How important are the Aegon men's team finals 10-12/7/2014 a distraction or a worthwhile national team event ?

A1 tennis academy · Satellite level

How important are the Aegon men's team finals 10-12/7/2014 a distraction or a worthwhile national team event ?

steven · Tennis legend

You should probably be asking the players this - I must admit, I don't know much about AEGON team tennis at all, except that it's the GB equivalent or French or German leagues but presumably doesn't pay quite as well as they do.

I would guess, though, that a competition like AEGON team tennis is mainly aimed at very good players who are not quite good enough to play on the pro circuit regularly (or not good enough to make the top 500/750, anyway) - if so, it's great to give such players a focus and good if some of the pros muck in from time to time to inspire the others. In that sense, it would definitely be a worthwhile national team event.

However, I don't think you should expect the top pros in the country to prioritise it ahead of the hunt for ranking points and I think it would be counter-productive to ask them to do so, especially if you are supporting their quest to rise up the rankings as well. If it fits into their schedule, then great, but if it clashes with an ATP-ranked event they want to play or with an essential rest week in between ATP-ranked events they should be playing, then I'd expect them to give team tennis a miss.

In particular, the dearth of Challengers in Europe at the moment makes scheduling for players who want to play mainly Challengers (or mix Challengers with Futures) tough enough as it is, without having to work around things like team tennis as well.

wolf · Tennis legend

If your fianancing a player, then of course making them play Team Tennis seems very odd. Surely it's extra cost for you and an inconvenience for the player?

Shhh · Challenger level

From a players point of view, I'd have thought they'd have looked to have play in this if it helped them (financially) to get to where they wanted to be professionally. Otherwise, its a distraction. Theres bragging rights to be had but, other than that, who really cares?

A1 tennis academy · Satellite level

steven wrote:
You should probably be asking the players this - I must admit, I don't know much about AEGON team tennis at all, except that it's the GB equivalent or French or German leagues but presumably doesn't pay quite as well as they do.

I would guess, though, that a competition like AEGON team tennis is mainly aimed at very good players who are not quite good enough to play on the pro circuit regularly (or not good enough to make the top 500/750, anyway) - if so, it's great to give such players a focus and good if some of the pros muck in from time to time to inspire the others. In that sense, it would definitely be a worthwhile national team event.

However, I don't think you should expect the top pros in the country to prioritise it ahead of the hunt for ranking points and I think it would be counter-productive to ask them to do so, especially if you are supporting their quest to rise up the rankings as well. If it fits into their schedule, then great, but if it clashes with an ATP-ranked event they want to play or with an essential rest week in between ATP-ranked events they should be playing, then I'd expect them to give team tennis a miss.

In particular, the dearth of Challengers in Europe at the moment makes scheduling for players who want to play mainly Challengers (or mix Challengers with Futures) tough enough as it is, without having to work around things like team tennis as well

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

Er - did you mean to add something to that quote, Gary?

The Optimist · ATP qualifying

I think the LTA would like the National Level of the Aegon Team Tennis to replicate the French and German leagues. However, in reality it is a largely lower grade of event. On the women's side, I know that some professional players accept sponsorship or help from clubs in return for committing to play a set number of ties for them (which would always include the knockout phase if the club got there). I think this is perfectly reasonable. Most sponsors want something in return for their cash and time and if it is playing club matches rather than hitting with clients or appearing at corporate functions, the player should be prepared to do this. At the time of accepting the sponsorship it is the players responsibility to ensure that the matches they agree to play fit in with the rest of their schedule.

From the players perspective, ranking points and professional events are always the highest priority, but if the only way they can afford to participate in these events is to accept sponsorship, they have to be prepared to accept the limitations that the sponsorship puts on their playing schedule.

From your posts, Gary, I'm not really sure what to make of you - your on-line persona seems to swing between the naive and the slightly belligerent. However, you've obviously put your hand in your pocket and really provided support for your chosen players. Even if a national team title is not a high priority for those players, if it is a high priority for you they should be prepared to fulfil their half of the bargain and play the matches for you.

Good luck with the team!

