There have been cycles of domination in tennis. In the beginning it was the British and the French, then came the Aussies followed by the Americans and now the Europeans (basically Eastern Europe).

With such a continuous cycle running, China is the next dominant force, keeping in mind the number of Chinese men and women tennis players showing up on the tour.

American tennis is in free fall. Since the days of Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, Michael Chang and Andre Agassi, the men's tour has only seen Andy Roddick and the Bryan brothers winning on the tour consistently and keeping the American flag flying. In the same vein, since the winning ways of Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles (after both became US citizens) and Jennifer Capriati, only Lindsay Davenport and the William sisters have kept on winning, though lately very inconsistently.

'James Blake's one-dimensional power hitting game has brought much criticism on the tour and he has often disappointed'


The William sisters are never short of surprises and are always capable of winning the biggies, but then again, they are few and far between. They have other interests to keep them occupied and, at their age, their careers seem to be heading towards retirement very soon.

The number of Grand Slams they can collect before then is anybody's guess. There is a certain unpredictable quality about these sisters which can never allow even the most dismissive critic to discount their chances at big tournaments. They are injury prone, which leads to tournament absence and adds to their often erratic performances.

Lindsay Davenport delivered some very strong results and then settled into holy matrimony and motherhood, although she has won quite a few low-profile tournaments since her comeback. But her days on the tour are numbered and, like Venus and Serena, she has nothing to prove.

She is now playing for herself rather than for the honours. But after these legendary women, who'll take their places? In truth there are no new American women players around to challenge the influx of French, Russians, Serbians, and the ever growing numbers of Chinese on the tour right now.

On the men's side, Roddick is the only one to watch out for, but, at 25, his days will be numbered on the tour and the opportunities for him to win another Grand Slam are quickly vanishing.

James Blake's one-dimensional power hitting game has brought much criticism on the tour and he has often disappointed. He hasn’t had any encouraging performances at the Grand Slams and his chances of ever winning one seem remote. A few years back he had a shot at glory with a final appearance at the Masters Championship but after that he hit a plateau of mediocrity.

Doubles specialists the Bryan brothers are also at the late end of 20. Though they are the No.1pairing in the world and have a very good record at the Grand Slams, they can only have a few seasons left in them. Hardly any other Americans are doing well on the doubles circuit.

Looking to the future, only a handful of Americans look capable of making even a slight impact. John Isner, Sam Querrey, Donald Young and some other young players have been getting some positive reviews but their results are not encouraging. Robby Ginepri has had a good result at the French Open but he is extremely inconsistent.

With such a gloomy future ahead, the USTA need to revamp their old ways to get back into the winning mode. Asian countries like India have a programme to bring about a Grand Slam winner by 2018. China and Japan are climbing the ladder. The American dream of tennis superiority will be short lived and might just have to take a back seat.