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Michael Giltz: Sports: How to Fix Tennis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-how-to-fix-tennis_b_62717.html [4/5/2009 8:49:33 PM]
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This Story to DiggSports: How to Fix Tennis
Posted August 31, 2007 | 05:26 PM (EST)
Read More: Athletes , Sports , Tennis , U.S. Open , Breaking Living News
For a brief moment, tennis will be visible in America. Labor Day weekend is traditionally the most
popular time at the U.S. Open. And the U.S. Open is the tournament that draws the most fans. Sothis weekend is the epicenter of tennis. And the sport is doing great. Roger Federer is makinghistory, the Williams sisters are making their umpteenth comebacks, a new mini-season of eventsleading up to the Open is doing well on television and innovations, like player challenges of calls,have shown the sport isn't resting on its laurels.
But in fact, tennis as a sport is a joke. On any given week, golfers compete for a million dollar
purse, an amount tennis stars only see four times a year at the Grand Slams. TV ratings go up anddown year to year but the majors like Wimbledon and the French Open can barely compete with aregular season matchup between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees on ESPN. And anew wave of stars have arrived...from Serbia.
Given its popularity as a sport -- millions play every week and unlike golf it's very inexpensive to
play and unlike baseball or basketball or soccer and most other sports you only need one otherperson to play with -- tennis is nowhere near as popular as it should be.
That's the bad news. The good news is that everyone knows what needs to be done to fix tennis.
They just haven't done it yet. It's going to take a major figure like Billie Jean King being given realpower and about five years or so to re-align the entire sport. But if they do it, tennis will explode inexcitement. Here's the to-do list:
1. Get a commissioner - Tennis needs someone in charge, just like every other sport.
2. Combine the men's and women's tour - It's better for fans, creates better events and
provides much bigger draws. Separating them by gender is outdated, silly and spoils one of the
pleasures of the sport: that men and women can both easily provide top-notch entertainment.
3. Move the Australian Open - Everyone knows ithas to be done. The Aussie Open takes place duringthe punishing heat of summer. It needs to be movedto October and be the final Slam of the season. (Stopwhining, U.S. Open. If it's better for the sport,
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Michael Giltz: Sports: How to Fix Tennis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-how-to-fix-tennis_b_62717.html [4/5/2009 8:49:33 PM]
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4. Shorten the season - Top players are forced to play certain events to protect their points.
Many athletes are plagued with injuries and careers are drastically shortened because tennis has an
absurd schedule with barely four weeks off a year. You can keep off-season events for minor
players who need the money. The season will end in November with the traditional mini-
tournament of the top eight men and women players. So players will have December to February
off and start up again in mid or late March. Or even April!
5. Reduce the number of tournaments - Right now, players often play a final on Sunday and
have to start a new tournament on Monday. For various reasons, this means the winner of onetournament immediately bows out of the next one by default and paying a penalty (if they canafford it) or simply being too exhausted to get past the first round. This hurts everyone.
6. Have mini-seasons on each surface - The hardcourt season leading up to the U.S. Open
has been a big success. Suddenly, fans know there will be tennis on TV regularly and it actuallymakes sense -- oh, players gain points and get ready for the U.S. Open and can win bonus moneythere the more points they gain beforehand. Do this for all the majors. A clay season leading up tothe French, a grass season leading up to Wimbledon, a hardcourt season leading up to the U.S.Open and if we must have indoor tennis, an indoor/hardcourt season leading up to the AussieOpen. Tennis is an international sport and if you want to celebrate one of its unique features -- thefact that it's played on three very different surfaces -- then do it right. (I'd also toss in a tournamentwith wooden rackets, but that should be an exhibition match, I suppose.)
7. Get those cameras on every line at every major as soon as possible - The player
challenges to calls have proven a huge plus. Not only does it reduce terrible errors (which are
inevitable with humans in charge), but it's also reduced complaining and whining from the players.
They don't moan about certain calls, they just challenge them. It's reduced arguing and increased
respect all around.
8. Revisit medical time-outs - As proven in the epic James Blake-Fabrice Santoro five-setter
Thursday night, the medical time-out is being wildly abused and has turned into a de facto time-
out, something tennis doesn't need since players get to rest every other game.
9. Treat the Davis Cup like the All-Star break - turn this tournament between the top players
of each country into a real event that takes place every two years (or three years or four years) andplop it into the middle of the season. It's tremendously valuable for the worldwide growth of thegame and U.S. fans will support a little jingoism if given a chance. Right now, 99 percent of theU.S. fans haven't a clue when Davis Cup is played.
10. Tear down Arthur Ashe Stadium - It's not just the worst tennis stadium, it may well be
the worst sports stadium built in years. Most of the seats are in the upper section and they're so
high up it's literally impossible to follow a match. That's why the fans are so noisy at the U.S. Open-- they're bored out of their minds. It's so cavernous that it's literally a joke -- people sitting therewonder if clouds will obscure their view. Even the lower levels for the fat cats are poorly designed,with concrete expanses so wide that the seats look half empty even when people are in them. Theydidn't even bother to think about a retractable roof and design Arthur Ashe so one could be addedlater -- if they chose -- for a reasonable amount of money. Tear it down and start again. It's aninsult to the great player that the stadium was named after.
