ALTHOUGH most health authorities tick tennis as a desirable sport, some groups claim the sport is dying in this country — especially in the competition ranks.
The decline has followed the lack of success in professional competition ranks on the international stage, with the number of registered tennis players in this state alone having plummeted by nearly 75 per cent over the past 27 years.
Kerry Dock, who runs Tennis Blast Academy at Carss Park, is so concerned he has written a letter to Australian Davis Cup captain, Pat Rafter.
Dock runs a grassroots tennis school, and while his social players include leading St George Hospital cardiologist Dr Mark Sadar and his children, Dock feels first-hand the overall "lack of interest" in tennis, especially once promising players become teenagers.
"Other sports are killing tennis," said Dock, coach and a specialist kid's trainer with more than 30 years experience.
"We're not getting kids going on to become champions because for most it involves too much expense.
"Australia doesn't have any ready-made replacements for Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Stozur, who won't be around much longer . . . and Bernard Tomic can't win a match at the moment.
"There's been no one for the young kids to look up to.
"Also, the emphasis on youngsters chasing [junior] tournament points means coaching, fees, travel and equipment costs force families paying upwards of $1000 a week.
"That's why I've written to Pat Rafter."
In his letter he points out that the number of registered tennis players in NSW has fallen from 27,681 in 1985 to just 7949 (2012).
"In a growing nation of more than 23 million people, the question is why?" said the letter.
"My associates and I believe that the player development system in Australia needs to be reinvigorated at the grassroots level to halt this decline.
"The tennis community of NSW and Australia needs a champion of your stature to help us revive the game at the grassroots level.
"Now is the perfect time to revolutionise the way ordinary Australians think and feel about tennis," the letter to Rafter concludes.
On the social front, Dr Sadar said tennis was still important for "overall general fitness".
"Also when your kids see you playing, it encourages the family to exercise," he said.
Is tennis too costly for promising young competition players in this country?
