Using Coco Gauff as an example, Maria Sharapova claimed recently in an interview with Marca that the tennis culture in the United States is on a downward slide. This comes despite Gauff’s recent US Open win being met with extreme fanfare and attention. The teenager was the cynosure of all eyes throughout her fairytale run in New York.
2023 saw many Americans perform well, raising hopes for the revival of tennis in the USA. Names like Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Ben Shelton on the men’s side and Gauff, Madison Keys, and Jessica Pegula on the women’s side grabbed headlines. They could prove Sharapova incorrect going ahead but as it stands, her words have an element of truth.
Sharapova gives no-confidence vote to tennis in the USA
In an interview (via Marca), Maria Sharapova lamented the lack of a passionate following for tennis in the USA. Every year, the focus on tennis in the United States peaks mainly during the US Open. This year, too, it was not very different.
As Gauff eventually won the tournament, viewership and interest in tennis hit new highs during those two weeks. However, Sharapova believes not many Americans would be aware that the 19-year-old featured in the WTA China Open soon after her US Open triumph. She said Gauff reached the semi-finals in Beijing but most people in the USA had no clue where their best player was playing.
“Coco won the U.S. Open. How many people knew that three weeks later she was playing in Beijing. She made it to the semi-finals and lost, but I’m sure 99 per cent of the US Open audience had no idea where she would play next.”
Gauff met familiar foe Iga Swiatek in the China Open semi-finals, who defeated her and eventually went on to win the title.
Andre Agassi was the last male superstar American tennis had. Andy Roddick showed some promise, but could not come close to Agassi’s title count, popularity and marketability. There has been no successor to Serena Williams on the women’s side either. These megastars captured the entire nation’s imagination, keeping their interest in tennis intact for years.
With no global superstar emerging from the USA, tennis has lost its footing in the nation. In a country where basketball, baseball, swimming and American football rules the roost, tennis was always playing catch up. However, when Agassi, Pete Sampras, and the Williams sisters were active, it was one of the most popular sports in the United States. Now, soccer and pickleball are threatening to eclipse tennis as well. Tommy Paul recently raised eyebrows while commenting that tennis is the ’20th most important sport’ in the USA.
Tennis is low in the pecking order in the USA’s NCAA system. At the grassroots level, tennis remains a distant choice for young kids. A shake-up is needed at all levels for American tennis to get a global superstar.
Although Maria Sharapova wasn’t clear as to who she was blaming for the apparent condition of tennis in the USA, it seems that she was blaming marketers, administrators and broadcasters for the same. It isn’t just superstars, fans and grassroots initiatives that decide its fate. At the US Open 2023, there was a cable blackout which denied fans the opportunity to watch many high-profile, important matches due to a dispute between ESPN and Spectrum, the TV cable providers.
Is Coco Gauff the next Maria Sharapova or Serena Williams?
Coco Gauff has been hailed as the ‘next Serena Williams’ ever since she debuted as a 14-year-old. At just 19, she managed to capture the focus of an entire nation and got them to watch tennis with utmost interest. Williams and Sharapova both won their first Grand Slams as teenagers but had fairly different career paths.
Both became high-value superstars but for different reasons for tennis lovers. Williams catapulted herself to the top with 24 Majors titles while Sharapova was christened the glamour girl of tennis, despite winning five Slams. Gauff has gotten off to a great start and could be the next Serena as she can revive the nation’s interest in tennis.
Sharapova, despite representing Russia, connected with Americans more than most local players. She has lived in the USA since childhood and now has many businesses in the country, rocketing her net worth to above $220 million. Naomi Osaka is another player who does not represent the USA yet has the potential to connect with the country’s people, making her perhaps the last hope for the United States to revive its tennis culture. Gauff, too, will want to be as popular as Sharapova was with American fans and take American tennis to newer heights.