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Michael Giltz: Sports: How to Fix Tennis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-how-to-fix-tennis_b_62717.html [4/5/2009 8:49:33 PM]
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baldblackman See Profile I'm a Fan of baldblackman permalink
Who cares about tennis (or any pro sport for that matter)? I think all pro sports should be shown on pay
per view. Just think about how wonderful it would be not to have your faviorte shows interuppted by
overtime or playoffs? Once all the sports are off regular tv, the crappy ads for beer and E.D.drugs will
have to follow their audience.
Honza See Profile I'm a Fan of Honza permalink
It's now Sunday and I'm about ready to watch the Venis Williams And the Ivanovic match. I'm
dissapointed with the Tennis Channel, expensive and don't carry all the tournaments. Also I've beenwatching tennis and love the game for more years then McEnroe has been on this earth, only wish hewould curb his comments, this morning he and his cronys must have had breakfast of Aunt Jemminapancakes, the way they laud the black players. my favoite is Blake. went to bed early Saturday nitemissed the outcome? Oh well, best for an ole vet is calm down and watch the gals play.
Clever Screen Name See Profile I'm a Fan of Clever Screen Name permalink
Sorry, I have typed Giltz' name wrong twice now. My apologies.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Well, no one will ever get Clever Screen Name wrong. (Clever, that.) But no need toapologize -- it gets written as Glitz 99% of the time and otherwise guiltz and Giults andanything else you can imagine except Giltz.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
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Flag as abusive Posted 05:03 PM on 09/05/2007
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Michael Giltz: Sports: How to Fix Tennis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-how-to-fix-tennis_b_62717.html [4/5/2009 8:49:33 PM]
As for racquet tension, I found it intriguing since I'd never heard anyone suggest that before as an
equalizer for the game. In fact, it would hurt the game by limiting playing styles to a degree. Serve and
volleyers use tighter tension so they have more control. Base-liners use looser tension so they can
whack away. Tensions range from 50 to 72 or so for many, many players. Limiting tension to a certain
range wouldn't make the game more fun, it would just hurt players who want to embrace various styles
of play, I'm afraid, accoring to the former player and current coach I asked. It's a non-starter.
emerywood See Profile I'm a Fan of emerywood permalink
Mr. Glitz,
I appreciate the time you are taking to respond to some correspondents. It makes the whole experience
of give and take much more interesting and alive. Besides, we learn something from you ; another
perspective and they are all refreshing.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Thanks for reading. I think commenting and addressing ideas people raise is half the fun of
blogging. I write aticles for newspapers where there's little to no give and take and this is a lotmore fun.
Clever Screen Name See Profile I'm a Fan of Clever Screen Name permalink
Man, there have been many idiotic comments to this article. Glitz has come up with a number of verygood ideas for improving the game. But anybody who doesn't think tennis is great now isn't watching.
You have a guy like Federer contending for G.O.A.T., an excellent rivalry with the outstanding Nadal,
who plays in a completely different style; other guys hovering near the top who are high-quality players
(Djokovic, Roddick, Blake, et al.). The women's tour has the female Federer, Henin, the Williams
sisters, Jancovic, the various -ovas, a pretty strong field in the top ten overall. Everybody mentioned
has a completely unique style with different skill sets and abilities: the days of baseline banging havepassed (the new kid Donald Young is even a serve-and-volley-er!). It is not a pure power gameanymore on either side, not that there was ever anything wrong with that. Baseline play, a la Agassi,was about extending the points to allow your opponent to falter and, eventually, fatigue later on. Thereis tremendous tension in those long rallies. And wooden rackets? Please, everybody, stop repeatingthat old saw. Have you watched a classic match recently? BORING. Like watching basketball from the50s. Limiting string tension? Why? That's limiting how hard someone can hit the ball, like limiting howfast someone can run the bases. It doesn't make any sense. Not only is it not necessary (Roddick has a150-mph serve and all the top players have found an answer for it, otherwise he would win all thetime), it actually requires more skill to control a ball hit that hard and more skill to return it. Tennis is at azenith in terms of the skill required to compete at the top level. Hingis, a great champion of the late 90s,can't seriously be considered a threat anymore -- that's how much the game has advanced in just a fewyears. Watching Federer play Nadal is better than anything in the history of the sport, Mac/Connors orEvert/Navratilova be damned.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
I think some of those classic matches are still fun to watch. But you're absolutely right thatthe level of play and varied styles out there today is terrific and a lot of fun to watch. Everyonce in a while you'll get some extremely tall guy like Isner and the match wil be a little odd(though it was fun to watch Federer bream him down) or someone with a massive serve andno game will get through a few rounds. But that sort of thing happens in any sport.Eventually, everyone figures out the new pitcher or the new batter and things settle back tonormal where a well-rounded game is needed. Federer versus Nadal is indeed a rivalry forthe ages and the idea that it's no fun because Federer isn't wacky off court or viewers in the
US don't care because they're not American is absurd. It's great for the sport.
provgrays See Profile I'm a Fan of provgrays permalink
Equipment can adversely effect and dramatically change a professional sport. Golfers are
better than they have ever been, but advances in equipment in that sport have renderedformerly challenging courses too easy.
Why do you think baseball still uses wooden bats? Because the advantage would be too
much in the hitter's favor if they used almuninum bats.
