A USTA-sponsored, four-day college tournament began Thursday at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center as part of a "high-profile initiative to reinvigorate and promote intercollegiate tennis," according to William Rhoden of the N.Y. TIMES. The invitation-only tournament, the "first of its kind, is being held as the USTA plots a new course." The event includes "eight men and eight women, including the reigning NCAA champions, and offers the top finishers not money but a place in next year’s Open field and two other USTA pro events." It is a "clear statement that the USTA is merely realizing" that colleges are an "effective minor league for developing and nurturing professionals." That view is a "drastic change from the way the USTA has long viewed college tennis." USTA Chair, President & CEO David Haggerty said, "We believe that college tennis is a viable pathway to the pros. We also believe that college tennis is a great way for people to get in the sport, get a great education and go beyond that.” Rhoden writes the new partnership "holds promise as a way to halt the decline in top American players." However, if the USTA is "indeed interested in forging a partnership and strengthening college programs, the association cannot encourage top players to leave college, even for a semester, to test the waters" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/5).
STANDING PAT: TENNIS.com's Peter Bodo wrote some people will "automatically assume" that outgoing USTA GM of Player Development Patrick McEnroe is "being pushed out because the program hasn’t shown an immediate impact on the upper echelons of the ATP and WTA." Bodo: "That’s just plain silly. The player development program has not produced a new Pete Sampras or the next Jim Courier, but it’s good to keep in mind that no federation has ever done such a thing." One of the "main themes of the past two decades in tennis has been that, in spite of efforts to institutionalize development, almost all the best players come out of the 'lone wolf' tradition." McEnroe and his team have "succeeded in replenishing the stock of American players in a typical ATP or WTA draw" (TENNIS.com, 9/4).
