"craigh_cp16" <craigh_cp16@y...> wrote:
> Daniela will come back to the Top 10, sooner or later.

It did not happen to Kurnikova - she made it to 8.

> Daniela is the last of the flair players. In the future all will be
> machines like Sharapova.

Sharapova isn't a machine. She can be a very exciting player to watch. Sh=
e's
amazingly atheletic.

There are lots of good up-and-coming players with flair, and personality, w=
ho
are fun to watch.

------------------------------------------------

> Anyone who saw the Cutting Edge documentary on the WTA has seen the
> amateurs who run it. Their lack of support for Daniela last year
> sends a big message to junior players.

I did not see the documentary.

There are a lot of strange things going on in tennis. I think the biggest
area of suspicion must be drugs.

My understanding is that in 2002, they performed about 1500 drug tests
on 500 players. If that is for the whole of tennis, it seems very small.
There are about 1500 male and 1500 female professionals; added to
this are about 2000 serious U18 juniors, and probably a similar number
of serious juniors in younger age groups – say 7000. If we deduct 1000
for overlaps, that gives us an estimated 6000 serious players – of these
500 get tested (1 in 12).

The benefits of performance enhancing drugs can be significant. They
can help build up strength and energy, and help reduce recovery times.
If drugs are taken in low doses over a long time, they can be difficult to
detect – especially in young women.

In the pro-game service speeds are faster than in the junior game. It is
pretty obvious how drugs would help making the transition.

In the junior game it is an advantage building up strength at a younger
age than competitors. (Think about the benefits of a 14 year old girl
having the muscles of a 25 year old man.)

Without far more testing it is impossible to know whether drug taking
is confined to a few isolated individuals or whether the majority of
players take them.

One must be suspicious of people whose physiques change in the
course of 10 months from little match-stick legs to fine muscular bodies.
One must also be suspicious of people who set records for service
speed.

The attitude of the people running tennis seems to be that of sweeping
it all under the carpet. There is a rule about not bringing tennis into
disrepute. There have been stories in the newspapers about players
being taken aside and told to keep their views to themselves.

Some American sports are rife with drugs. It has been estimated that
US pro basketball has 40-60% of players taking performance-enhancing
drugs.

In all of these US dominated pro sports, the rewards for those who make
it to the top level are high. There are few rewards for those who are
slightly inferior.