likely to here buzz around a player whose name you find hard to pronounce. Of the top 5 players in the world, not one is American. Soon it'll be the top 10, then the top 20. And for the next decade or so, it'll most probably stay that way.
  

  7. Not Enough Brawling

  It's rare for players to throw punches on a pro tennis court -- actually, I'm not sure it's ever happened -- what with that net separating them. As a matter of fact, even though tennis has its fair share of unsportsmanlike rivalries and grudges, most of the time a player is more likely to shout at the chair umpire or line judges than his opponent.

  Not many things look more ridiculous (or funny) than a dude cursing the hell out of someone who completely ignores them.
  

  8. Lack of Outlandish Egos

  Novak Djokovic, #3 in the world, made a name for himself over the past couple years by impersonating other famous pros to entertain fans on-court during charity events and moments of downtime in his matches.

  He also made a name for himself by being a cocky asshole. But for the most part, tennis players aren't too ostentatious. Given its roots, it has always been a sport where egos and personalities are generally undermined by its semi-mandatory, somewhat forced sportsmanship.

  There's also reasons like Pete Sampras, likely the most known-outside-of-tennis player of all (in the States), who undoubtedly had an ego, but also had the most boring personality.
  

  9. Division of the Classes

  
  

  Tennis started as an upper-class sport, and has maintained an aura of class and classy behavior around itself throughout its history. This perception as a "sport of the nobles" probably has something to do with there not being many public tennis courts in poorer, inner city areas, where baseball and basketball reign supreme in neighborhood parks and playgrounds.

  It goes beyond an image problem, however. Tennis and racket clubs are dominated by older white players and tend to be very exclusive and uninviting to people who don't match that profile.
  

  10. Terminology

  Deuce, ad side, 40-Love, let, eastern grip-- not exactly Strike 2, foul ball, or touchdown. It's hard for sports enthusiasts with not much tennis knowledge to get used to all those weird terms. After 4+ years, even I don't know what some of the keywords mean.
  

  11. Rules and Conduct
  

  Many tennis players are known for their temper tantrums, which might be seen as childish or immature. Throwing a racket into the ground resembles a toddler heaving his lunch to the floor more than it does a grown, professional athlete.
  

  In addition to reason number 2, it's also hard to play tennis because you have to rely on the other person to be honest with line calls. If that person has bad eyesight or bad judgement, you're gonna be arguing more than playing (not unlike the dude who loves calling fouls in basketball). Not many people are willing to volunteer to be a pro-bono linesperson for you, either.

  And if, like me, you want to play tennis in the winter, you're shit out of luck unless you can find affordable indoor courts near you. In New York City, the Parks Department takes down tennis nets during the off-season months of December through March. Hard to play tennis without a net.

  What will it take for tennis to be embraced in the U.S. like it is overseas?

  Mancouch.com
  

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