After winning his singles semifinal match at the French Open in 1986, Ivan Lendl made the comment, "I came here with the hope that I could win 7 matches. I've won 6. I've got one more to go." At the end of 1998, Pete Sampras lamented, "I think you're going to see pretty much the same guys (on the ATP Tour). I don't see anyone ranked 40 or 50 that's going to be in the Top 10 by this time (December) next year (in 1999). I'm not that old (27 at the time) and I've still got plenty to look forward to. I know that if I’m fit and if I play my best tennis, it’s going to be very hard for other guys to beat me." After defeating Anna Maria Cecchini in the women's singles quarterfinals of the French Open in 1985, Martina Navratilova made the remark, "Here I am in the semis and I still haven't really been tested. Perhaps it's because I am playing well." Chris Evert made the observation after winning her 3rd round match at the 1986 French Open, "Early on in the tournaments, I tend to play as well as I have to instead of going all out. Perhaps it's now time to raise the level of my game." After defeating Andres Gomez in the quarterfinals of the French Open in 1987, Ivan observed, "It's always the same story. We've played 3 times in the quarterfinals. We always split the first 2 sets and he's tired out."
According to the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association President in 1938, "Tennis renaissance begun in 1937. The number of tournaments as well as the number of competitors and spectators reached a new high for the past decade (the 1930s)." However it wasn't until tennis became a professional sport in 1968, the "Open" era, that tennis "became truly the 'in' sport of the great middle class, first in the United States, then abroad." One manufacturing spokesman told the press in 1973, "Back orders keep piling up. Manufacturing capabilities are not sufficient to meet the increased demand. We cannot make rackets and balls fast enough. Tennis business (the market was estimated to be $300 million in 1973) is growing at the rate of 25% to 40% a year." One tennis production manager made known, "We are operating at full capacity and cannot make balls fast enough to meet the demand. The tennis boom caught most of us off guard."
William F. Talbert believed, "It is definitely the sport of the '70s. It is moderately inexpensive. It can be a family game. It doesn't require a team of players as do football and baseball nor does it blow a full day as does golf. You can get all the exercise you need and have a lot of fun in an hour." The democratization of the game to the masses said had contributed to the "tennis boom" in the 1970s because "middle-class professionals, not upper-class amateurs, rule the courts. The Grand Slam events, once small, provincial affairs, now (by 1999) draw tens of thousands of spectators each day along with worldwide television audiences and millions in corporate sponsorships."
Pointing out "We are living in the computer age," Boris Becker told fans in 1987, "Tennis is very much a part of the computer age...Tennis players have been living and dying by the computer for years, namely, the computer rankings compiled by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP)...Most tennis fans are familiar with how their favorite players are ranked...But few players know exactly how that is determined.
"The basics of the ATP computer ranking are really quite simple. Players earn computer points in each sanctioned event they compete in (in 2015, there were 65 tournaments scheduled on the men's tour and 59 on the women's). The total number of points they have earned in the past 12 months is divided by the number of tournaments they have played in during that same period (minimum 12 tournaments). That figure – the average points they have earned in each tournament – is the basis on which the players are ranked.
"The number of points players can earn in each tournament is based on 2 factors: prize money and size of the draw. For example, a Grand Slam tournament is worth a lot more points than a (Tour) tournament.
There are also bonus points at stake in each tournament, earned by defeating top ranked players. For example, beating a player ranked between No. 1 and No. 5 is worth 30 bonus points, a win over someone ranked between 6 and 10 is worth 24, and so on. The rankings are published each week by the ATP, and they are a pretty accurate reflection of player performance over the past 12 months."
Points from each tournament won would stay on the computer for 52 weeks. When that tournament returned the following year, the player's previous points would either be replaced by the player's latest result or dropped. If a player performed well the previous year he would be forced to defend his points again the next year. Boris had said, "If I were to win the tournament in Milan in 1988, as I did in 1987, I would not really gain in the rankings." But if a player performed badly the previous year and did better the following year then he could increase his ranking.
"The way the computer system is set up, it rewards consistency. The players who reach the late rounds, week in and week out, are the ones who stay near the top of the ranking...The computer ranking is really not too difficult to understand, and believe me, many players know it inside and out and can calculate what each match result means for their ranking.
