USA Mostly Absent on ATP and WTA Rankings

Ask any casual tennis fan about the state of tennis and most will eventually bring up Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, wishing for the glory days of American tennis. It's been over 30 years since the two iconic players were in their prime - many outstanding American tennis players have come and gone since, including the great Pete Sampras, but still we yearn for the years when US players ruled the sport.

Th new tennis season is on the way without a new American champion outside the Williams sisters and Andy Roddick, it appears that tennis American style may be forever dead and have been buried for years.

WTA TOUR
There are only seven Americans in the top 100 rankings.

Top ten

The Williams sisters remain the only American players in the top ten, and with both embracing their 30 something decade, their reign on top may not be too far off the retirement horizon.

58
Bethanie Mattek--Sands
She's an interesting but flaky, journeyman player who's yet to win a main tour event after 12 years on tour.

61
Melani Oudin
She made a big splash in 2009 by reaching the quarterfinals of the US Open, but has since lost her momentum and appears to be destined for a career of exiting in the early rounds of tournaments, with occasional flashes of what could never be.

74
Varvara Lapchenko
A ten year veteran whose best results have come in the minor leagues of the tour. At 25 years old, the chances of a tennis metamorphosis are lower than Franz Kafka knocking at my door.

86
Vania King
The good news is that Vania actually won a tour event, the bad news, it came in 2006. She's still relatively young, but at 5'5" and six years on tour, she too has a very little chance at building a game to challenge the top players

98
Jill Craybass
I'm very happy for Jill, to be the seventh ranked American tennis player at the age of 37 is a major accomplishment, which in itself exemplifies the state of American tennis on the WTA.

ATP TOUR
Five players carry the American flag in the top 100 rankings.

Top ten

Can Andy Roddick, the lone US player in the top ten, win another grand slam? Yes, but Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Robin Sordeling, - well I can go on and on - but they would all have to drop dead, and even then, some other second tier player could still take Roddick out. I applaud his will to battle on court, in the era of the two greatest players of all-time, Nadal and Federer; Roddick is not a contender.

16
Mardy Fish
Fish-Roddick is not the Sampras-Agassi duo that many believed they'd be. Roddick snuck in a major title at the US Open - can Mardy get lucky and grab one too? Of course not but he's trying.

18,19
The twin towers, Sam Queery and John Isner are America's new hope. Their game is based on the big serve, unfortunately the top players have learned how to deal with their power. They will scare a few players, but beyond that, a James Blake career awaits them.

99
Mike Russell
The Jill Craybass of the ATP Tour. He's 33 years old and the fifth ranked American player. Mike's biggest accomplishment was holding several match points against former number one and three-time French Open Gustavo Kuerten, only to, well, choke them away. I salute Mike for his longevity and stubbornness on court.

Whose fault is it? The USTA? American Coaches? Lack of quality athletes? The ATP and WTA Tours? More worldwide competition? Perhaps all of the above, no matter the reason, American tennis needs a savior. A junior player may be on the way, but for sure, he's not currently on tour.

I hope the 2011 season proves me wrong.