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Michael Giltz: Sports: How to Fix Tennis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-how-to-fix-tennis_b_62717.html [4/5/2009 8:49:33 PM]
Equipment effects the delicate balance of a the competive and strategic dynamics of any
sport. Calling an argument "idiotic" is not an argument at all. Argue your case on the meritsinstead of resorting to insults.
Clever Screen Name See Profile I'm a Fan of Clever Screen Name
permalink
Of course equipment can affect and alter the dynamics of a sport. But my point is,this is not for the worse. Your baseball bat counter doesn't really apply to tennis,because while an aluminum bat favors the hitter (if he can hit the ball, no easy task,harder now than ever), the dimensions of the park are fixed and the objective is tohit it out of the boundaries of the park. So aluminum makes part of your job easier.In tennis, no matter how hard you hit the ball, you must still control it and bring itwithin the boundaries of the court. So, with power, not only has your opponent'stask grown more difficult, so has yours. This is not true of baseball or golf. But Glitz'issue was with viewership, not that tennis is worse now than when McEnroe playedbecause we have graphite and players that actually, you know, work out. That is
clearly not the case.
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Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Some have questioned my desire to combine the men's and women's tours, pointing out that most
clubs they play at could't accomodate both men and women. Simply not enough courts. My idea is thatthe tours should be combined and hit the same cities at the same time, starting with major sites whereclubs close to each other would feature the top tours at the same time -- men at one site, women at theother and they'd alternate for the quarters or semis on each year. Slowly bring the tour together whenyou can find cities and stops that have two clubs (many major places in the south and west can indeed
boast of more than two clubs ready for this sort of tournament right now). You've got to let current
contracts elapse, so it would be a slow process taking a decade. But eventually all or most of the tours
should take place in teh same cities at the same time. Eventually, you might even find venues
competing to lure the tours by building facilities that could handle both, though obviously this would taketime. But it happened with the Lipton Tournmanet in South Florida (sometimes dubbed the fifth slam)and it could happen elsewhere.
hiprogloho See Profile I'm a Fan of hiprogloho permalink
In this grave new world, tennis suffers from the same disease as the rest of pop culture---the evil-is-hip, hip hop generation which celebrates sports...like dog fighting.
So it's no wonder not very many highly ranked American kids are playing these days. Sadly, tennis, like
soccer, has become too much of a global sport for it to matter or fans to care.
In the past, equipment was less flighty and more standardized with smaller wood frames. Today raw
power rather than chess match strategy is at such a premium that most players are human baselinerball machines and net play is a lost art.
This game is a pale imitation of what it was in the era of Borg, Johnny Mac and company. Back then
the sport was more colorful from the press to the characters to the venues to the epic moments.
Give up already. The best of America has come and gone. Tennis has a rich history. But the foreign
racquet sport they play today is not worth obsessing over unless you're covering the slams in Europe.
Clever Screen Name See Profile I'm a Fan of Clever Screen Name permalink
This might be the most ridiculous post of the lot. Not one thing you've written makes any bit ofsense.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Nothing? Not even when I agreed with you that the Borg-Mac era was sensationaland what first made me fall in love with the game? Believing that when top playerscome from all over the world (and not just the US) is a plus for the sport, just like
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Michael Giltz: Sports: How to Fix Tennis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-how-to-fix-tennis_b_62717.html [4/5/2009 8:49:33 PM]
seeing top basketball players comng from China and the UK or top baseball players
coming from Japan and Latin countries is a good thing? Why not? What's ridiculousabout wanting to see a sport like tennis or baseball challenge soccer for worldwidepopularity?
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Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
I think tennis becoming a world-wide sport is a plus, not a negative. The US -- like every othercountry -- will have moments when their stars shine and moments when they don't. Butpeople don't care whether their soccer stars are Beckham or Ronaldo, whether their baseballstars are Hideki Matsui or some new kid from Cuba -- great talent is fun to watch. The Borg,
Mac era was the era I grew up in and love. But I've never seen more beautiful tennis than the
game being played by Federer right now.
CraigHickman See Profile I'm a Fan of CraigHickman permalink
Tennis is one of the easiest sports to fix for betting purposes. I think it's more widespread than wecurrently know.
As for the original post:Kudos. I can't say I disagree with any of the changes you suggest.I do think there should be more play on grass and indoor carpet because those surfaces are more
forgiving on the body than both hardcourts (too hard on the joints) and clay (too grueling, the points justgo on far too long). Grass has become slow enough that baseliners without huge serves can still
produce results and indoor carpet is well... carpet.
