| From Tilden to Newcomb to Laver, from McEnroe, to Connors to Borg, the
men had larger than life characters that could draw in fans. The firmament
was no less luminous on the ladies side. They had Lenglen in the 20s,
and then later Mo Connolly, Court, King, Goolagong, the immortal Evert
and Navratilova and later, Graf. There's been no pattern as to what makes
a tennis star. They've ranged from the volatile John McEnroe to the stoic
Bjorn Borg, from the emotional Martina Navratilova to Chris Evert, the
ice maiden.
In the past decade, tennis has produced just six true stars, Pete
Sampras, Andre Agassi, Martina Hingis, Venus and Serena Williams and
Anna Kournikova. There have been other very good players in this era,
but the six players mentioned above were the only ones guaranteed to
sit fans in the stands or get them to turn on their TVs. Not a one of
those six turned up at this year's Indian Wells event, one of the seven
most important
tournaments of the year. More importantly, there's a good chance that
all
six will be out of the sport within the next few years, leaving the
desert
skies starless for some time to come.Sampras seems a sure bet to retire
before the year is out. Agassi, now almost 33, may not be that far behind.
Just how much longer he will choose to play once his greatest rival
is gone is hard to estimate. But at most, he has just a few years left.
Martina Hingis has also retired, at least for the foreseeable future.
Anna Kournikova could leave soon herself. Plagued regularly now by injuries,
ridiculed unmercifully by the press and popular media and openly missing
Hingis, with whom she achieved her only accomplishments in tennis as
a doubles partner, the beautiful Russian could decide to try her hand
full time at modeling or acting, occupations to which some feel she
is better suited.
That leaves the Williams sisters. Although both just came into their
own as tennis players in the new millennium, both have expressed strong
interest in
other endeavors, Venus in fashion design and interior decoration; Serena
in
acting. While neither has talked of retirement, both have always indicated
they won't be around that long and Serena has already said that while
Hingis may not be through yet, she could understand how The Swiss Miss
might want a break from the stress and strain of tennis, since she feels
it herself.It's therefore not inconceivable that all six of the sports'
only real stars could be out of tennis within the next three to four
years. If they are all gone, who will replace them?
There are plenty of young hopefuls, Lleyton Hewitt, Roger Federer
and
Andy Roddick among the men; Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Daniela
Hantuchova and Jolena Dokic are the candidates among the women. The
problem is, other than Hewitt, not a one of them as of yet has the accomplishments
needed for stardom, and one might say that only Hewitt, Roddick, Hantuchova
and Dokic have shown any signs of having the charisma.
Why the current shortage of star material? That's hard to say. Tennis
is
a sport that can make you very rich, very quickly and for that reason
alone,
it should attract top talent. For the women, it is head and shoulders
above
any other sport in terms of remuneration. Hingis has retired at 22 with
winnings of more than $18 million and has earned probably one and a
half
times that amount in commercial endorsements. In what other sport could
a
woman retire at 22 having already earned what Forbes Magazine estimates
at $46 million? The Williams sisters are possibly making even more in
endorsement deals and Kournikova's power to sell may have made her the
wealthiest woman player of them all.Tennis is a sport that can bring
you fame as well as fortune. While it does not enjoy the popularity
of major team sports like soccer, American football or basketball, it
is more difficult to stand out in these sports because you are one of
many on the playing field. In tennis, you're one of two in any singles
match.That's extremely important in this age of television. The tennis
dramas that play out on TV feature only two people, both of whom get
enough camera close ups to make most actors and actresses green with
envy. That means that how a player comes off on television may be key
to whether or not they become a star. Yet there is no set pattern. Kournikova,
perhaps the most attractive physically of current players, became the
most famous woman athlete on the planet, probably because fans liked
what she looked like on television. And for years, the fact that she
never seemed to live up to her potential as a player didn't seem to
matter. They not only downloaded pictures of her on their computers;
they flocked to her matches to see in person the girl they saw on TV.
Pete Sampras, on the other hand, spent his career battling the
impression that he was "boring" to watch; yet he attained
star status. That
was based mostly on his accomplishments, but also to some extent upon
unique events captured by the TV camera, including Sampras openly weeping
over the medical problems facing his coach, and once throwing up on
court during a particularly grueling match at the US Open. Colorful
actions or behavior is important in today's crowded sports marketplace.
Andre Agassi's rise to stardom began when he wore long, bleached blond
hair and hip outfits. He was the first "punk" tennis champion.
The Williams sisters were widely portrayed as the teenage tennis protégés
from the ghetto. Their race was heavily emphasized in the beginning
of their careers, something that seemed to establish them as tennis
underdogs, even though they were bigger or stronger than all but a tiny
fraction of their opponents.
