Like many people involved in American tennis, Martin Blackman, the general manager of the USTA’s player development program, sometimes imagines what life will be like when Serena Williams retires. But he doesn’t let his mind linger on the prospect for long.
Blackman knows that while Serena and Venus may seem ageless and indefatigable, they can’t lead the U.S. charge forever. But he’ll take whatever he can get from them. In his 14 months on the job, the 46-year-old has already seen what the presence of the Williams sisters means to younger American players.
“Serena and Venus at the top are a huge value,” Blackman says. “They set the highest standard, and I think you can see that in the progress of a player like Madison Keys.”
This spring, the 21-year-old Keys became the first U.S. woman since Serena in 1999 to debut in the Top 10.
While the days of dominance aren’t coming back any time soon, even a casual viewer of Wimbledon this year would have noticed new signs of life, and even swagger, in the U.S. game. Serena took center stage, Venus took us back in time and Keys gave us a glimpse of the future. CoCo Vandeweghe, Sloane Stephens and Steve Johnson reached the fourth round. John Isner kept us glued to another marathon. And Sam Querrey shocked the world by upsetting Novak Djokovic.
The U.S. had more singles players in Wimbledon’s fourth round than any other nation. It also had four of the final eight in the girls’ singles, and is coming off a run of boys’ success. It’s safe to conclude that American tennis is, if nothing else, interesting again.
“I’m optimistic about the number of quality players we have,” Blackman says. “We have 14 women in the Top 100, which means we’ve taken that domination away from Russia.”
On the men’s side, Blackman is happy with the progress of the teenage set.
“There are about 10 young men with a lot of potential,” says Blackman. “It’s important to have a group of players that keep pushing each other, and they do.”
To many, though, if Americans aren’t commanding the tours, the U.S. game must be “in decline.” Blackman understands that view.
“I’m not satisfied,” Blackman says. “Having 50 players with the potential to be Top 5 is a platform, but it’s not the outcome we want.”
Still, a platform does seem to be taking shape, and U.S. tennis may have a future when Serena retires, after all.