The reason so many players have studied the ranking is simple. The ATP computer is the basis for tournament entries and seedings. For instance, if 300 players enter Wimbledon each year, only the 104 with the best rankings get directly in, with the others forced to enter the qualifying.
"For players ranked lower, their computer standing determines whether they work that week or not. For the top players, position in the ranking can also be important because endorsement opportunities. Many players have equipment contracts in which they are paid bonuses based on their ranking, the higher the ranking, the bigger the bonus. It is the ATP computer which has become the barometer of professional tennis. I was once told a story about a player who was traveling all the way to the other side of the world to play a tournament, where the trip alone hardly made it worthwhile. He was asked why he was putting himself through such an ordeal. 'The points,' he said. 'I need the bloody points.'"
"My greatest successes were at the U.S. Open," Carrie Cunningham told the Associated Press in 1996. The first U.S. Open men's singles title was played in 1881. The first U.S. Open women's singles title was played in 1887. Carrie won the U.S. Open junior title in 1988 and was also the No. 1 American junior player. She left the tour in 1994, aged 22, claiming burnout. She wanted to watch the U.S. Open in 1996 because "it's always had a special place in my heart. I also want to go back there before they build the new stadium."
Carrie confessed, "I was quite a little rebel. There were a lot of outside pressures. I didn’t like playing for companies, sponsors. Prior to that I only played for my parents, my coach and myself. I left mysteriously but I didn't mean to...I realized how burned out I was...I was in such a whirlwind, going from Arizona and rehab. I broke up with my first serious boyfriend, and then I had to start school at the University of Michigan. Ann (Grossman) said everybody thought I hated the tour. That was totally untrue, I didn't like it for me. It’s for a lot of other people. I wanted to be educated and go to graduate school, and I didn’t want to waste any more time…It's pretty lonely traveling 30 weeks out of the year, without friends or family and not being able to afford a coach." It was mentioned tennis lessons and a coach could cost $10,000 a year for juniors.
Shawn Foust was playing as a 17-year-old amateur in 1985 acknowledged, "Even the most seasoned pros do (get homesick from the traveling). But when you're young and good enough, you've got to turn pro. You can't put tennis on hold." Jonathan Canter turned pro in 1983 aged 17, conceded, "It's so lonely it's scary. I know they say it’s lonely at the top, but that's a good feeling because you think you're invincible. And there's only one John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl. For the rest, there is a lot of bitterness, envy and jealousy on the tour. I like the guys but we all stand in one another's way. I can't go out drinking with them and talking about girls and tennis. You just lose and go back to the hotel room alone." Tim Mayotte acknowledged, "The first year, especially, is very difficult. I'm 24 years old (in 1985) and it hasn't been until the last year and a half (1984-85) that I've felt comfortable. You can go to museums and things but you're really in a city to play tennis. You become very focused."
Kathy Horvath was 19 in 1985, expressed, "After school, the kids would be hanging out at the mall with drugs. I gave up going to a dance but I came home with a trophy." Gigi Fernandez, 20 at the time, added, "It's kind of boring going a day not learning anything. But it's hard to tell a 13-year-old to read a newspaper or watch the news. Younger kids don't understand. When we play Trivial Pursuit on the tour, you find out just who went to school." Chris Evert remarked, "You can't prevent anyone from earning a living. Still, it's important to stay in school." Kathy made the point, "I had put too much work into tennis. When I was growing up I wanted to be a neurosurgeon, and even though some people think I haven’t done much since I turned pro, I’d have to be a damn good surgeon to make what I’m making."
Sarasota-based player Chuck Borden worked half a year in order to play half a year. He told Ted Reeve of the Journal Sports in 1982, "I don't really like the satellite circuit because I'm not ready for it yet. I didn't win too many matches. But it did prepare me for the next circuit down. The difference in those tournaments and the satellite circuit was the depth. There were a few good players and a lot of fair players in those. The key was that not everybody in the tournament was the No. 1 player from wherever. It was there that I found out I had the capability to win money in tournament tennis." Ted explained, "They key is knowing where to play."
