Another shoe drops in U.S. collegiate tennis

[doctorhl]

University of Arkansas drops, then reinstates U.S. men's collegiate tennis., but it is a sign that NIL money will eventually kill off U.S. college tennis. The peak of the collegiate pipeline for U.S. pro players probably was in the McEnroe era, as 60% of collegiate players are now foreign born. U.S. pro tennis has not been a large part of the mission of the USTA. As Don Budge will tell you, money will kill this game across the globe. Other perspectives??

[neilchok]

it seems to me college tennis has never been so exciting. Lots of the best talent are now playing in the US. So not sure if this would go away, but not sure.

[stotty]

University of Arkansas drops, then reinstates U.S. men's collegiate tennis., but it is a sign that NIL money will eventually kill off U.S. college tennis. The peak of the collegiate pipeline for U.S. pro players probably was in the McEnroe era, as 60% of collegiate players are now foreign born. U.S. pro tennis has not been a large part of the mission of the USTA. As Don Budge will tell you, money will kill this game across the globe. Other perspectives??

Interesting post. I know many players from the UK who made the move to play college tennis in the US. They all returned significantly better tennis players. Tennis in the UK is a more isolated pursuit for many players and very different from the collegiate team environment over there in the US. It works well and in many ways provides exactly what many players need.

We don't have an equivalent and I doubt many other countries have either, hence the reason why so many foreign players seek to go there. The only recurring complaint you hear is lack a of technical development; players can sometimes come back with obvious flaws that have gone unaddressed.

[giancarlo]

U.S. College Tennis is really the only game in town if you want to combine a university education with high-level sports. Unless Europe, Australia, or China start to change their system, this will likely remain the only way.

What about limiting each team to just two foreign players? (This is done in professional hockey in Switzerland.) And, what if these players cannot receive a scholarship? Yes, this would likely reduce the level of play, but from a strictly U.S. perspective, so what?

Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

[doctorhl]

Giancarlo: Restricting the number of foreign players might generate more U.S. interest in tennis, but the general trend now with NIL money available is for the two big Amercan team sports (that generate all the revenue) to widen their net to recruit foreign players, especially if they are older, have international experience and are available to enroll in a university for a possible 4 years. NIL money has killed the possibiiity of restricting scholarships. In addition, the whole U.S. collegiate sports system, formerly under an amateur model, is now, in addtion to NIL money, struggling with collegiate sports betting by players as well as fans. There likely will be a push for a reluctant goverment to interfere in private system to not only save the minor and Olympic sport collegiate pipeline, but to address sports betting as the U.S. does not have the historical experience with sports betting that other countries have experienced.