Thanks for the provocative discussion.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
With just two people playing, I suppose you're right about fixing being easy. That is really
going to be depressing if it's widespread. I'm a huge baseball fan and steroids drive mebonkers. I do believe it will be limited to mid-level players who needed the money. I doubt themajor stars were approached or agreed, so it will be the difference between #37 losing to#110. Hopefully. Thanks for reading.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Lots of people have brought up the idea that tennis is boring now because of the racquets and stringsand power games with massive serves and no rallies. As I've said already, Federer is changing that. Ithink a whole generation will grow up developing rounded games that use finesse and style and thewhole court just like he does. But the biggest blind spot in this argument is the women's game. I canremember the days when Tracey Austin and Andrea Jaegar would hit moonballs for hours at a time,driving fans to boo in boredom. Chris Evert was a unique, exciting talent but her game inspiredimitators who couldn't bring anywhere near the excitment she did to a baseline game. It took MartinaNavratilova, Chrissie re-inventing herself to face that challenge and the host of innovators who followedto reinvent women's tennis. The women's side is FAR more exciting than it has ever been, with a lotmore athleticism and excitment and full court play but without losing the strategy and style that can
make the sport so exciting. I think the men's side is recovering from the massive serve/no rally era. I'd
love to see a tournament played with wooden racquets, but overall (especially when you take into
account the women's side) I think tennis is as fun as ever to watch. And to be realistic, there is no way
the players or the sponsors (ie tennis racquet manufacturers) will let composite racquets be banned. It'sa non-starter.
provgrays See Profile I'm a Fan of provgrays permalink
You raise solid points and I love the wooden racket idea. I think we agree that a well roundedgame with power, touch, strategy, guile and exciting matches should be the goal.
The grunting is incredibly annoying. McEnroe is a very insightful commentator. I loved to
watch him play and he was so innovative on the court, I suffered through his histrionics and
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Michael Giltz: Sports: How to Fix Tennis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-how-to-fix-tennis_b_62717.html [4/5/2009 8:49:33 PM]
still enjoyed him.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Thanks for reading. I was NOT a fan of McEnroe in his heyday -- I was all about
Borg. But I think he's a good commentator too. Almost as good as Carillo.
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der Alte See Profile I'm a Fan of der Alte permalink
Fix tennis? too late. it's headed the way boxing & all our other national sports went---crushed under theweight of bucks. Connors didn't help it any, & Venus is putting in her nail to the coffin.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Well, like boxing there is a growing betting scandal surrounding tennis. Hopefully it'll prove tonot be widespread. As of yet, I think the sport still has a lot of integrity, which boxing los dueto rigged matches and the splintering of title fights into Alice in Wonderland type nonsense.
AmericanSon See Profile I'm a Fan of AmericanSon permalink
Tennis needs Bobby Riggs, in addition to Billie Jean King. Without Bobby Riggs, Billie Jean would notbe remembered today.
Golf? Compared to watching tennis, watching golf is like watching the grass grow. (And the announcer
whispers, "Yes John, I do believe I saw a blade of grass move.") Ho hum, snorrrrre....
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Well, Fabrice Santoro carried on the wily tradition of Bobby Riggs and Ilie Nastaste with greatelan during that Blake match. I find golf terribly boring too. And yes, the Battle of the Sexesmatch between Billie Jean and Bobby Riggs is an iconic pop culture moment -- heck theyeven made a TV movie about it. But I strongly disagree that if it weren't for Bobby that peoplewouldn't remember Billie Jean King. She is easily one of the greatest players of all time, with12 Slams, 16 Slam doubles and 11 Slam mixed doubles titles to her credit,not to mention acareer Grand Slam. Her activism in promoting women's sports in general has been profoundlyinfluential. The innovations of World Team Tennis have carried off to the sport at large andshe's still tremendously important and influential today. Few athletes in any sport have thelegacy both on and off the competitive field that Billie Jean King does.
Vajara See Profile I'm a Fan of Vajara permalink
These are all good ideas to fix tennis; however, for those of us who love the game and enjoy watchingit on tv, the sport should say goodbye to Johh McEnroe. This guy never stops talking and continues torant about his past during the matches. It's as though they don't even care what is happening on thecourt. He and his partner never stop blabbering so we generally cut down the sound, but we do miss
the sounds of the rackets and balls hitting the court.
Yuk, I wonder if others feel the same way. Let's say goodbye to John, his days in tennis are over and
we are tired of listening to his war stories.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Unfortunately for you, most people consider John McEnroe a terrific commentator. You'restuck with him for years to come. (Remember Bud Collins and the silly nicknames he gave toplayers? That drove me bonkers too.) The ideal way to watch tennis is Wimbledon via theBBC -- they don't have commercials and the commentators usually remain silent during theactual points. Heaven. Personally, by law I think Mary Carillo should man the booth for everySlam.
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Michael Giltz: Sports: How to Fix Tennis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-how-to-fix-tennis_b_62717.html [4/5/2009 8:49:33 PM]
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Comments are closed for this entrybreakfast See Profile I'm a Fan of breakfast permalink
I used to play a lot of tennis and watch as much as I could on the tube. Then came Macenroe and I just
could not stomach it any more. After a while I tried watching again, but listening to the girls grunt for an
hour or two is not for me.
I took the tennis gear out of my trunk and now carry my golf stuff everywhere.Tennis is a great game and I still play some, but watching on the tube is just an irritation.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Most people would say McEnroe (and Jimmy Connors et al) was the reason tennis became
so broadly popular and lost it's country club aura and that the game today needs more fierypersonalities. But I know what you mean. And yes, the grunting was out of hand for a while.
Chris1 See Profile I'm a Fan of Chris1 permalink
No on moving the Australian Open to October. It's the only sporting event worth watching in January(unless you're into stupid bowls) and it's the only major tennis event available in California (aninternational tennis center) in prime time any time of the year.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Wel, it would still be available in primetime whatever month it's played. But moving the AussieOpen away from January is step number one. The heat is absurd and the length of theseason is ridiculous. I hate bowl games too. Maybe we could take January to head out to thecourts ourselves?
