Tennis Ireland - Trouble In The Roots
Einstein once said - ‘Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing it is stupid’.
Well, Irish tennis players are talented, but if you judge their careers without acknowledging the lack of resources available to them, they will spend their whole career thinking they just don’t have what it takes to get to the top of the game.
There is a harsh reality with the game of tennis in Ireland. The facilities and structures are inadequate, talented players can never develop to their full potential and the country is likely losing out on stars of the game.
If Tennis Ireland ever truly wants to see Irish players competing for the top prizes on the WTA and ATP Tour, a 10-year master plan must be put into place where the culture, structure and attitude to the game in this country is changed for the better.
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Courts. Under A Roof. On The Dirt.
Ireland has an embarrassingly low number of indoor courts per capita. Every year, when the Atlantic ocean takes a break from battering our shores, and the country gets its annual spell of good weather (usually 2 weeks that coincide with the Leaving Cert exams in June) someone is quick to state: ‘jeez it would be some country if only we could put a roof on it’. Well, the same could be said for almost all tennis courts in the country. Nobody wants to play that sport where the balls are so wet and heavy, people are afraid they will get tennis elbow every time they step on court. Put a roof of any sort over the courts, even a tensile fabric canopy, and participation and quality of tennis will thrive.
Currently, the province of Munster (one of four in Ireland) has no indoor tennis facility, which is a bit of a shamples to say the least. Despite getting approval to build 6 indoor clay courts in Thurles, Co Tipperary, back in 2016, construction has yet to begin and with Covid-19 causing mayhem the world over, there is a grim feeling that these courts may never come to fruition. This an all too common theme in Ireland – empty promises and dream shattering reality.
Indoor courts do not need to be expensive, as long as there is a roof covering the surface, quality tennis can be played. 4 centres of excellence with multiple indoor clay courts, similar to the above, need to be built across each province in Ireland, thus ensuring promising juniors can nurture their talent close to home. Photo Credit: bdir.com
Not only are the vast majority of tennis courts in Ireland outdoor, they are also made up of artificial grass, which are absolutely terrible for player development. Current Irish Davis Cup Captain and the last Irish player to reach the main draw of Wimbledon, Conor Niland, told RTE Sport - ‘’ we don't have a huge number of indoor courts, all our surfaces are artificial grass which is a terrible surface. When it gets wet the ball skids through, so if you want to go and practice for an hour on an artificial grass court, you're going to hit 100 balls, but if you go and play for an hour on a sunny clay court in Spain, you're going to hit three times that amount’’.
Indoor or outdoor, clay courts need to be introduced to clubs across the country. Unlike hard courts or grass courts, it is safe and possible to play clay court tennis in the rain. Clubs in Ireland such as Naas LTC, Fitzwilliam LTC and Tipperary LTC have all had great success with their outdoor clay courts, proving it is possible.
Clay courts are the perfect classroom for developing stars of the future. Mastering the game on the dirt requires a vast array of skills, among them: balance, speeed, fitness, technique, mental toughness and patience to name a few. The slow surface makes for long, gruelling rallies where players are required to broaden their tennis IQ. Only the most complete tennis players can play on clay, and Ireland desperately needs to hone in on that.
STRUCTURE - DO AS THE SPANIARDS DO
It is hard to argue that there is a more thoroughly developed tennis nation than Spain. On the sunny Mediterranean clay courts, they are able to breed star after star, producing recent Grand Slam champions in Rafa Nadal and Garbine Muguruza, as well as proudly boasting 9 players currently in the ATP Top 100 and 4 players in the WTA Top 100. It is an astonishing success, but it is not by chance.
This seeming conveyor belt of top professionals is thanks to a structure of key pillars - Methodology & Work Ethic, Tournament & Club Structure, Widespread Clay Courts, and World Class Academies, that took time to build. The Spanish Tennis Federation is now seeing the fruits of their labour and the rest of the world is playing catch up.
Spanish players benefit from a comprehensive tournament structure, from juniors right up to the highest level of ATP & WTA Tournaments. In 2019, there were an astonishing 35 men’s ITF Futures tournaments in Spain. In Ireland, there was 1.
The competitive club system and tournament structure allows players to compete year round for significant ranking points and money. This in turn massively benefits players in their aspirations to turn pro or receive a scholarship to play NCAA college tennis in America and get a world class education.
The Spanish system is like no other, players are taught every aspect of the complex sport, from groundstrokes and mental toughness, to tennis IQ development and match competitiveness. Tennis Ireland, amongst many others federations, could reap huge rewards by copying the way in Spain.
MASTER PLAN
A 10 to 15 year Master Plan needs to be drawn up over the coming years to facilitate the changes required. Across the Irish sea, at the home of Wimbledon: The All England Lawn Tennis Club, they are in the middle of a 15 year redevelopment master plan that is set to continue the legacy of the championships as the premier tennis event in the world. If Wimbledon feel the need to adapt to the times, then it’s no shame to admit there are issues with the game in Ireland that need assessing.
Indoor tennis courts and centres of excellence need to be constructed in the hotspots across the country, that is to say the towns and cities that are easily accessible for players from many different counties in each province. This will create a competitive and accessible environment for promising juniors, who won’t feel the pressure to move to the capital or abroad at a young age. I have seen first-hand, promising juniors who have moved to Dublin due to lack of resources close to home, only to move back home soon after due to homesickness. Mental health and enthusiasm for the sport will be paramount for promising juniors in their development as individuals and athletes.
Ireland has a proud tradition of punching above its weight on the world stage, not least in sports. We have produced elite athletes and world champions from all disciplines - Katie Taylor, Roy Keane, Brian O’Driscoll, Conor McGregor, Shane Lowry, Padraig Harrington and Sonia O’Sullivan to name a few, but we have not produced a top tier tennis champion for a very, very long time.
There can be a Wimbledon champion from Ireland going forward, but unless Tennis Ireland dig up the roots and set new foundations, we may never see that day.
