The average age of men and women in the top 50 and top 100 is almost identical in the present ATP and WTA rankings.

ATP top 50 = 27.05, top 100= 27.12

WTA top 50= 26.7, top 100 = 27.10

So Im not sure that makes 21 year olds more or less likely to progress in either gender. I certainly dont think that 21-23 year olds should be thought of as too old for the tour.

What is true is that there are much fewer ex or present collegiate singles players on the womens tour, only 5 in the top 100 compared to 15 in the mens top 100. At least part of this is down to the negligible support that the WTA offer.

I think you can spin these figures any way but they certainly dont show that the womens game is dominated by youngsters.

Looking at the British players there are only 6 women total players in the top 200 including Emma at 203. Obviously none of those are ex collegiate players. Based on the fact that so many are now choosing college tennis as a pathway to pro tennis then perhaps the LTA could also step in and assist a little more in the transition process so that it is truly a pathway.

And if the ATP and WTA are going to unite will they have to reach a consensus on decisions like this?

I listened to the Cracked Racquets podcast reviewing the NCAA's. The Part 2 episode discussed the future of college tennis and covered a few of the topics discussed here recently, as well as the impact on college tennis that the recent NCAA settlement will have.

Collette Lewis was scathing of the women's accelerator programme. She thinks it is a failure of the ITA and doesn't understand why the ITF doesn't offer parity with the men when they are always going on about promoting opportunities for women in tennis. She has been trying to ask the ITF questions to get an understanding of their position. She had talked to a lot of players at Stillwater and all the men knew about and were enthusiastic about the Accelerator Program with many of the view it is one of the better innovations in college tennis recently. In contrast, no women mentioned it. However, while the men's accelerator program is welcome, there are problems with being able to use the places. The contributors said that Jo Monday had said he was only able to take 3 of his APs last year because he had difficultly getting in. Toby Samuel was apparently texting players every week asking if they were using their AP because he couldn't get in anywhere because he was last in line for the available place in a tournament and the other 9, and 2 players in particular, were taking them all. Some players went to tournaments well out of their way on the other side of the world which they wouldn't have otherwise gone to, just to be able to use their AP.

There is concern over the individual NCAAs moving to the fall. Of the many players Collette spoke to, she said not a single one of them showed any interest in playing the NCAAs in the fall. Neither of the two winners mentioned intending to defend their title in the fall (both have a year of eligibility left). Since the sport returned after covid, many of the top players want to play pro in the fall while attending classes online and then enrol to play for the team in the Spring. This was apparent to me last year and was a concern of mine. And they made a very reasonable comment as to doubting that the USTA would offer US Open WCs for winning the NCAAs 10 months before the US Open (not that that is revelant to our players). But the biggest concern was that this was the worse time to be trialling this given the recent NCAA settlement.

I had seen something about the settlement, but hadn't recognised or appreciated its significance to the impact on collegiate sport. I don't know much about this or how collegiate sports are structured and funded currently, so don't have a view on it but it sounds worrying. As I understand it the NCAA has settled to pay past players between 2016 and 2020 that were part of the class action lawsuit $2.8 billion in compensation and from 2025 colleges would be allowed - but not required - to share about 22% of their sports revenue or up to around $20 million with student-athletes.

As a consequence, athletics departments are looking to cut costs. There are fears among some coaches their tennis program would be cut, but others think there are other non-revenue sports with bigger rosters which are more at risk. There are questions over what is to happen with the fall season. Some coaches are suggesting that it should be dropped entirely, others are saying that athletics departments will cut costs and only pay for certain expenses so that travelling to some traditional events would not be feasible or that they may only be able to support their 1 and 2 players during the fall season. Others are saying that the tennis program can have a fall program if they find the funding themselves and the athletics department would only fund the team season.

They were also saying the scholarship model employed at the moment where the women's programs have 8 scholarships and men 4.5 scholarships would not continue and they would move to a roster cap with much of the funding for the scholarships moved to the revenue generating sports. Some tennis programs may have to be self-funding and there is talk of opening college tennis up to the betting market to fund it.

