Switzerland had no representative at Roland-Garros since Thursday 2:30 p.m. France held on for a few more hours, Arthur Rinderknech yielding in the evening to the American Taylor Fritz. No French in singles after the second round, the situation is harsh for the French Tennis Federation (FFT) which celebrated with great fanfare the fortieth anniversary of Yannick Noah’s victory. Since Roland-Garros 1983, 160 Grand Slam tournaments have been played, for five victories for girls (Mary Pierce and Amélie Mauresmo twice, Marion Bartoli) and none for boys.
Of course, Noah’s victory had put an end to thirty-seven years of scarcity (Marcel Bernard in 1946). But it still stains the decor, so Nicolas Escudé, the national technical director, came to explain. “No boy was among the contenders for the title, none was even seeded,” he began by pointing out. But if only Caroline Garcia, 5th in the world, disappointed, isn’t that even worse?
The reasons have been mentioned several times: training favoring technique and neglecting the mental, very rigid federal system and not very open to foreigners, too much importance given to results among young people, slipping in coaches, very strong media pressure at the slightest first good result.
Is there too much money?
In office for two years, Nicolas Escudé has prompted a general questioning, called on the players to take responsibility and structure themselves, and called on the Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, released from his obligations with Roger Federer, to take an outside look at tennis. French. The record is not much better in the United States and Australia for twenty years, or in Great Britain with the exception of Andy Murray. The federations of the countries of the Grand Slam tournaments are extremely wealthy but do less well than those of small countries like Serbia, Croatia or Switzerland.
Does too much money harm tennis? “It’s a reflection that we can have, answers Nicolas Escudé. We are working on this acculturation with our young people. They must understand as quickly as possible what the high level requires, the concessions, the human and financial investment that this also requires from them. They must first take ownership of their project. It is not the federation that will win them a Grand Slam tournament. It is above all the player who will get it. His federation is at his side to possibly help him to structure himself, but it is in no way a story of money.
Finally read: At Wimbledon, 69 players went through an American university
2023-06-02 17:31:17
#French #tennis #seeks #emerge #slump