Chuck continued, "And I won’t make the same mistakes I made last year (in 1981), but that was primarily because the satellite circuit was so frustrating. All I want to do this time (in 1982) is break even financially. I've got enough money in my pocket to be over there (in Europe). I'm pretty adaptable. I thought I'd never be able to hit the ball on grass. But even if you're not a great volleyer, you can play the net on grass because the volleys die when they hit the court and you get a lot of bad bounces off the turf."
Of the future, "I just want to get some experience playing all the different places. If I do well enough and prove to myself I can go away and break even, then I would make a full commitment to playing tennis. If I move up to the next level, I'll make that much more of a commitment to playing. But I don't want to chase false dreams. I'm not going to tell you I'm going to be Top 10 in the world."
Carrie confessed, "I was quite a little rebel. There were a lot of outside pressures. I didn’t like playing for companies, sponsors. Prior to that I only played for my parents, my coach and myself. I left mysteriously but I didn't mean to...I realized how burned out I was...I was in such a whirlwind, going from Arizona and rehab. I broke up with my first serious boyfriend, and then I had to start school at the University of Michigan. Ann (Grossman) said everybody thought I hated the tour. That was totally untrue, I didn't like it for me. It’s for a lot of other people. I wanted to be educated and go to graduate school, and I didn’t want to waste any more time…It's pretty lonely traveling 30 weeks out of the year, without friends or family and not being able to afford a coach." It was mentioned tennis lessons and a coach could cost $10,000 a year for juniors.
Shawn Foust was playing as a 17-year-old amateur in 1985 acknowledged, "Even the most seasoned pros do (get homesick from the traveling). But when you're young and good enough, you've got to turn pro. You can't put tennis on hold." Jonathan Canter turned pro in 1983 aged 17, conceded, "It's so lonely it's scary. I know they say it’s lonely at the top, but that's a good feeling because you think you're invincible. And there's only one John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl. For the rest, there is a lot of bitterness, envy and jealousy on the tour. I like the guys but we all stand in one another's way. I can't go out drinking with them and talking about girls and tennis. You just lose and go back to the hotel room alone." Tim Mayotte acknowledged, "The first year, especially, is very difficult. I'm 24 years old (in 1985) and it hasn't been until the last year and a half (1984-85) that I've felt comfortable. You can go to museums and things but you're really in a city to play tennis. You become very focused."
Kathy Horvath was 19 in 1985, expressed, "After school, the kids would be hanging out at the mall with drugs. I gave up going to a dance but I came home with a trophy." Gigi Fernandez, 20 at the time, added, "It's kind of boring going a day not learning anything. But it's hard to tell a 13-year-old to read a newspaper or watch the news. Younger kids don't understand. When we play Trivial Pursuit on the tour, you find out just who went to school." Chris Evert remarked, "You can't prevent anyone from earning a living. Still, it's important to stay in school." Kathy made the point, "I had put too much work into tennis. When I was growing up I wanted to be a neurosurgeon, and even though some people think I haven’t done much since I turned pro, I’d have to be a damn good surgeon to make what I’m making."
Sarasota-based player Chuck Borden worked half a year in order to play half a year. He told Ted Reeve of the Journal Sports in 1982, "I don't really like the satellite circuit because I'm not ready for it yet. I didn't win too many matches. But it did prepare me for the next circuit down. The difference in those tournaments and the satellite circuit was the depth. There were a few good players and a lot of fair players in those. The key was that not everybody in the tournament was the No. 1 player from wherever. It was there that I found out I had the capability to win money in tournament tennis." Ted explained, "They key is knowing where to play."
Chuck continued, "And I won’t make the same mistakes I made last year (in 1981), but that was primarily because the satellite circuit was so frustrating. All I want to do this time (in 1982) is break even financially. I've got enough money in my pocket to be over there (in Europe). I'm pretty adaptable. I thought I'd never be able to hit the ball on grass. But even if you're not a great volleyer, you can play the net on grass because the volleys die when they hit the court and you get a lot of bad bounces off the turf."
Of the future, "I just want to get some experience playing all the different places. If I do well enough and prove to myself I can go away and break even, then I would make a full commitment to playing tennis. If I move up to the next level, I'll make that much more of a commitment to playing. But I don't want to chase false dreams. I'm not going to tell you I'm going to be Top 10 in the world."
