CAMELOT FANTASIES

Regarding American tennis, i.e. USA, you all have good points.  Tennis has never been a prime time sport in the USA.  It might be 5th or 6th on the list at best.  So Tennis fights for athletes and dollars at all levels and generally comes up short.  The best athletes in the US play US Football, Major League Baseball, NBA Basketball, and NHL Hockey.  The slightly lesser athletes play in the minor leagues of those sports or in college.  So which athletes are left to play tennis?  Mostly, the guys that weren't good enough to compete in those other sports. 

Europe and much of the rest of the sporting world primarily have 1 huge money sport that take the best athletes, football or soccer as the US would say it.  That leaves tennis a better pool of athletes.   

Women's tennis in the USA is better off because they don't have the domination of other professional sports that the men have, and thanks to players like Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navrotilova and others, the women make the same money as the men today in the bigger tournaments.  So many women interested in professional sports in the USA choose tennis.

One advantage in the USA, is that one can usually find a tennis court to play on anywhere for free.  The problem comes when you want to go from recreational tennis to league tennis.  Then the costs can increase.  Usually you have to belong to a club, then you need a trainer/coach, etc..  Many play at the collegiate level if they have that opportunity. 

Still, the USA has produced some of the world's best tennis players over the years until the 21st century.  This is definitely a dry spell.  I just don't see the same drive to be the best in the world in the players today.  John Isner probably has the best mentality of any of them, but his unusual height, though great for serving, leaves him prone to injury and fitness issues.  The others don't seem to have it between the ears, or they have physical issues, or insufficient ambition to be the best. 

I'm not sure the USTA is making all the right decisions and doing the best they can do with the resources they have.  I think some new thinking or thinking outside the box is needed. Pouring more money into the Tennis Center in New York for the US Open is not the way to go in my opinion.  I think they need to put money into competitive league play for younger players to develop, something creative that would generate more interest in the public. I also think it is time to move the US Open.  It has been moved a few times in its history. 

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If I were running things for the USTA and tennis as a whole, I would go for some change.  Don't spend the money on an ultra expensive roof for behemoth Arthur Ashe stadium.  Instead, I would go to Larry Ellison and offer him a deal he couldn't refuse.  Move the US Open to sunny Indian Wells and have Larry convert the courts to grass.  Help Cincinnati to convert as well.  Have grass instead of hard courts in the North American summer and extend the grass season.  Change the Sony Miami Open to clay and fit it in with the rest of the clay season.  No more SLOW hard courts.  This physically destroys the players joints trying to end points playing hours on slow hard courts.

Then we could have a tennis season that starts on the clay in February in South/Central/North America, moves to the European clay all the way till the French Open in early-mid May at Rafael Garros.  Adds 1 additional Clay Masters by converting Miami. Start the European grass season around Jun 1 culminating with Wimbledon in July, then travel to North America for the summer grass season culminating with the US Open on grass at Indian Wells in late Aug-September.  Adds two, maybe 3 grass masters and 1 major. Then go to hard courts and play outdoors and indoors in split locations (convenient to player home base) culminating with the Australian Open in early November.  Then 2 weeks later play the World Tour Finals end of November.  No tennis from  Dec 1 to February 1.   Two full months off.

Surface continuity - Clay > Grass > Outdoor/Indoor Hard Courts.   
Travel continuity - Clay (South, Central, North America, Europe), Grass (Europe, North America), Outdoor/Indoor Hard Courts (North America, Europe, Mid East, Far East, Australia), WTF(change locations every 3 years)

Produces Health Benefits.  More Natural surface play (Feb to Sept).  Build the foundation on slower clay before moving to the faster surfaces (grass and hard courts).   On outdoor/indoor hard courts, having multi regional play will split the player pool, so that all top players are not meeting as often late in the year, purposely diluting the competition, also giving more of an opportunity for the lower echelon players to go deeper in the tournaments. Two full months off gives more time for players to recuperate from the season (unless they play exhibitions, then I have no sympathy for their complaints)

Slam surfaces - RG (slow clay), Wimbledon (medium bounce grass - like today), US Open (low bounce grass - like yesteryear), Australian Open (medium fast hard court - not medium slow)

Masters surfaces: clay -  (Miami, Monte Carlo, Rome),  grass - (Halle, Boston?, Cincinnati),  hard - ( Canada, Shanghai, Paris-Bercy) 
Masters schedule: At least 1 week off between masters, nothing back to back, and restore best of 5 final.

Madrid? Whatever Tiriac wants. Depending on the surface he chooses, he might have to move the dates.

Might have to tweak a few things, but this would be my general master plan for tennis.

Respectfully,
masterclass