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-how-to-fix-tennis_b_62717.html [4/5/2009 8:49:33 PM]
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This Story to DiggSports: How to Fix Tennis
Posted August 31, 2007 | 05:26 PM (EST)
Read More: Athletes , Sports , Tennis , U.S. Open , Breaking Living News
For a brief moment, tennis will be visible in America. Labor Day weekend is traditionally the most
popular time at the U.S. Open. And the U.S. Open is the tournament that draws the most fans. Sothis weekend is the epicenter of tennis. And the sport is doing great. Roger Federer is makinghistory, the Williams sisters are making their umpteenth comebacks, a new mini-season of eventsleading up to the Open is doing well on television and innovations, like player challenges of calls,have shown the sport isn't resting on its laurels.
But in fact, tennis as a sport is a joke. On any given week, golfers compete for a million dollar
purse, an amount tennis stars only see four times a year at the Grand Slams. TV ratings go up anddown year to year but the majors like Wimbledon and the French Open can barely compete with aregular season matchup between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees on ESPN. And anew wave of stars have arrived...from Serbia.
Given its popularity as a sport -- millions play every week and unlike golf it's very inexpensive to
play and unlike baseball or basketball or soccer and most other sports you only need one otherperson to play with -- tennis is nowhere near as popular as it should be.
That's the bad news. The good news is that everyone knows what needs to be done to fix tennis.
They just haven't done it yet. It's going to take a major figure like Billie Jean King being given realpower and about five years or so to re-align the entire sport. But if they do it, tennis will explode inexcitement. Here's the to-do list:
1. Get a commissioner - Tennis needs someone in charge, just like every other sport.
2. Combine the men's and women's tour - It's better for fans, creates better events and
provides much bigger draws. Separating them by gender is outdated, silly and spoils one of the
pleasures of the sport: that men and women can both easily provide top-notch entertainment.
3. Move the Australian Open - Everyone knows ithas to be done. The Aussie Open takes place duringthe punishing heat of summer. It needs to be movedto October and be the final Slam of the season. (Stopwhining, U.S. Open. If it's better for the sport,
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Michael Giltz: Sports: How to Fix Tennis
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4. Shorten the season - Top players are forced to play certain events to protect their points.
Many athletes are plagued with injuries and careers are drastically shortened because tennis has an
absurd schedule with barely four weeks off a year. You can keep off-season events for minor
players who need the money. The season will end in November with the traditional mini-
tournament of the top eight men and women players. So players will have December to February
off and start up again in mid or late March. Or even April!
5. Reduce the number of tournaments - Right now, players often play a final on Sunday and
have to start a new tournament on Monday. For various reasons, this means the winner of onetournament immediately bows out of the next one by default and paying a penalty (if they canafford it) or simply being too exhausted to get past the first round. This hurts everyone.
6. Have mini-seasons on each surface - The hardcourt season leading up to the U.S. Open
has been a big success. Suddenly, fans know there will be tennis on TV regularly and it actuallymakes sense -- oh, players gain points and get ready for the U.S. Open and can win bonus moneythere the more points they gain beforehand. Do this for all the majors. A clay season leading up tothe French, a grass season leading up to Wimbledon, a hardcourt season leading up to the U.S.Open and if we must have indoor tennis, an indoor/hardcourt season leading up to the AussieOpen. Tennis is an international sport and if you want to celebrate one of its unique features -- thefact that it's played on three very different surfaces -- then do it right. (I'd also toss in a tournamentwith wooden rackets, but that should be an exhibition match, I suppose.)
7. Get those cameras on every line at every major as soon as possible - The player
challenges to calls have proven a huge plus. Not only does it reduce terrible errors (which are
inevitable with humans in charge), but it's also reduced complaining and whining from the players.
They don't moan about certain calls, they just challenge them. It's reduced arguing and increased
respect all around.
8. Revisit medical time-outs - As proven in the epic James Blake-Fabrice Santoro five-setter
Thursday night, the medical time-out is being wildly abused and has turned into a de facto time-
out, something tennis doesn't need since players get to rest every other game.
9. Treat the Davis Cup like the All-Star break - turn this tournament between the top players
of each country into a real event that takes place every two years (or three years or four years) andplop it into the middle of the season. It's tremendously valuable for the worldwide growth of thegame and U.S. fans will support a little jingoism if given a chance. Right now, 99 percent of theU.S. fans haven't a clue when Davis Cup is played.
10. Tear down Arthur Ashe Stadium - It's not just the worst tennis stadium, it may well be
the worst sports stadium built in years. Most of the seats are in the upper section and they're so
high up it's literally impossible to follow a match. That's why the fans are so noisy at the U.S. Open-- they're bored out of their minds. It's so cavernous that it's literally a joke -- people sitting therewonder if clouds will obscure their view. Even the lower levels for the fat cats are poorly designed,with concrete expanses so wide that the seats look half empty even when people are in them. Theydidn't even bother to think about a retractable roof and design Arthur Ashe so one could be addedlater -- if they chose -- for a reasonable amount of money. Tear it down and start again. It's aninsult to the great player that the stadium was named after.
