Tomic Defeats Klahn in Nottinghill Final; Rus Takes Girls Title in AO Juniors warmup event; How I'd Provide Funding for Juniors
If the past is any indication, we'll be getting most of our news about the Australian Open Junior championships from the ITF Junior website--the official Australian Open website hasn't covered juniors with any regularity in past years, although this might change if Bernard Tomic goes deep in the draw as he is now expected to do after winning the Grade 1 in Nottinghill yesterday. The ITF recap of that tournament is here, with mention of Bradley Klahn's excellent singles results, although no mention of the doubles title he won with Milos Raonic of Canada. Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands, a semifinalist at the Orange Bowl last month, won the girls title, and is definitely a contender for the AO junior title, even with 2007 finalists Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia and Madison Brengle of the U.S. in the mix again this year. The ITF's preview of the Australian Open junior competition is here.
Alexa Guarachi is the only other American girl listed in the AO final acceptances, but since the top three in the final qualifying list weren't in the the qualifying, including Lauren McHale of the U.S., I'm assuming they have been placed in the main draw. The draws haven't been released yet on the AO website, but the results from qualifying are available here.
As I've mentioned before, there were no American boys in qualifying, and only three have made the trip--Klahn, Ryan Harrison and Ty Trombetta. Having been to Australia once myself, I can say unequivocally that it is a fabulous experience, and every junior who has an opportunity to play it should. But I can also vouch for the considerable expense involved, and that was two years ago, when plane fares were less and the U.S. dollar was stronger.
I know that the $1500 stipulated in the Junior Grand Slam grant (view details here, by scrolling down) won't buy a ticket to Melbourne, and if I'm reading this right, a junior who qualifies does not get the grant. This goes a long way to explaining why of the 128 players in the main singles draws in the Australian Open Juniors, six are Americans.
I believe the USTA should provide its main draw accepted juniors with a coach (one for boys, one for girls), and reasonable airfare to attend all four Grand Slams, including the U.S. Open, which is now expressly excluded. For the three outside the U.S., the ITF Grade 1 events immediately prior to the Junior Slams are included in this "team trip." Airfare can be purchased by individual families, but they will be reimbursed based on the actual cost of the ticket purchased for the USTA coach who accompanies them. Airline change fees will be the responsibility of the family, but since the coach will be staying until the end of the tournament, any player who is already eliminated and no longer eligible for ITF hospitality will have his or her hotel room costs (typically two players are expected to share a room) covered, along with a food allowance equal to that which the players still in the draw receive. For this, they are required to attend matches of other U.S. players, serve as practice partners, etc.
Qualifiers who earn their way into the main draw are reimbursed for their airfare, and are entitled to the same treatment as originally accepted players. If a qualifier does not make it through to the main draw, they will receive only 50% of the airfare cost (again based on the coach's ticket price) and will be required to pay their own hotel bills.
Families wishing to accompany their children and make other arrangements for food and lodging are welcome to do so, but will be reimbursed exactly the same amount as an unaccompanied player travelling with the USTA "team."
I'm sure there are issues I've overlooked, scenarios I haven't considered, but it's a start. Playing top-level international competition in a Grand Slam atmosphere is a reward for performance and hard work, and the USTA should ensure that expense is not a reason to forgo the opportunity.
1 comments:
This isn't a criticism of the players but I've always wondered what benefit does someone like Madison Brengle who has turned pro and got a ranking up in the 200's get out of playing in the junior events? I know some people might say there's prestige in winning one of the junior Grand Slams but I just think if you want to be a junior, stay in the juniors. If you want to be a pro, be a pro and give up the juniors.
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