Much of this is speculation. Nobody really knows what is going to happen. But I'd be interested in those with experience in college tennis as to whether they know more or have any views.

Lambda wrote:

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Earlier this week Esther was nominated as 1 of 4 finalists for the ITA Ann Lebedeff Leadership Award.

The ITA Ann Lebedeff Leadership Award, as endowed by Billie Jean King, was created to honor a recent college graduate who played college tennis, demonstrated excellence in all aspects of being a student-athlete, was a leader on his or her team, and was an influential contributor on his or her college campus and community.

The recipient of the award will have demonstrated grit (i.e. passion and perseverance towards long-term goals), a commitment to social justice and equality, and will have pushed others to be leaders in addition to demonstrating his or her own leadership.

Esther Adeshina | University of Tennessee | NCAA Division I

As a member of the Tennessee womens tennis team, Esther Adeshina has not only been able to grow athletically but as a person as well, assuming many leadership roles both on her team and in the Knoxville community. During her time at Tennessee, Adeshina has served as a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and has also earned the opportunity to participate in The VOLeaders Academy, a program catered to nourish leadership qualities in student-athletes. As a result of taking part in VOLeaders, Adeshina was given the opportunity to spend ten days in the Philippines where she focused on community development and social change through sport. In addition to these, Adeshina has also given back to her community while at Tennessee, volunteering at events and organizations such as the Knoxville Area Rescue Mission, Little Smokies Tennis Club, and Kickball with Curt to name a few. Currently, Adeshina is wrapping up her senior year where she finished tied with the most dual match doubles wins on the team and helped lead the Lady Vols to an 18-7 regular season record.

-- Edited by Lambda on Friday 17th of May 2024 07:55:38 AM

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 https://wearecollegetennis.com/2024/06/06/2024-ita-ann-lebedeff-leadership-award-winner/

 

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA)  announced today the selection of University of Tennessees Esther Adeshina as the 2024 ITA Ann Lebedeff Leadership Award Winner as endowed by Billie Jean King. Adeshina will be honored with a postgraduate scholarship and special recognition at the ITA Leadership Awards Weekend in New York later this year. Additionally, the Tennessee womens tennis team will be awarded a $1,000 donation from the ITA in her honor.

At Tennessee, Adeshina has served as a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and has also earned the opportunity to participate in The VOLeaders Academy, a program catered to nourish leadership qualities in student-athletes. As a result of taking part in VOLeaders, Adeshina was given the opportunity to spend ten days in the Philippines where she focused on community development and social change through sport. Additionally, Adeshina has also spent time volunteering at events and organizations such as the Knoxville Area Rescue Mission, Little Smokies Tennis Club, and Kickball with Curt to name a few. With the Little Smokies Tennis Club, a ten-and-under tennis clinic hosted by Tennessee, Adeshina has made a positive impact on countless kids and their families, promoting the growth of tennis in the greater Knoxville area.

On the court, she has been a leader for the Lady Vols as well, helping the team to a 22-8 record this past season, including an upset victory in the Sweet Sixteen over top-seeded and previously undefeated Oklahoma State before reaching the semifinals of the NCAA Team Championship.

Adeshina is the seventh recipient of the award

-- Edited by cya on Thursday 6th of June 2024 05:30:53 PM

Amelia Rajecki (NC State University) wins ITA Senior Player of the Year in the ITA National Awards announced today

Finishing ranked No. 2 in singles, Amelia Rajecki ended the season as the highest-ranked senior in singles in NCAA Division I play. During the 2023-24 season, Rajecki secured wins over No. 1 Mary Stoiana (Texas A&M) 6-4, 6-2, No. 3 Kari Miller (Michigan) 6-4, 7-5, No. 6 Fiona Crawley (UNC) 6-3, 7-5 & 6-4, 7-5, No. 8 Carolyn Ansari 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, No. 11 Alexa Noel (Miami) 3-6, 6-4, 6-0, and No. 14 Savannah Broadus (Pepperdine) 6-3, 6-4. At the No. 1 spot, Rajecki went 31-7 in singles, 21-4 in dual matches, and 24-8 in doubles, 16-5 in dual matches. She went 9-3 in ACC play, 7-1 versus Top 15 Singles players in 2023-24 and 5-0 versus Top 10 Singles players. Rajecki posted a 103-39 career singles record, 65-19 in dual matches, and 28-7 in ACC play. In doubles, Rajecki went 98-42 in her career, 67-21 in dual matches and 29-7 in ACC play.