Hingis was unique among the six stars. But by background, playing
style and personal appearance she would seem anything but unique. She
was a pretty girl, but did not have the kind of aura that accompanied
Kournikova or the previous "babe" of tennis, Gabriela Sabatini.
Hingis was born in what was then Czechoslovakia, which had produced
top champions before. She was actually a little small to be a top player
and she seemed to play conventional tennis, without the booming serves
or blistering forehands the sport has become know for. Yet she had attained
star status even before joining the pro tour, based on a remarkable
record as an amateur that included winning the French Open Juniors championship
at the age of 12. She was only 14 when she turned pro in 1994, yet she
brought to the game star quality that was rarely seen in tennis and
she had it from the first time she walked out on a court. She had the
poise of a tour veteran and the
self-assurance of a grown woman. She also completely violated tennis
protocol by being willing to show happiness, as well as the anger others
had
displayed on court anytime she felt like it. Martina Hingis brought
emotions
into a sport where emotions were usually suppressed and that made for
a very good show on TV. Coupled with phenomenal early success that made
her the number one player in the world by the age of 16, Hingis quickly
became a superstar.
But the road has not been that easy for the current crop of hopefuls.
Daniela Hantuchova seemed to have the potential for stardom.
Tall, willowy and attractive, she came to public notice for the first
time
in the women's doubles finals of the Australian Open of 2002. Attired
in
what everyone referred to as a black cocktail dress (actually just a
short
black tennis dress that emphasized her long legs) she made a fashion
statement that drew more attention than did the fact that she and her
partner, Arantxa Sanchez-Vacario, lost in the finals to Hingis and
Kournikova. The Hingis/Kournikova victory had been expected, so the
"story line" was about the talented new girl with the great
legs. Later in the
year, at last year's Indian Wells tournament, she shocked the world
by
winning the singles title over no less a light than Hingis herself.
Yet
since that well deserved victory, and a mountain of publicity that followed
it, Hantuchova has been mired in a prolonged sophomore slump. She has
not won another tournament and failed to really impress in the grand
slams.
So the question arises, will she fulfill the promise? That's hard
to say and it would be premature to write her off. But it should be
noted that Kournikova was once looked upon as a player with unlimited
potential, because she really seemed to have the game. She was not just
a pretty face. Elena Dementieva, another Russian beauty, for awhile
showed
similar promise, and she was taller and stronger than Kournikova to
boot.
But she, like her Russian compatriot, is yet to win her first tournament
and
that has kept this beautiful and interesting individual from becoming
a
star.
In the end, it would seem that for tennis players, there are really
only a couple of roads that lead to stardom. They have to be remarkably
good players who achieve remarkable results over the course of their
careers. That accounts for the stardom of Sampras and for Germany's
Steffi Graf. Both reached the very top of the sport, but neither displayed
much, if any personality while they worked. Or, you can be extremely
photogenic like Kournikova and have few accomplishments to speak of.
Perhaps the surest way to stardom is to have both talent and looks,
with a healthy dose of personality thrown in for good measure.
But those players are few and far between. Sanchez-Vacario, a four
time
grand slam singles champion who had briefly held the number one women's
singles ranking, retired last year after a very distinguished 17 year
career. Yet she slipped out of sight with hardly a ripple. Almost no
notice of her departure was taken by fans or the press.
Martina Hingis' recent retirement after just eight years as a pro
has generated as much or more press than anything that has happened
in tennis this year, including Serena Williams' fourth grand slam victory
in a row at the Australian Open. Newspaper and magazine reporters and
TV crews from around the world were dispatched to the tiny hamlet outside
Zurich, Switzerland where Hingis currently resides to cover her non-official
retirement. Even non-tennis publications like the slick British magazine
"Hello" devoted a two-page spread to her departure from the
sport. And
every reporter seems to repeat the same question: "Are you sure
you're
retiring for good and under what circumstances would you possible consider
coming back?"
Hingis told the French sports newspaper L'Equipe,"Stop talking
about
a comeback!" She was trying to make it clear that a comeback is
not anything she is even thinking about, at least, not these days.
What Hingis perhaps didn't realize was, there's a star shortage in
a sport
that is desperately competing for survival in a world over crowded with
sports and entertainment options. And if tennis does not find more people
like her, the reporters are probably going to keep pounding at her
door,asking her when she's coming back.There is one encouraging sign
for the sport. Hingis, with help from the Williams sisters, has opened
up the sport to more colorful personalities, the kind of people who
we love to follow both on and off the court. Now, the sport simply has
to find players with that kind of star quality. And it wouldn't hurt
if they had some tennis skills, too. But it had better find them fast,
if tennis wants to survive.
_________________________________________________________
Tony Profumo covers tennis for KNX Radio in Los Angeles and writes
regularly for this website.
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