Dollars and SENSE for Tennis Players

Ok don't believe anyone that tells you that Tennis is cheap to play ....once you get good at it,TENNIS is a an expensive sport !! and costs are huge. We miss many talented athletes that start in tennis only for parents to find out that to succeed at a high level the cost is beyond them.Tennis is a unique sport its an individual sport and for most its an elite sport for those that can afford it outside the local Saturday Morning Junior Interclub.How many juniors would have made it had they had the financial support available to them.There are not too many success story's with out a major financial commitment by families to get to the top.Of course when you do the rewards are great.Getting there is the hardest part.Grasshoppers is bringing in new kids to the system but what is in place to keep these juniors in the sport.Statistics will show we will lose 70% of these juniors by the time they reach 14 years of age.The drop off from 14-17 years is again huge!

Lets break it down with different types of player's starting with

1.The Novice Player - Ok for a start lets get that player ready to play. Initial cost will include EQUIPMENT ,New Racquet  a good junior racquet will set you back $200 NZ ,shoes $120.00,attire another $100.00 so all up $420.00 to get you started. Ok then you have to join a club $50-$100 depending on location and you have to take some group tennis lesson at around $150.00 a term.( two terms) So $420 for equipment $100 for club membership and $300 for two terms of group coaching. Outlay for the year is $820.00.

2.THE REGIONAL PLAYER -To make a regional team for say a National teams event you will of course upgraded your tennis racquet and because you will be playing more events tournaments and local events you of course will break strings more regular.So you will need two racquets which will set you back $800.00.Don't forget the new Racquet bag $100.00 ,At least 5 restrings  a year $200.00 ,the more specialized coaching from $50-$70 an hour and usually at the very least juniors will take an hour lesson per week .Do your maths over 48 weeks of the year.Now you are going to tournaments outside your local area also accommodation transport etc. So you wont get much change out of $3500.00

THE NATIONALLY RANKED JUNIOR- These juniors are winning National titles or ranked in the top 10 of their age group in the country.Juniors are committed to tennis everyday of the week.Most juniors are having 3 Individuals with their private Coach and doing at least 3 squads a week.Also they are travelling oversea's and ITF junior tournaments.There will be not much change from $16,000.00.And that is just for 1 year taking in Travelling Coaching Accommodation and equipment and clothes.

So you are Now on the Circuit - Ok you are now stepping up to ITF Men's and Women 's Futures  tournaments.These events are world wide and it is fact you cannot stay in New Zealand to get ahead and you will need to travel so lets keep your first year basic, Airfares etc 10,000.00 Food $3,500.00 Coach at $100 @ day 100 days 10,000.00 ,Car Hire /and Local travel $3000.00. I have roughly based it on playing tournament's in the USA ,Mexico,Spain,Canada and UK. Now many cannot afford a coach so do it independently and unless your Roger Federer you will not survive. So a basic year figure is around $30,000.00. You are playing mostly qualifying and not eligible for Main Draw benefits. Once you do start making Main Draw's at the Futures and challengers it gets a little easier...but unless you win a few not much!  

By the time you are 21 I would hate to add up the amount of money that has been spent.The fact is and you can look at the Journey men and women competing in these events trying to get a break and a decent World ranking many will fall by the wayside simply because they cannot afford the expense.

I see so many talented juniors that I know do not have the money behind them to further their talent have to leave the game and I see many Top ranked juniors that have been "spoon fed" fall beside the way side because it has been Mummy Money that has got them too a false ranking and cant handle the heat when it gets tough.

Nations like New Zealand have to single out these players with drive and determination and back them ,too much waste is on players that never will be appearing in Main draws at the Grandslam's. I'm sorry but if your a female and you haven't reached the top 100 by 20 forget it. And men at 26 and  if you haven't cracked the top 150 by then forget it it also.We have to do better in nurturing the younger player's and to educate these juniors and parents on how disciplined you must be with training.I have to say that you only have to look at some of the Face book pages and you will see how the drinking culture for younger people take over and that includes our so called talented juniors.Can we change a culture ,this I am not so sure.!

Please be free to comment on costs and problems you are faced with in trying to get ahead with your tennis .Attach to this post.

Day 3 French Open Tennis Picks

Not bad with the Ladies picks yesterday but average with the Men's.Match of the day was Andy Murray coming from 2 sets down against Gasquet.Murray is very like Hewitt with his berating of his supporters box when things are not going well.I picked around 21 Ladies winners yesterday but Men's wise did not fare so good with only around 17.A few seeds exited the Men's draw yesterday ...guys you would think would do a little better on Clay made their exit among those Robredo and Lopez.
Well here goes with today's pick again my selections are in bold.
Ladies Singles