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Michael Giltz: Sports: How to Fix Tennis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-how-to-fix-tennis_b_62717.html [4/5/2009 8:49:33 PM]
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baldblackman See Profile I'm a Fan of baldblackman permalink
Who cares about tennis (or any pro sport for that matter)? I think all pro sports should be shown on pay
per view. Just think about how wonderful it would be not to have your faviorte shows interuppted by
overtime or playoffs? Once all the sports are off regular tv, the crappy ads for beer and E.D.drugs will
have to follow their audience.
Honza See Profile I'm a Fan of Honza permalink
It's now Sunday and I'm about ready to watch the Venis Williams And the Ivanovic match. I'm
dissapointed with the Tennis Channel, expensive and don't carry all the tournaments. Also I've beenwatching tennis and love the game for more years then McEnroe has been on this earth, only wish hewould curb his comments, this morning he and his cronys must have had breakfast of Aunt Jemminapancakes, the way they laud the black players. my favoite is Blake. went to bed early Saturday nitemissed the outcome? Oh well, best for an ole vet is calm down and watch the gals play.
Clever Screen Name See Profile I'm a Fan of Clever Screen Name permalink
Sorry, I have typed Giltz' name wrong twice now. My apologies.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Well, no one will ever get Clever Screen Name wrong. (Clever, that.) But no need toapologize -- it gets written as Glitz 99% of the time and otherwise guiltz and Giults andanything else you can imagine except Giltz.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
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Michael Giltz: Sports: How to Fix Tennis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-how-to-fix-tennis_b_62717.html [4/5/2009 8:49:33 PM]
As for racquet tension, I found it intriguing since I'd never heard anyone suggest that before as an
equalizer for the game. In fact, it would hurt the game by limiting playing styles to a degree. Serve and
volleyers use tighter tension so they have more control. Base-liners use looser tension so they can
whack away. Tensions range from 50 to 72 or so for many, many players. Limiting tension to a certain
range wouldn't make the game more fun, it would just hurt players who want to embrace various styles
of play, I'm afraid, accoring to the former player and current coach I asked. It's a non-starter.
emerywood See Profile I'm a Fan of emerywood permalink
Mr. Glitz,
I appreciate the time you are taking to respond to some correspondents. It makes the whole experience
of give and take much more interesting and alive. Besides, we learn something from you ; another
perspective and they are all refreshing.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Thanks for reading. I think commenting and addressing ideas people raise is half the fun of
blogging. I write aticles for newspapers where there's little to no give and take and this is a lotmore fun.
Clever Screen Name See Profile I'm a Fan of Clever Screen Name permalink
Man, there have been many idiotic comments to this article. Glitz has come up with a number of verygood ideas for improving the game. But anybody who doesn't think tennis is great now isn't watching.
You have a guy like Federer contending for G.O.A.T., an excellent rivalry with the outstanding Nadal,
who plays in a completely different style; other guys hovering near the top who are high-quality players
(Djokovic, Roddick, Blake, et al.). The women's tour has the female Federer, Henin, the Williams
sisters, Jancovic, the various -ovas, a pretty strong field in the top ten overall. Everybody mentioned
has a completely unique style with different skill sets and abilities: the days of baseline banging havepassed (the new kid Donald Young is even a serve-and-volley-er!). It is not a pure power gameanymore on either side, not that there was ever anything wrong with that. Baseline play, a la Agassi,was about extending the points to allow your opponent to falter and, eventually, fatigue later on. Thereis tremendous tension in those long rallies. And wooden rackets? Please, everybody, stop repeatingthat old saw. Have you watched a classic match recently? BORING. Like watching basketball from the50s. Limiting string tension? Why? That's limiting how hard someone can hit the ball, like limiting howfast someone can run the bases. It doesn't make any sense. Not only is it not necessary (Roddick has a150-mph serve and all the top players have found an answer for it, otherwise he would win all thetime), it actually requires more skill to control a ball hit that hard and more skill to return it. Tennis is at azenith in terms of the skill required to compete at the top level. Hingis, a great champion of the late 90s,can't seriously be considered a threat anymore -- that's how much the game has advanced in just a fewyears. Watching Federer play Nadal is better than anything in the history of the sport, Mac/Connors orEvert/Navratilova be damned.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
I think some of those classic matches are still fun to watch. But you're absolutely right thatthe level of play and varied styles out there today is terrific and a lot of fun to watch. Everyonce in a while you'll get some extremely tall guy like Isner and the match wil be a little odd(though it was fun to watch Federer bream him down) or someone with a massive serve andno game will get through a few rounds. But that sort of thing happens in any sport.Eventually, everyone figures out the new pitcher or the new batter and things settle back tonormal where a well-rounded game is needed. Federer versus Nadal is indeed a rivalry forthe ages and the idea that it's no fun because Federer isn't wacky off court or viewers in the
US don't care because they're not American is absurd. It's great for the sport.
provgrays See Profile I'm a Fan of provgrays permalink
Equipment can adversely effect and dramatically change a professional sport. Golfers are
better than they have ever been, but advances in equipment in that sport have renderedformerly challenging courses too easy.
Why do you think baseball still uses wooden bats? Because the advantage would be too
much in the hitter's favor if they used almuninum bats.
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Michael Giltz: Sports: How to Fix Tennis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-how-to-fix-tennis_b_62717.html [4/5/2009 8:49:33 PM]
Equipment effects the delicate balance of a the competive and strategic dynamics of any
sport. Calling an argument "idiotic" is not an argument at all. Argue your case on the meritsinstead of resorting to insults.