wearecollegetennis.com/2024/06/13/2024-division-i-womens-tennis-ita-national-awards/

 

Also, there were regional awards for her  , Esther Adeshina, Vic Allen, Hannah McColgan, Danielle Hack and Angelica Blake in the ITA Regional awards announced yesterday 

 

https://wearecollegetennis.com/2024/06/12/2024-ita-division-i-womens-regional-awards/

 

 

-- Edited by cya on Thursday 13th of June 2024 04:39:33 PM

cya wrote:

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Amelia Rajecki (NC State University) wins ITA Senior Player of the Year in the ITA National Awards announced today

Finishing ranked No. 2 in singles, Amelia Rajecki ended the season as the highest-ranked senior in singles in NCAA Division I play. During the 2023-24 season, Rajecki secured wins over No. 1 Mary Stoiana (Texas A&M) 6-4, 6-2, No. 3 Kari Miller (Michigan) 6-4, 7-5, No. 6 Fiona Crawley (UNC) 6-3, 7-5 & 6-4, 7-5, No. 8 Carolyn Ansari 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, No. 11 Alexa Noel (Miami) 3-6, 6-4, 6-0, and No. 14 Savannah Broadus (Pepperdine) 6-3, 6-4. At the No. 1 spot, Rajecki went 31-7 in singles, 21-4 in dual matches, and 24-8 in doubles, 16-5 in dual matches. She went 9-3 in ACC play, 7-1 versus Top 15 Singles players in 2023-24 and 5-0 versus Top 10 Singles players. Rajecki posted a 103-39 career singles record, 65-19 in dual matches, and 28-7 in ACC play. In doubles, Rajecki went 98-42 in her career, 67-21 in dual matches and 29-7 in ACC play.

wearecollegetennis.com/2024/06/13/2024-division-i-womens-tennis-ita-national-awards/

Also, there were regional awards for her  , Esther Adeshina, Vic Allen, Hannah McColgan, Danielle Hack and Angelica Blake in the ITA Regional awards announced yesterday 

https://wearecollegetennis.com/2024/06/12/2024-ita-division-i-womens-regional-awards/

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The extended write-up and quote - or should that be essay - from the coach is great and puts the journey she's been on into perspective.

There can be no greater accolade than
"Rajecki is a great story and inspiration for all players entering college."

https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/GIkySbKl0hex5

wearecollegetennis.com/2024/06/27/qualified-players-for-the-second-year-of-the-itf-wta-accelerator-programme/


Amelia (Millie) Rajecki is one of six players who have qualified for the ITF/WTA Accelerator Programme. Created in 2023, the programme aims to bring professional opportunities to the highest ITA-ranked women players in college tennis. With this partnership, the pathway from college tennis to the professional tour continues to grow stronger as the ITA, ITF, and WTA work to develop the next generation of players on tour.

Players ranked in the Top Five of the ITA final singles rankings as well as players who reach the NCAA Singles Final will be eligable for the ITF/WTA Accelerator Programme.

In total, the ITF/WTA College Accelerator Programme will award five ITF main draw wild cards (one W60, two W40s, two W25s) to any qualifying student-athlete who is not returning to college. Meanwhile, for any returning student-athletes, this programme will award three ITF main draw wild cards (one W60, two W40s) to qualifying student-athletes.

Other players are
Mary Stoiana - Texas A&M ,
Alexa Noel - Miami
Dasha Vidmanova - Georgia
Kari Miller - Michigan and Anastasiia Lopata - Georgia

-- Edited by cya on Thursday 27th of June 2024 10:15:11 PM