A1 tennis academy · Satellite level

The Optimist wrote:
I think the LTA would like the National Level of the Aegon Team Tennis to replicate the French and German leagues. However, in reality it is a largely lower grade of event. On the women's side, I know that some professional players accept sponsorship or help from clubs in return for committing to play a set number of ties for them (which would always include the knockout phase if the club got there). I think this is perfectly reasonable. Most sponsors want something in return for their cash and time and if it is playing club matches rather than hitting with clients or appearing at corporate functions, the player should be prepared to do this. At the time of accepting the sponsorship it is the players responsibility to ensure that the matches they agree to play fit in with the rest of their schedule.

From the players perspective, ranking points and professional events are always the highest priority, but if the only way they can afford to participate in these events is to accept sponsorship, they have to be prepared to accept the limitations that the sponsorship puts on their playing schedule.

From your posts, Gary, I'm not really sure what to make of you - your on-line persona seems to swing between the naive and the slightly belligerent. However, you've obviously put your hand in your pocket and really provided support for your chosen players. Even if a national team title is not a high priority for those players, if it is a high priority for you they should be prepared to fulfil their half of the bargain and play the matches for you.

Good luck with the team!

My intention was to encourage more players to stay in the uk rather than play in the french & German leagues it be nice to see more spectators watching the matches

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paulisi · Tennis legend

Unfortunately Gary - there is decent money for playing French and German league tennis.

This National team tennis seems to have no profile whatsoever and very little marketing. The only thing us tennis enthusiasts new of it was what is promoted by Gary on here.

Are the players paid? Is the funding comparable to French and German leagues? Are the clubs supporting it and funding it?

A1 tennis academy · Satellite level

Some teams in including a1 are paying pro's others include Bromley who were first to pay pros and I followed suit it's in it's infancy and only allowed 2 ATP pros ranked 750 or better

The Optimist · ATP qualifying

Agree with your comment, Gary, re spectators. The grass court season in this country is marketed like mad, is expensive and hard to get to see. OK, club tennis, futures, 25Ks, British Tour etc are hardly Wimbledon but for those keen on tennis there are some really entertaining matches to watch - FOR FREE. Outside of Wimby the sport is just not marketed at all. There are one or 2 places that try (Notts Festival of Tennis, the Glasgow 10K) but they are the exception, although they do have a good atmosphere and show what could be done. If our new Canadian head honcho could do something in this area alone, for my mind he would have earned his salary.

Guess you can tell this is a real bugbear of mine!

stevemcqueen · Futures qualifying

There are very few real tennis fans in the UK. How many Brits ever follow Challenger tournaments? A couple of thousand maybe? Compare this with the number of people who follow lower division football, which I bet is several million. When I use the term "tennis fan" I make a distinction with "Wimbledon fan". The two things are very, very different. Everybody loves Wimbledon and it is extremely difficult to get tickets. We need to do a better job of turning Wimbledon fans into tennis fans. One thing that is going very well in terms of marketing is the Davis Cup - good promotion, excellent media coverage and exciting play! Long may this continue, and I wish I was joining the lucky folk travelling to Italy!

A1 tennis academy · Satellite level

Ok I will give you a quote :

"Individuals are never perfect but carefully selected teams can get close to perfection "

A1 tennis academy · Satellite level

Your right we are quite a small group this is why I am keen to promote Aegon team tennis and get tennis fans to regularly watch top 25 players

indiana · Tennis legend

Quote from who ?

Personally, I think it is a statement that is open to real debate rather any sort of truth. I'd think that the individual, with by definition less components to bring together, is on a given day actually more able to achive "perfection" or at least close to it. I would say that the good "team" is generally more consistent than the individual, but the individual can achieve glorious excellence, as can teams on occasion.

Much, of course, depends on the context and the aims. There will for instance be many situations where the consistency that the good team gives is most important, and others where the gifted individual can best just be left to flourish.

Building any good team I would think is utilising all the best elements of the individuals for the good of the team. But I'd still argue that the individual on a particular day is more able to achieve perfection.

One can see for instance in the football arena, long debates about how much license to give great individuals within the team environment.