UPDATE! Townsend won DOUBLES + USTA NOW says there was MISCOMMUNICATION! BS!
So now it seems the USTA is changing its tune.
Taylor Townsend of the United States is the No. 1-ranked junior girls’ tennis player in the world. She is clearly a young player with a bright future. But the USTA wasn’t that interested in helping her in the U.S. Open, saying Townsend needs to help herself first. In fact, they didn’t even want her there.
Townsend, who was born in Chicago but has since moved to Boca Raton, Fla., to join the USTA development program, wasn’t sent to New York for the U.S. Open by the organization that runs American tennis. Townsend had to pay her own way. Why? Tom Perrotta o fthe Wall Street Journal found out.
But unbeknownst to everyone outside her inner circle, the USTA wasn’t happy to see Townsend in New York. Her coaches declined to pay her travel expenses to attend the Open and told her this summer that they wouldn’t finance any tournament appearances until she makes sufficient progress in one area: slimming down and getting into better shape.
The USTA refused to pay the young tennis star’s way to the U.S. Open so Townsend’s mother put up the money.
“Our concern is her long-term health, number one, and her long-term development as a player,” said Patrick McEnroe, the general manager of the USTA’s player development program. “We have one goal in mind: For her to be playing in [Arthur Ashe Stadium] in the main draw and competing for major titles when it’s time. That’s how we make every decision, based on that.”
So, essentially, the USTA doesn’t think Townsend is going to be able to compete at her size. Nevermind that she won the Australian Open junior title this year and that SHE IS THE NO. 1-RANKED JUNIOR IN THE WORLD.
For what it’s worth, Townsend and her mother aren’t upset about it. They told Perrotta they are grateful for everything the USTA has already done for them.
Unfortunately, Townsend ended up losing Friday’s match to No. 12 Anett Kontaveit of Estonia 6-4, 6-4, denying her of a second grand slam title this year. It’s hard to think the distraction of this story didn’t play at least some sort of a role.
Understanding full well that fitness is a very important part of the game, if she has shown no problems competing up to this point at her size, then what exactly is the issue? Why try to prevent her from playing in maybe the biggest tournament of the year? It is a punishment, an incentive to get her to work harder on focusing on fitness. Some tough love.
It just doesn’t seem like the right way to do it. The experience she gets from playing in these tournaments is just as important as her fitness. There is a fine line the USTA is toeing here. Hopefully it doesn’t turn Townsend off or FANS!
UPDATE: Taylor Townsend, 16, of Boca Raton, Fla., won her third junior Grand Slam doubles title of the year on Saturday, claiming the United States Open title with Gabrielle Andrews, 15, of Pomona, Calif. They scored a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Belinda Bencic of Switzerland and Petra Uberalova of Slovakia.
Townsend, the world’s top-ranked junior girl, continued to insist that she had not misread comments by United States Tennis Association officials about her fitness and their desire, she said, that she not attend the tournament at Flushing Meadows. A report in The Wall Street Journal said that the U.S.T.A. declined to finance her trip to the Open over concerns about her fitness.
Patrick McEnroe, who heads player development for the association, said on Friday that there had been a miscommunication and that the U.S.T.A. had always intended to sponsor and finance her trip.
“There was no miscommunication,” Townsend said. “I don’t know what else to say. My mom was coming but they did not fund us for the tickets.”
via BMS