Justine Henin(BEL)[22]vs Tsvetana Pironkova(BUL)
Marion Bartoli(FRA)[13] v Maria Elena Camerin(ITA)
Dinara Safina(RUS)[9] vs. Kimiko Date Krumm(JPN)
Maria Sharapova(RUS)[12] vs. Ksenia Pervak(RUS)
Alize Cornet(FRA) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova(RUS)[29]
Sandra Zahlavova(CZE) vs. Yanina Wickmayer(BEL)[16]
Daniela Hantuchova(SVK)[23] vs. Tamarine Tanasugarn(THA)
Ayumi Morita(JPN) vs. Kirsten Flipkens(BEL)
Mariana Duque Marino(COL) vs. Sybille Bammer(AUT)
Katie O'brien(GBR) vs. Jill Craybas(USA)
Jarmila Groth(AUS) vs. Yung-Jan Chan(TPE)
Klara Zakopalova(CZE) vs. Katarina Srebotnik(SLO)
Anastasia Pivovarova(RUS) vs. Ioana Raluca Olaru(ROU)
Shahar Peer(ISR)[18] vs. Nuria Llagostera Vives(ESP)
Vania King(USA) vs. Bethanie Mattek-Sands(USA)
Jie Zheng(CHN)[25] vs. Ekaterina Bychkova(RUS)
Shenay Perry(USA) vs. Olivia Sanchez(FRA)
Anastasia Rodionova(AUS) vs. Ekaterina Makarova(RUS)
Olga Govortsova(BLR) vs. Carla Suarez Navarro(ESP)
Alberta Brianti(ITA) vs. Vera Zvonareva(RUS)[21]

Mens Singles
Andy Roddick(USA)[6] vs. Jarkko Nieminen(FIN) * going for an upset here, just know that Roddick will go out early maybe not this early but is a hard forst round match up.
Lleyton Hewitt(AUS)[28] vs. Jeremy Chardy(FRA) *not looking great for the Aussie Battler , probably will go out first round but can't bring myself to go against him.
Fernando Verdasco(ESP)[7] vs. Igor Kunitsyn(RUS)
Gianni Mina(FRA) vs. Rafael Nadal(ESP)[2]
Mischa Zverev(GER) vs. Nicolas Mahut(FRA)
Juan Carlos Ferrero(ESP)[16] vs. Pablo Cuevas(URU)
Robby Ginepri(USA) vs. Sam Querrey(USA)[18]
David Guez(FRA) vs. David Ferrer(ESP)[9]
Jurgen Melzer(AUT)[22] vs. Dudi Sela(ISR)
Marc Gicquel(FRA) vs. Pere Riba(ESP)
Santiago Ventura(ESP) vs. Andreas Seppi(ITA)
Eduardo Schwank(ARG) vs. Blaz Kavcic(SLO)
Karol Beck(SVK) vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber(GER)[30]
Denis Istomin(UZB) vs. Benjamin Becker(GER)
Grega Zemlja(SLO) vs. Juan Monaco(ARG)[26]
Florent Serra(FRA) vs. Michael Russell(USA)
Teimuraz Gabashvili(RUS) vs. Daniel Koellerer(AUT)
Horacio Zeballos(ARG) vs. Martin Fischer(AUT)
Potito Starace(ITA) vs. Illya Marchenko(UKR)
Xavier Malisse(BEL) vs. Simon Greul(GER)

Well that's it for Day 3 a few good match ups and of course Rafa on court finally.

The Long Road Home is Near the End, Federer Vs Murray Australian Open Men's Final 2010

The battle grounds are drawn ,The hopes of the British rest on the shoulders of a young Scot Andy Murray ,its been written countless times Murray will be a Grandslam Champion, the moment is near.........and the British Amarda( the press) has arrived in Melbourne to record this momentous event.But hold on a sec ,in his way is a legend perhaps the best player ever to pick up a tennis racket and Roger Federer will not just let the Murray destiny just happen.If it does we know to well Murray has truly arrived and he can conquer the highest mountain winning a Slam title. Murray had this to say when asked if he could win,"Have to wait and see, you know. I think, you know, if I play my best, I think I got a good chance against anyone. And then, you know, at the top of any sport, it can come down to, you know, a few points here or there, sometimes a little bit of luck. You have to wait and see. But if I play my best, I think I got a chance against anyone."

And Federer speaks about the pressure for both players

"look, he's in his second Grand Slam final now. I think the first one's always a bit tougher than the second one. But now that he didn't win the first one, I think doesn't help, you know, for the second one around.

Plus he's playing, you know, me, who's won many Grand Slams prior to that, been able to win here three times so I know what it takes and how to do it, which is definitely an advantage.

I don't feel like the pressure's really on me having to do it again, because I did it before. I think he really needs it more than I do, you know. So I think the pressure's big on him.

But we'll see how he's gonna handle it. It's not going to be easy for him, that's for sure."

Murray knows to well defeat will mean he has to read the British tabloids the next day and that provides also extra pressure.My thoughts on the match ,it will be tough Federer will have to be at his very best to win and if he is his game will be too good for the Murray game at his best.Also in one corner we have the very Animated support Box of Murray led by "Punch n Judy" Murray's Mum......and the more conservative support crew of Federer with his wife Mirka at the helm.

And a change of tack this from the Sunday News reports Tennis New Zealand is heading into deeper crisis with the prospect of a vote of no confidence in the board looming.

Sunday News understands a number of clubs and regions are so sick of the way the sport it being run that they're using Tennis NZ's proposal for a dramatic increase in membership affiliation fees as a way to vent their anger.Read the full story here

Talk about Ostrich and head in the sand syndrome,every body knows Tennis in this country is on the ropes Onny Parun has been telling us for the past few years.Sadly this generation of young tennis players will be lost because of ........running the game ,actually I'm at a lost for words and it would be inappropriate to use the word Idiots, if anyone else has a better word please leave it in the comments section.