Clever Screen Name See Profile I'm a Fan of Clever Screen Name
permalink
Of course equipment can affect and alter the dynamics of a sport. But my point is,this is not for the worse. Your baseball bat counter doesn't really apply to tennis,because while an aluminum bat favors the hitter (if he can hit the ball, no easy task,harder now than ever), the dimensions of the park are fixed and the objective is tohit it out of the boundaries of the park. So aluminum makes part of your job easier.In tennis, no matter how hard you hit the ball, you must still control it and bring itwithin the boundaries of the court. So, with power, not only has your opponent'stask grown more difficult, so has yours. This is not true of baseball or golf. But Glitz'issue was with viewership, not that tennis is worse now than when McEnroe playedbecause we have graphite and players that actually, you know, work out. That is
clearly not the case.
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Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Some have questioned my desire to combine the men's and women's tours, pointing out that most
clubs they play at could't accomodate both men and women. Simply not enough courts. My idea is thatthe tours should be combined and hit the same cities at the same time, starting with major sites whereclubs close to each other would feature the top tours at the same time -- men at one site, women at theother and they'd alternate for the quarters or semis on each year. Slowly bring the tour together whenyou can find cities and stops that have two clubs (many major places in the south and west can indeed
boast of more than two clubs ready for this sort of tournament right now). You've got to let current
contracts elapse, so it would be a slow process taking a decade. But eventually all or most of the tours
should take place in teh same cities at the same time. Eventually, you might even find venues
competing to lure the tours by building facilities that could handle both, though obviously this would taketime. But it happened with the Lipton Tournmanet in South Florida (sometimes dubbed the fifth slam)and it could happen elsewhere.
hiprogloho See Profile I'm a Fan of hiprogloho permalink
In this grave new world, tennis suffers from the same disease as the rest of pop culture---the evil-is-hip, hip hop generation which celebrates sports...like dog fighting.
So it's no wonder not very many highly ranked American kids are playing these days. Sadly, tennis, like
soccer, has become too much of a global sport for it to matter or fans to care.
In the past, equipment was less flighty and more standardized with smaller wood frames. Today raw
power rather than chess match strategy is at such a premium that most players are human baselinerball machines and net play is a lost art.
This game is a pale imitation of what it was in the era of Borg, Johnny Mac and company. Back then
the sport was more colorful from the press to the characters to the venues to the epic moments.
Give up already. The best of America has come and gone. Tennis has a rich history. But the foreign
racquet sport they play today is not worth obsessing over unless you're covering the slams in Europe.
Clever Screen Name See Profile I'm a Fan of Clever Screen Name permalink
This might be the most ridiculous post of the lot. Not one thing you've written makes any bit ofsense.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Nothing? Not even when I agreed with you that the Borg-Mac era was sensationaland what first made me fall in love with the game? Believing that when top playerscome from all over the world (and not just the US) is a plus for the sport, just like
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Michael Giltz: Sports: How to Fix Tennis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-how-to-fix-tennis_b_62717.html [4/5/2009 8:49:33 PM]
seeing top basketball players comng from China and the UK or top baseball players
coming from Japan and Latin countries is a good thing? Why not? What's ridiculousabout wanting to see a sport like tennis or baseball challenge soccer for worldwidepopularity?
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Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
I think tennis becoming a world-wide sport is a plus, not a negative. The US -- like every othercountry -- will have moments when their stars shine and moments when they don't. Butpeople don't care whether their soccer stars are Beckham or Ronaldo, whether their baseballstars are Hideki Matsui or some new kid from Cuba -- great talent is fun to watch. The Borg,
Mac era was the era I grew up in and love. But I've never seen more beautiful tennis than the
game being played by Federer right now.
CraigHickman See Profile I'm a Fan of CraigHickman permalink
Tennis is one of the easiest sports to fix for betting purposes. I think it's more widespread than wecurrently know.
As for the original post:Kudos. I can't say I disagree with any of the changes you suggest.I do think there should be more play on grass and indoor carpet because those surfaces are more
forgiving on the body than both hardcourts (too hard on the joints) and clay (too grueling, the points justgo on far too long). Grass has become slow enough that baseliners without huge serves can still
produce results and indoor carpet is well... carpet.
Thanks for the provocative discussion.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
With just two people playing, I suppose you're right about fixing being easy. That is really
going to be depressing if it's widespread. I'm a huge baseball fan and steroids drive mebonkers. I do believe it will be limited to mid-level players who needed the money. I doubt themajor stars were approached or agreed, so it will be the difference between #37 losing to#110. Hopefully. Thanks for reading.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Lots of people have brought up the idea that tennis is boring now because of the racquets and stringsand power games with massive serves and no rallies. As I've said already, Federer is changing that. Ithink a whole generation will grow up developing rounded games that use finesse and style and thewhole court just like he does. But the biggest blind spot in this argument is the women's game. I canremember the days when Tracey Austin and Andrea Jaegar would hit moonballs for hours at a time,driving fans to boo in boredom. Chris Evert was a unique, exciting talent but her game inspiredimitators who couldn't bring anywhere near the excitment she did to a baseline game. It took MartinaNavratilova, Chrissie re-inventing herself to face that challenge and the host of innovators who followedto reinvent women's tennis. The women's side is FAR more exciting than it has ever been, with a lotmore athleticism and excitment and full court play but without losing the strategy and style that can
make the sport so exciting. I think the men's side is recovering from the massive serve/no rally era. I'd
love to see a tournament played with wooden racquets, but overall (especially when you take into
account the women's side) I think tennis is as fun as ever to watch. And to be realistic, there is no way
the players or the sponsors (ie tennis racquet manufacturers) will let composite racquets be banned. It'sa non-starter.
provgrays See Profile I'm a Fan of provgrays permalink
You raise solid points and I love the wooden racket idea. I think we agree that a well roundedgame with power, touch, strategy, guile and exciting matches should be the goal.
