Tennis World english 38 Tennis World English 38 | Page 34

more
than
$1
million.
Her
highest
ranking
was
#67
in
the
world
and
her
career
earnings
are
just
over
$1
million,
excluding
endorsements.
Irina
has
proved
to
be
the
exception
to
the
rule.
The
chances
of
making
a
comfortable
living
as
a
tennis
professional,
considering
the
number
of
players
competing,
is
less
than
1%.
Also
consider
that
the
average
span
of
a
tennis
career
is
seven
(7)
years.

Serena
Williams,
on
the
other
hand,
did
not
attend
college.
She
turned
pro
in
1995
and
achieved
a
WTA
ranking
of
#1.
Her
career
earnings,
calculated
in
2009
were
just
a
bit
over
$32
million.
Serena,
one
of
those
“rare
phenomenon’s”
spoken
about,
is
still
#1
at
the
time
of
this
writing.
Her
career
earning’s
in
2015
is
now
at
an
unimaginable
$74,000,000
and
she’s
still
the
best
player
in
the
world.
These
earnings
do
not
include
more
than
$50
million
in
endorsements.

So,
how
difficult
is
it
to
have
a
positive
earning
experience
on
the
pro
tour?
And
is
the
American
approach
of
direction
our
players
towards
a
college
career
the
right
path.

The
tennis
world
today
is
dominated
by
Europeans:
Federer,
Nadal,
Djokovic,
Murray,
Wawrinka,
Berdych
and
Nishikori.
There
is
only
one
American
man
in
the
top
20
-
John
Isner
at
#13.
On
the
women’s
side,
after
Serena
the
names
are
Halep,
Sharapova,
Muguruza,
Kvitova,
Radwanska,
Kerber
and
Pannetta.
Andy
Murray
attended
Schiller
University
and,
of
the
players
mentioned,
none
attended
college
either
in
America
or
elsewhere.
So,
the
question
is:
“Is
foregoing
college
a
meaningful
path
to
becoming
a
world-class
tennis
player?
Or,
is
hedging
your
bets
and
getting
a
college
degree,
first
and
foremost,
the
wisest
path?”

I
am
reminded
by
a
comment
once
made
by
my

good
friend
Arthur
Ashe.
He
asked
a
young
man
what
he’d
like
to
do
as
an
adult.
The
youngster
said,
“I
want
to
play
in
the
NBA
and
be
just
like
Michael
Jordan.”
Arthur
smiled
at
him
and
said,
“You’ve
got
a
better
chance
to
own
the
team
that
Michael
Jordan
plays
for.
You
can
definitely
become
a
doctor
or
a
lawyer,
but
Michael
Jordan
is
a
one-in-a-million
phenomenon.”
But,
there
is
another
consideration.
Unlike
basketball
or
football,
tennis
is
a
one-on-one
sport.
You
don’t
get
paid
a
steady
salary
as
you
go
through
a
slump.
You
don’t
have
a
team
worth
billions
to
offer
you
a
multi-million
$
signing
bonus
based
upon
your
perceived
future
contributions
to
the
team.

However,
the
country,
as
a
whole,
is
facing
a
childhood
obesity
epidemic
that
shows
no
signs
of
diminishing.
A
recent
study,
published
in
TennisPro
magazine,
shows
a
disturbing
trend.
35
men
and
50
American
women
were
in
the
top
100
in
1978.
At
that
time
13%
of
American
children
10-18
years
old
were