Well argued, John! Normally when people talk about this ever so touchy topic of nationality, they reply with derogatory one liners.



Personally I see no problem with it. After all, those who are "British" didn't earn it by some right - it's just that they were born there. So there is no reason as to why someone who was born elsewhere can't become British. Nationality (at least to me), is something that has got more to do with someone's own choice than with what your passport says or what others think of you.

If Konta wants to play for Britain, that's good enough - she wants to be British and values it (for whatever the reason - love or money or anything), which I'm sure cannot be said for loads of people who are originally from there (without intending offence to anyone and it's obviously not directed to this board's members).

I remember a brilliant post by a member out here - "...when people come here for a reason, they actually often value the place more than those who were born here. And they often give more too." I am not saying that all people in Britain don't value it (most contrary!).




It is very strange, but British women's tennis is absolutely dominated by people whose ancestors have come from outside within the last two or three  generations!

Keothavong - Laos
Baltacha - Ukraine
Robson - Australia
Rens - China
Moore - Hong Kong
Konta - Australia/Hungary

 

-- Edited by Greenleaf at 17:05, 2008-06-03

Yes, of course. That is because you want to be British - and nothing in the world can change that.

Now will you be considered American by most people out there in case you wanted to - nope, not instantly. But give it three years, and your current accent will be replaced with an American one. And no one will ever call you British unless you tell them to, because your skin colour and surname matches with theirs. Things unfortunately aren't so easy for the so called "coloured" people or people with surnames like 'Rusedski' or 'Bogdanovic', who have to tolerate many things throughout their lives, no matter what they do for their adopted country.




-- Edited by Greenleaf at 16:13, 2008-06-03

It's good to see a civilised discussion on this issue for a change. (not a change for this board, but a change from almost everywhere else)

The men's side has quite a few players with roots elsewhere too, e.g. Boggo (Serbia), Slabba (Ukraine), Rusedski (Canada, Ukraine, etc), Del (Spain), Bloomers & Aucks (Norfolk Island - oops, sorry!) ...

I think you'll find nationality is getting more and more fluid, with increased long-term migration (helped by the open border policy of the EU), increased mobility generally and more and more people getting together with people from other countries.
 
I've spent the last 15-20 years with a Pole and a German (NOT simultaneously, I hasten to add, before Sheddie gets too insanely curious ) and plenty of people I knew while I was at uni have got together with people from other countries (Belgium, Latvia, Italy, Austria, Senegal, Albania, the US, etc), with some of them and some others now living long-term in a different country from those either is from and having children there.

It would be hard to deny the children mentioned above the right to choose as their nationality that of their father, their mother, where they were born or where they spent most of their childhood growing up. I have nothing against people choosing to represent the country they feel the most affinity with, like John playing for GB even if he became a US citizen (though I wouldn't go as far as letting someone play for France because they like eating garlic and malingering - N.B. just a silly pick 'em reference there ) as long as once they've made a choice, they don't keep changing every few years.

I would, however, be against tennis associations effectively being able to bribe people with no connection to the country at all to play for them for their own PR purposes, though I realise that financial issues often dictate why people settle in a country in the first place and it would be hard to draw an exact line between where financial considerations end and direct inducement/'bribery' starts.

Btw I think you'll find Anne K's parents were Laotian, not Vietnamese.

Another piece from This Is London:

 

Johanna Konta was born in Australia but now lives in London and showed her commitment to her adopted by country by asking to have GB next to her name at Wimbledon. 

Sadly for the tenth seed, it was pointed out by officials that until her new British passport arrives, Konta has to have AUS after her name on the All England Club's scoreboards. 

Her favourite surface is clay, which will set her apart from the rest of youngsters being looked after by the LTA under the watchful eye of the head of women's tennis Carl Maes - Kim Clijsters' former coach.

A right-hander, Konta started playing tennis at the age of seven and idolises Roger Federer and Steffi Graf. 

She first started training at Sutton, then moved to Bisham Abbey and from there on to the new National Tennis Centre at Roehampton. 

Her arrival could allow the women's game to replicate the Tim Henman/Greg Rusedski era when homegrown Henman was joined in the world's top 10 by Rusedski, a product of the Canadian tennis system who opted to cross the Atlantic and represent Britain.

 

I think Johanna will now play a clay 10K in Italy from 28th July, followed by a clay 25K there for which she has a wild card.

Agree with you, but she'll probably play AO next year. She should do Osaka Mayor's as then she will have a good shot at the JEs.



She's probably a very late maturer as her record before 2007 was shocking - she actually struggled in Grade 4/5 qualies. But last year she played and won a Junior tournament in Finland after qualifying and hasn't looked back since then. She improved about ten times in something like fourteen months!

I believe she has a personal coach now, which is clearly paying off. The ITF says she is coached by Vladislav Kis (sounds Hungarian? She has Hungarian roots, of course), and I don't think he's with the LTA??

Both Laura Robson and Johanna Konta have lived in this country for several years. Laura left Australia as a baby and came to the UK at the age of 6. She perfectly reasonably considers herself British. If someone has a British passport they are British.