I know this has been said before (by me and others) but with the US Open it struck me again that, in the last 12 months, the US College players have really made a sea-change impact on GB tennis
We've always had a couple - one or two, here or there - often getting to about 200-250 or so in singles (Ed Corrie style) and often then changing to doubles (Lloyd, Joe S, although Joe's singles never got anywhere near that)
But Cam has now become top-10 in singles, GB number 1 without question
And a whole heap of other players have really made their mark - a player like Ali G was 1000 this time last year, and now about to break into the top 250
Ryan P just broke out during the grass season, into a whole different cohort
Paul Jubb is doing the same - going for that same cohort
And then there's the sudden arrival of the graduates - Dan L, Charlie B, Giles, Henry P
And also the sudden surge of the current undergraduates - Toby, Johannus, Max B, Finn(s), Millen, Arthur of course....
Dubs also has felt the benefit (Henry and Julian being the most obvious)
A mega thank you to the US College system from me ....
Completely agree CD and for those questioning whether the US student-athlete pathway is a viable approach to going pro, the numbers speak for themselves and lets not forget most have a degree and for the Covid cohort often a masters as well
Ill wait a few months and do a Whereare they now? summary for the Class of 22, will be interesting to see if any are trying to go pro
-- Edited by Elegant Point on Friday 26th of August 2022 08:21:22 AM. ipad typos
-- Edited by Elegant Point on Friday 26th of August 2022 08:21:51 AM
Not a Brit, but follow on from CDs post above about the recent success of college players on the tour. He's American, 19 years old and has yet to travel out of the USA, but University of Florida student athlete Ben Shelton is about to see a lot more of the world.
Shelton is up to No. 171 in singles, making him the third-highest teenager in the ATP rankings behind No. 4 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and No. 32 Holger Rune of Denmark, who are both 19 years old and already Grand Slam quarterfinalists.
By turning professional Shelton will keep his prize money of $84,510 from Cincinnati and the $80,000 he will earn for playing in the first round of the U.S. Open.
The NYT has an exclusive interview with him & his father & coach Bryan. May need E69s work around to access
Not a Brit, but follow on from CDs post above about the recent success of college players on the tour. He's American, 19 years old and has yet to travel out of the USA, but University of Florida student athlete Ben Shelton is about to see a lot more of the world. Shelton is up to No. 171 in singles, making him the third-highest teenager in the ATP rankings behind No. 4 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and No. 32 Holger Rune of Denmark, who are both 19 years old and already Grand Slam quarterfinalists. By turning professional Shelton will keep his prize money of $84,510 from Cincinnati and the $80,000 he will earn for playing in the first round of the U.S. Open.
The NYT has an exclusive interview with him & his father & coach Bryan. May need E69s work around to access
I remember his Dad, had a couple of decent runs at Wimbledon and, I think, Queens. Won Newport , so a grass man. Wonder if Ben will like the grass when he gets to play on it over here next year?
Thanks to those who contribute regularly to this section - always interested to read about our college players, even though I rarely have anything to add.
"While the International Tennis Federation-sanctioned event allows for college players to compete and earn world ranking points in such events, NCAA rules still prohibit them from collecting the $930 prize money the ITF pays to the winners of doubles events at this level ($2,160 for the singles champion)."
I thought that was no longer true? I thought the 'expenses only' rule had been relaxed to a ceiling amount of approx 10k? Is this not so? (Was never so/was so but has been changed?)
PS For the 2022/23 thread, just me, but I do like the title that says '..and general college chat', like this one. As opposed to just signings. Difficult to know where to put current general stuff otherwise.
"While the International Tennis Federation-sanctioned event allows for college players to compete and earn world ranking points in such events, NCAA rules still prohibit them from collecting the $930 prize money the ITF pays to the winners of doubles events at this level ($2,160 for the singles champion)."
I thought that was no longer true? I thought the 'expenses only' rule had been relaxed to a ceiling amount of approx 10k? Is this not so? (Was never so/was so but has been changed?)
PS For the 2022/23 thread, just me, but I do like the title that says '..and general college chat', like this one. As opposed to just signings. Difficult to know where to put current general stuff otherwise.
I thought the expenses rule had modified too, along with players now able to profit from their own likeness.
I have swapped to the 2022/23 thread as we are in the Fall and all the new 2022 signees have started college and included general chat even though not in the title - is it possible to change??
Delighted to see a few more posters on the College threads, especially as I dont follow the college women.