New Zealand tennis in
With the retirement of Marina Erakovic, it could be argued that New Zealand tennis has hit rock bottom.
The country doesn’t have any players in the top 550 of men’s and women’s singles rankings, while the top-ranked female junior is Valentina Ivanov at 159 and the highest-ranked boy is George Stoupe at 441.
While there is the success of Michael Venus, Artem Sitak and Marcus Daniell in doubles, the focus is on getting another top 100 singles player from New Zealand.
The depressing picture the current rankings paint didn’t occur overnight, but was the result of a number of factors, including more than a decade of poor decisions by Tennis New Zealand.
Changes were made this year, under the guidance of high performance director Simon Rea and hopefully the sport is on the rise, but the big question is, how long will it be before New Zealand has another top 100 singles player?
‘‘We haven’t set a date,’’ Tennis NZ CEO Julie Paterson said. ‘‘I think that would be making a rod for our own back, because in my view the outcome of getting a player in the top 100 will come from having a really good system build.
‘‘If we get the system and the support around the players right, then the outcome will be a winner. I would say in 12 months’ time we might have a better idea, because we’ve had to change things so significantly in the last 18 months since Simon started and we’ve got to let that change bed in.
‘‘I’m confident that Simon, Christophe (Lambert, NZ national coach), and the wider tennis group are doing the right things, but I’m not confident of setting a stake in the ground, saying when we’re going to see that next singles player.’’
Tennis NZ recently put out information on how many matches youngsters should play at each age.
For example, it recommends an 12-year-old girl should play
15-20 tournaments a year, 45-60 singles matches and 30 doubles matches in those tournaments, plus 48 interclub and other matches. However in the current tournament framework in New Zealand, it would be practically impossible to reach those targets.
Tennis NZ is currently putting their eggs in two baskets; 15-yearold Corban Crowther and 13-yearold Vivian Yang.
These are the only two players who meet the current Tennis NZ criteria and as a result get significant support. The criteria is based on players meeting certain requirements, including rankings at each age, with their ranking needing to improve as they get older.
There are a number of promising players who’ve missed out and not surprisingly there is some resentment around the country.
Crowther needed to be inside the top 400 (he’s at 457) in the world for juniors to meet the criteria this year, so it’s uncertain what support he’ll get.
Rea is reviewing how the programme will look this year, but believes it has been a successful 2018 for Crowther and Yang.
‘‘I’m really proud of what we’ve put together with those two athletes in mind,’’ he said.
‘‘Having said that, could we be better and are we determined to be better? Yes, absolutely.
‘‘We’ve identified some things we can do better to help the athletes that reach that high standard.
‘‘But also what we can do for those kids that are just on the fringes and need that little extra impetus of support around them to try to reach the high benchmark we’ve set.’’
When – hopefully not if – New Zealand has another top 100 player, Rea will have been a major influence in that player getting there.
Always honest, Rea says the sport is going in the right direction in New Zealand, but there’s still a way to go before there’s another player with a twodigit world ranking.
‘‘There are some promising signs, but there is equally cause for concern,’’ Rea said.
‘‘Marina has sailed off into the sunset and what a wonderful career, what a fantastic person and how proud she deserves to feel of everything she’s accomplished.
‘‘What Ajeet (Rai, ranked 695 at the age of 19) has been able to produce over the second half of 2018 has been promising, it’s been progress and I’m sure there is more to come.
‘‘Similarly, Paige Hourigan’s stint through the European summer, when she was on summer break from Georgia Tech, she showed there’s some upside there.
‘‘But there is a lot of work to be done and I’m sure Paige and Ajeet would be the first to say they’ve got a lot more work to do, in different areas, before they considered themselves as contenders for the top 100, but I know that’s where they want to head. In terms of underneath that, someone like George Stoupe, who won the under 18s nationals, he’s capable.
‘‘He’s got areas of his game he needs to improve and I think he’d acknowledge that, but he also brings a high level tennis IQ and a well rounded skill set to the table.
‘‘He’s probably the most skilful player I’ve seen in tennis since I’ve been back in New Zealand. ‘‘It’s great to have Valentina back and playing in New Zealand and that relationship with the national