The USTA … Made in China?

I can't believe what I'm looking at. At first glance, it looks like a rubber vibration dampener with the catchy USTA logo. But look just below the dampener, and the bag reads, "Made in China." So it made me think, "USTA, made in China", is that really far off?

The United States Tennis Association is large, with an amazingly dedicated membership. Anyone who plays tennis on the recreational level knows and follows the sport of tennis, and everyone who plays has a favorite professional player. When I polled USTA members at large who were willing to answer the phone with me on the other end I wasn't shocked by what I heard, but it was interesting. Most of the men polled said their favorite player to watch was Roger Federer, and their second favorite was Rafael Nadal.

That is what I would expect, considering they are number one and two in the world and are arguably the rivalry of the men's professional game. As I dug a little deeper and asked which player they would most like to see win the tournament, with only one exception the name Federer, Nadal, or Novak Djokovic rolled off their tongues. Switzerland, Spain, and Serbia. Not America, not the good, old U.S. of A.

Recreational tennis is spurred by professional tennis. While Americans such as Robby Ginepri, Mardy Fish, John Isner are tour veterans, they aren't the motivational force like Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were. Andy Roddick has his fans, but his performance on the court hasn't inspired much growth in the desire of people to play tennis. You can go watch young players on court and rarely do they try to emulate any of the top U.S. players, men or women.

I watched two young men in my neighborhood playing and one was Nadal and the other Federer. They called out the ad scores using those names. "Ad Federer," said the one. So it can be said that the U.S. tennis playing public, and new tennis players in particular, are coming to the game and therefore the USTA because of their admiration for players from all over the globe. This is a chilling thought, especially for the future of the professional game in the USA.

Tennis has always been an international professional sport with the caveat that for most of the 20th and 21st century the U.S. has dominated or always had dominant players. Only Australia can claim a legacy in tennis nearly as long, and sometimes you want to think of them as American, as a majority of the great Aussies have lived in the USA more then their home country now.

During the 1970s, Bjorn Borg spurred a following in tennis, but that was driven by the great rivalries with John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors. Americans were part of the top of the game, and while I and a few others preferred to emulate Borg, there were as many or more who admired and emulated Connors, McEnroe, and Arthur Ashe. Even the next tier Americans had a very strong following, with Jimmy Arias and Aaron Krickstein getting quite a share of attention. New players came in droves to the game spurred by the great U.S. players. And the USTA grew. And the U.S. Open grew.

The women's side has seen a similar shift, with the notable exception of the Williams sisters. Serena and Venus remain in the top of the women's game, and still play at a high level, but if you go to most courts and ask young girls who they admire, it's usually Justine Henin or Maria Sharapova. Understandable, as they are more visible on the tour and tend to be in the semis and finals of all the big tournaments. How many of you out there have ever heard of Vania King? Thought so.

As I watch the USTA membership grow, and as I watch the U.S. Open attendance set records year after year, clearly it's due to the popularity of the foreign players and the great games they currently have. So when I look at the vibration dampener I have, it's not a far stretch when I look at it on a whole. "USTA, made in China." Well, if not China, then at least made somewhere else.