Kiwis double up as they chase US Open glory at Flushing Meadows
With the US Open at Flushing Meadows about to begin in the next few days, once again we will see tennis thrown into the spotlight for another two weeks.
An event that attracts the most spectators out of any annual sporting fixture in the world, this tournament will no doubt give us headlines regarding Serena Williams’ playing costume, Nick Kyrgios and his temper tantrums, or which one of the big four is looking the most likely to claim the men’s title.
In among these headlines we will also see mention of how well our Kiwi contingent of doubles specialists are doing in the draw.
Our top three men, Michael Venus, Artem Sitak and Marcus Daniell, are all multiple ATP tourlevel title holders, and all three players have realistic chances of going deep into the men’s doubles draw. It is great to finally be able to get excited about a Kiwi player’s chances of doing well at a Grand Slam tournament. These annual slams are massive events for a sport that is truly global.
The entire world almost stands still in anticipation of which players will hold aloft the coveted singles titles. The power of tennis’ success at the top level is enormous, proven by the recent announcement that Serena Williams is once again the world’s highest-paid female athlete.
The legends of the game are practically treated as ‘‘living gods’’ within the sporting industry, which explains why we see millions of children spread across the planet pounding away on the tennis courts for several hours a day. These junior players are desperately trying to accumulate the golden 10,000 hours required to even consider becoming a professional tennis player.
The arrival of the US Open typically coincides with the beginning of our local tennis season. Players who have put the racket in the cupboard for the past four-five months are now realising it’s about time that they dust it off and hit some little yellow fluffies.
The shoulders will be a bit stiff and the back might feel it the next day, but these players know it’s the process they need to go through leading to the start of the summer season.
Clubs across New Zealand are gearing up for their typical spring open days and local clubs in Manawatu¯ are no exception, with many signing up to the region-wide ‘‘Love Tennis’’ festival, instigated by our governing body, Tennis Central. It is a wonderful concept that allows for all tennis clubs to plan their ‘‘open to the community’’ events to attract new members and celebrate the existing ones. Sausage sizzles, exhibitions, bouncy castles, competitions and membership incentives are all a part of the event, with Hells Pizza even getting on board by giving away hundreds of free vouchers to those early enough to receive them. Events like these are just what tennis needs to boost its profile and give clubs an opportunity to showcase themselves to the public.
A busy tournament schedule begins in September, with clubs and provincial associations scheduling their first fixtures of the season.
For some, this will be their first match-practice opportunities before the official season begins. For others, it will be an opportunity to put into practice all the work they have been putting in over the long winter months.
The only piece of the puzzle that now needs to fall into place is for the weather to come to the party and give everyone enough dry hours for all of the above events to occur. For those of us who are locally born-and-bred, we know this can sometimes be the biggest challenge of all come spring time.