The grunting is incredibly annoying. McEnroe is a very insightful commentator. I loved to
watch him play and he was so innovative on the court, I suffered through his histrionics and
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Michael Giltz: Sports: How to Fix Tennis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-how-to-fix-tennis_b_62717.html [4/5/2009 8:49:33 PM]
still enjoyed him.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Thanks for reading. I was NOT a fan of McEnroe in his heyday -- I was all about
Borg. But I think he's a good commentator too. Almost as good as Carillo.
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der Alte See Profile I'm a Fan of der Alte permalink
Fix tennis? too late. it's headed the way boxing & all our other national sports went---crushed under theweight of bucks. Connors didn't help it any, & Venus is putting in her nail to the coffin.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Well, like boxing there is a growing betting scandal surrounding tennis. Hopefully it'll prove tonot be widespread. As of yet, I think the sport still has a lot of integrity, which boxing los dueto rigged matches and the splintering of title fights into Alice in Wonderland type nonsense.
AmericanSon See Profile I'm a Fan of AmericanSon permalink
Tennis needs Bobby Riggs, in addition to Billie Jean King. Without Bobby Riggs, Billie Jean would notbe remembered today.
Golf? Compared to watching tennis, watching golf is like watching the grass grow. (And the announcer
whispers, "Yes John, I do believe I saw a blade of grass move.") Ho hum, snorrrrre....
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Well, Fabrice Santoro carried on the wily tradition of Bobby Riggs and Ilie Nastaste with greatelan during that Blake match. I find golf terribly boring too. And yes, the Battle of the Sexesmatch between Billie Jean and Bobby Riggs is an iconic pop culture moment -- heck theyeven made a TV movie about it. But I strongly disagree that if it weren't for Bobby that peoplewouldn't remember Billie Jean King. She is easily one of the greatest players of all time, with12 Slams, 16 Slam doubles and 11 Slam mixed doubles titles to her credit,not to mention acareer Grand Slam. Her activism in promoting women's sports in general has been profoundlyinfluential. The innovations of World Team Tennis have carried off to the sport at large andshe's still tremendously important and influential today. Few athletes in any sport have thelegacy both on and off the competitive field that Billie Jean King does.
Vajara See Profile I'm a Fan of Vajara permalink
These are all good ideas to fix tennis; however, for those of us who love the game and enjoy watchingit on tv, the sport should say goodbye to Johh McEnroe. This guy never stops talking and continues torant about his past during the matches. It's as though they don't even care what is happening on thecourt. He and his partner never stop blabbering so we generally cut down the sound, but we do miss
the sounds of the rackets and balls hitting the court.
Yuk, I wonder if others feel the same way. Let's say goodbye to John, his days in tennis are over and
we are tired of listening to his war stories.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Unfortunately for you, most people consider John McEnroe a terrific commentator. You'restuck with him for years to come. (Remember Bud Collins and the silly nicknames he gave toplayers? That drove me bonkers too.) The ideal way to watch tennis is Wimbledon via theBBC -- they don't have commercials and the commentators usually remain silent during theactual points. Heaven. Personally, by law I think Mary Carillo should man the booth for everySlam.
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Michael Giltz: Sports: How to Fix Tennis
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-giltz/sports-how-to-fix-tennis_b_62717.html [4/5/2009 8:49:33 PM]
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Comments are closed for this entrybreakfast See Profile I'm a Fan of breakfast permalink
I used to play a lot of tennis and watch as much as I could on the tube. Then came Macenroe and I just
could not stomach it any more. After a while I tried watching again, but listening to the girls grunt for an
hour or two is not for me.
I took the tennis gear out of my trunk and now carry my golf stuff everywhere.Tennis is a great game and I still play some, but watching on the tube is just an irritation.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Most people would say McEnroe (and Jimmy Connors et al) was the reason tennis became
so broadly popular and lost it's country club aura and that the game today needs more fierypersonalities. But I know what you mean. And yes, the grunting was out of hand for a while.
Chris1 See Profile I'm a Fan of Chris1 permalink
No on moving the Australian Open to October. It's the only sporting event worth watching in January(unless you're into stupid bowls) and it's the only major tennis event available in California (aninternational tennis center) in prime time any time of the year.
Michael Giltz See Profile I'm a Fan of Michael Giltz permalink
Wel, it would still be available in primetime whatever month it's played. But moving the AussieOpen away from January is step number one. The heat is absurd and the length of theseason is ridiculous. I hate bowl games too. Maybe we could take January to head out to thecourts ourselves?
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