Men's tennis in the United States has hit a new low, with this week marking the first time since the world rankings were introduced in 1973 that the top-30 doesn't feature an American.
Taylor Fritz is the highest ranked American at world No.31, a sad state of affairs for a country that has produced six top ranked players; Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick.
Roddick's US Open title in 2003 remains the most recent major victory for an American male, a title drought that is nearing two decades.
In a damning stat for the state of tennis in the United States, European men have won 65 of the last 66 men's majors, with the 'Big Three' of Roger Federer (20 titles), Rafael Nadal (20) and Novak Djokovic (18) claiming 58 alone. Only Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro (2009 US Open) has prevented total European dominance over that period.
"If you'd told me (when) Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003, and there wouldn't be another US male winner ... at a major since 2003, I would have said 'not a chance,'" former world No.3 Pam Shriver told Patrick McEnroe on the Holding Court podcast.
"It's not going to last long, there's going to be some breakthroughs, I hope that the guys get a little angry, and the players as a group, they get ticked off (and) start working harder."
While there's 10 American men ranked in the top-100, including 23-year-olds Reilly Opelka and Frances Tiafoe, Shriver highlighted 20-year-old Sebastian Korda, the son of former Australian Open champion Petr, as the player most likely to carry the USA flag in the future.
Korda, currently ranked 67, reached the fourth round at Roland Garros last year as a qualifier, where he lost to Nadal, and is a former Australian Open junior champion. He made the quarter-finals at the Miami Masters earlier this year, with wins over 10th seed Fabio Fognini, 17th seed Aslan Karatsev and fifth seed Diego Schwartzman.
There's currently five American women ranked in the top-30, with Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens and Sofia Kenin all having lifted grand slam trophies in the last 15 years.
But Shriver pointed out that American women have enjoyed considerable success in the same timeframe the men have struggled, noting that there's no easy solution to the problem.
"It's just not good enough," she said.
"I think it's complicated, I think it's cultural, the fact that there's so many different sports in the US that great athletes can choose from, unlike the women's side, where tennis is the prominent sport for women athletes.
"I feel like we're a little soft right now as a country in some areas, I see it in my own teenagers, the work ethic, I don't think it's what it was 40-50 years ago."
Speaking on the same Holding Court podcast, Brad Gilbert, who coached Agassi to six of his eight grand slam titles, said there needs to be a shift in thinking in the United States.
"(It's) depressing," he said.
"I'm convinced, if we're ever going to get back in the top of the game, a minimum of 60 to 70 percent of the junior nationals, in the boys, need to be on clay.
"And then the big onus needs to be on indoor tennis, because that seems to be the recipe in Europe for men. Learning to play on clay strengthens your legs (and) teaches you discipline, and then playing on quicker indoor (courts) you develop your serve and the contrasting style."
Gilbert explained that the lack of exposure to clay courts during the formative years is hurting the American men, and giving the Europeans a huge advantage.
"If you only play one or two tournaments as a junior on clay, you rarely ever practice on clay," he explained.
"If there was a lot more big tournaments on clay, a lot more kids would start to practice on clay, and I think that would help their games dramatically."
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from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/tennis/american-men-drop-out-of-atp-top-30-rankings-for-the-first-time-ever-pam-shriver-brad-gilbert-reaction/3b0215fc-6f67-4a27-99ef-53e5d835544d
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