Has Tiger Woods killed US Tennis?

[SteelBlue]

From the time that I graduated HS to the time Andre Agassi retired the US has always had at least one great tennis player and usually has had 3 or 4 at any one time that could win a tournament. Think about how loaded we were with Sampras, Courier, Agassi all stomping through the grand slams. Golf was an afterthought in those days. It had its fans, but it wasn't followed by the casual fan at all.

Fast forward to 2008. Woods has been on the scene 11 or 12 years now. He completely dominates and if he's playing people are watching. I think he made the rich white kids who used to go to tennis schools switch to golf schools. There isn't a single American male or female left in the French right now. Who'd have thunk it just 5 years ago?

[creekster]

Originally Posted by SteelBlue

From the time that I graduated HS to the time Andre Agassi retired the US has always had at least one great tennis player and usually has had 3 or 4 at any one time that could win a tournament. Think about how loaded we were with Sampras, Courier, Agassi all stomping through the grand slams. Golf was an afterthought in those days. It had its fans, but it wasn't followed by the casual fan at all.

Fast forward to 2008. Woods has been on the scene 11 or 12 years now. He completely dominates and if he's playing people are watching. I think he made the rich white kids who used to go to tennis schools switch to golf schools. There isn't a single American male or female left in the French right now. Who'd have thunk it just 5 years ago?

Wait for Wimbledon and the US Open before pronouncing American tennis dead. We have never done well on the clay courts of Paris. We did better this year than last, in fact. If we are shut out of everyhiting at Wimbledon and the US Open then I would worry.

Sampras never even got to the finals in the French open. Courier and Agassi did a little better, but that clay stuff has never seemed to suit Americans (at least not within my memory).

[SteelBlue]

Originally Posted by creekster

... Courier and Agassi did a little better, but that clay stuff has never seemed to suit Americans (at least not within my memory).

If by "a little better" you mean they won it (Courier won it twice) then yes. Point taken though. But I honestly can't name any American men beyond Roddick and Blake currently.

[il Padrino Ute]

He may have killed tennis, but I like what Tiger has done for golf. He has sparked interest in the sport for minorities. Because of Tiger, I think in the next few generations we'll see more diversity on the PGA.

[SeattleUte]

I heard the golfing industry is really in decline.

[RC Vikings]

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 is what is killing tennis, basketball, track and field and even golf in this country. Kids would rather sit indoors on a beautiful summer day and play video games then go outside and do something. The best young golf talent is coming out of Australia and Europe at the moment, college tennis teams are filled with foreign players, the best white american born NBA player right now is Mike Miller or Kirk Heinrich, the Dominican Republic supplies many of the players for MLB. We really are just becoming a very inactive country.