Tennis : Proposal to Ease Pressures on Juniors

Chris Evert has often spoken about the anxiety and pressures of junior tennis, pointing out that, for her, even playing in a Grand Slam final could never match the tension she felt before taking the court against an age-group rival.

Evert, who even then was the epitome of coolness, overcame her fears. But before sectional and national tournaments, she would feel physically ill before and during matches.

That, of course, is the bad side of junior tennis. While Evert could handle the pressure, and even thrive on it, so many others have wilted under the strain.

If you have ever watched a junior tournament, it is easy to understand why the pressure is so great. First, if the child is a good player, the financial burden can be tremendous for a tennis family.

Parents then have to worry about whether they’re getting something back on their investment. Sectional and national rankings are studied more closely than the stock market.

Last week at the U.S. Open, the USTA Player Development Committee unveiled some recommendations, including one that will certainly spark a great deal of debate.

It called for the elimination of national championships and national, sectional and district rankings for 12-year-olds, and the elimination of national championships and national rankings for 14-year-olds.

The committee believes this will reduce the pressure on very young tennis players and allow them to focus on their games.

Keep in mind, this is just a proposal. It has to be approved by the USTA’s executive board at its annual meeting next March.

“I’m all for it,” said Marty Riessen, who is the United States’ Federation Cup coach. “I think they should make the divisions 15-and-under and 18-and-under. The kids are competing too hard at too young an age. Because of the competition, they don’t fully develop their games.

“The competition is too intense. And I think (the proposal) will raise hell all over the country.”

Riessen recalls playing in the national 15-and-under tournament when he was 11. He lost a tough three-set match to a boy named P.K. Champion.

“Pretty good name,” Riessen said. “He was a great big kid who was 14 or 15, and I nearly won the match.”

Jimmy Connors, who also started the national junior circuit at a tender age, feels differently about the proposal.

“Well, I don’t think that’s a good idea, either,” he said. “I think that young kids growing up need that competition. They need to have the availability of events to draw everybody together. That’s how you gauge your game.

“Granted, in the 12-and-unders and 14s, you don’t know how you’re really playing because your game is going to change a few more times into the 16s and 18s and into the men’s. But still, you need that kind of competition among yourselves to a point of being able to handle the pressure against your own peers, being able to play against your own peers.”

However, Connors feels the USTA should have started revising its programs and thinking long ago, before the United States began its decline in world tennis.

“Do I think they’re panicking?” he asked. “Why now? Why all of a sudden now? When, for the last 20 years, they’ve had the absolute best. And they should have done it then, in expectation of guys growing old.

“That’s the time to do it. Fifteen years ago, to get a little 5-year-old that would be 20 years old now and ready to take over. That’s what I think. But then again, what do I know?”

Add Riessen: Boris Becker’s search for a coach has sparked speculation. Names such as Fred Stolle, Roy Emerson and Rod Laver have been tossed around, to name a few. Earlier this week, the West German press has added a name to the list: Marty Riessen.

“Well, no one has even talked to me about it,” Riessen said Saturday. “(Ion) Tiriac hasn’t approached me and he’s right here in this room. I have heard there are rumors all over Germany, though.

“I like (Becker) and I like his style as a person. I’ve heard him in a lot of different situations and I think he handles himself really well. It is something I’d consider, naturally I’d consider it. It would depend on a lot of things. . . . Maybe they won’t use anyone as a coach; he’s doing well right now with Tiriac.”

However, later in the day, Tiriac told a couple of West German reporters that he had indeed discussed the matter with Riessen, most recently for two hours on August 28. Apparently, Riessen and Emerson are the front-runners.

Becker and Tiriac would like to make a decision soon after the U.S Open.