It's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll

"Ridin' down the highway' to a show ....Stop in all the by-ways...playing rock and roll" A well known AC/DC song might be the anthem for many young tennis players trying to make the grade to become a pro tennis player. Players that make the top 25 Male of Female ranks make good money,but it's a hard road to get there and many have failed.I was asked the question on my blog how local juniors are shaping up to say a Marina Erakovic who is an exception in the modern era of Pro tennis players from New Zealand being ranked in the top 50 female players in the world .I have to say none at this stage in my opinion are in the Erakovic class.Marina did very well in the Junior ITF grade consistently making quarters,semi's and finals of Grade A and Grade 1 Junior ITFS. Whilst achieving this ,it is no guarantee to transgress to the pro rankings however it's certainly a good start.To know where one sits in a realistic ranking amongst peers you have to study results and know that a few top 50 junior players are not going to make top 100 men or women .These players accumulate lots of points locally but when they step up to the bigger tournaments on the other side of the world are found wanting. You can check Marina's junior record at this linK. Many of the junior girls semi finalists in Paris have WTA rankings and obviously have been winning matches not just in the junior grade but on the senior circuit.A 15 year old qualifier reached the semis with the hard fact of what depth there is in Europe.I guess there are a few juniors that stay within the comfort zone of just playing juniors....I think playing too many can be a detriment and certainly gives you a false sense of security and especially for girls the sooner you step up the better...this will then make or break your career. There will be no New Zealand player in my lifetime winning the French Open.And here's a serve for the NZ tennis website...really guys headlining meaningless doubles events as major achievements ....who cares at the end of the end of the day it's singles that count. On a positive note however Queenstown’s Ben Mclachlan, who currently attends California Bears US College, has picked up his first ATP point at the US$15,000 Men’s Futures in Sacramento.Ben has had a great year tennis wise with the bears and results such as this all goes well for the future.


I tell you folks
It's harder than it looks
It's a long way to the top
If you wanna rock 'n' rollU
It's a long way to the top
If you wanna rock 'n' roll
If you think it's easy doin' one night stands
Try playin' in a rock roll band
It's a long way to the top
If you wanna rock 'n' roll