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It can not be too early to panic.

Four Americans finally secured a spot in the top 10 - Venus and Serena Williams, Andy Roddick and James Blake - and sizzling sisters have won the last three Slam titles, so there is little reason for American fans to mope and moan when you are thinking of what has come to the end of '09.

but at the time of the new decade rolls around, there May be a good reason for panic. In '08, the U.S. ended the year at a curious position - with only eight men and five women in the top 100 More significantly, only two top-50 players - 21-year-old Sam Querrey, a 24-year-old Bethanie Mattek - are younger than 26, and an argument could be that the Williamses, Roddick and Blake peak [. [/ P>

the future does not look all that great as U.S. trainers would be difficult to name a surefire impact player. There are a slew of young professionals with top-50 potential, but almost none with a clear top-10 things beyond athletic 17-year-old CoCo Vandeweghe, and even she was released uneven results.

there is no question that the game has increasingly gone global with each year and, in many ways, it's a good thing, as more standout players from more countries to add fresh flavor and personality to the sport. Afterall, who does not like the charismatic Serb?

But it is also important for the United States retain a critical mass of top players who are the nation's youth can look up to. For the U.S., which is the most successful tennis nation in history, having four players in the top 10 might be the bare minimum and, indeed, there are four main contenders in the straw is even more important. In '08, Roddick and Blake were not on anyone's list of favorites in absentia. On the men's side, as Federer and Nadal took over the landscape in the '04-'05, the U.S. has not caught a single large crown. women's side is different, like the Williams sisters combined to win 17 majors between '99 and the first two months of '09, but since Lindsay Davenport became a mom, our singers have had a significant choir to back them up.

There are dozens of reasons why other nations have gained in America and there are still those who believe that the United States' gradual decline is slightly more than expected down cycle. But statistics do not lie, and there is no doubt that over the past 40 years, the number of Americans in the first 100 was dramatically decreased - by about 75 percent compared to the men's side, and more shockingly, some 87 percent of the female side. And when that happens, there is less chance that someone will emerge from the pack and become an elite player.

"This is absolutely a fall, " said Pam Shriver. "quality players have gone down, but it's not just tennis that is facing it. I think he might look across the board for all sports and see the number of Americans falling. Part of the internationalization, and the second part is the lack of talent and desire to break the competitive framework. "

Consider this: Roddick won the U.S. Open '03, only one member of his generation, has even reached a Slam semifinal - Robby Ginepri of Georgia, in the '05 U.S. Open, and with regard to its follow-up results that can be viewed as a fluke.

On the women's side, no American-born players outside the Williamses and Davenport have achieved even Slam semifinal since Jennifer Capriati at the '03 U.S. Open. In contrast, the tennis factories that Russia has three Slam titles overall and eight semifinalists in the same period.

"When the number of talented U.S. women has fallen so dramatically, we really need to see if our young girls receive the best coaching of talented people out there, " said Shriver. "We treat our junior girls as much as we do our junior boys ."

The common wisdom is that Americans are not as hungry and Eastern Euro, which often have to scratch and claw to make a living for their families. It is hard to find analysts who think that it is not at least part of the reason for the decline - that people simply outworked. In short, America has become too soft.

"I think this is Generation Y, or what we call the E-generation - the right generation, says: 'I want to play football and be a lifesaver in the summer months, and if things do not work out I just go home dad . It's not a big thing, "opined the former French Open doubles champion and current Syracuse women's coach Luke Jensen. "Russians can not go home, there is 30 percent unemployment South America, Argentina -.. no economy, no future, you can make it have no choice you have to succeed ...."

the preeminent sports psychologist Jim Loehr agrees and says that spoiled children do not make for great leaders in anything.

"wealth undermines the drive, " says Loehr. "If you come from a very wealthy family and there is no real urgency to accomplish extraordinary things to survive, you're not going to push themselves to endure a lot of pain. You have to slow down the position. It is no surprise that many top players come from areas in the world where they will fight like a dog for survival. If you look at golf and why South Koreans dominate the LPGA, it's because they have a work ethic that is beyond comprehension. There is a great chance for burnout, but they do not slow down the position of those betting the whole farm on the same child with Monica Seles -.. any of its parents and Monica worked on the court knowing they are fighting for the survival of the whole family ."

Tracy Austin, now coach of the mouth, which is not exactly grow up queuing up in breadlines but became one of the most driven of competitors in its time, he added, "It's all about who works harder and what is in the gut. So many than parents in other European countries, they will send kids away. It is hunger and work ethic that seems different ."

But this does not explain why Austin, Davenport and Jim Courier, who all came from upper middle class or wealthy backgrounds, made ​​it big, or why Roddick, who comes from a similar economic class, was jeSAD 'top male contractor in the last five years, or why Blake, who is also from the middle to upper-middle class background, was a consistent top-15 performers

There is little doubt that the bust from poor border Compton encouraged the Williamses to salivate for fame, but what does not make much sense is why so many other African-American players who followed - like Jame Jackson, Shenay Perry , Asha Rolle, Scoville Jenkins, Levar Harper Griffith, Phillip Simmonds (and more) - they had no real impact, and why Asian Americans and Vania King, Kevin Kim and Cecil Mamiit Meilen Tu is not ascended to the top.

"There is no substitute for hard work,"said Roddick. "This is one of the things that are missing when you see the young American players. puts a different dynamic on things when you're playing tennis to find a way out of the country in relation to playing for fun ."

Loehr says that Roddick is an exception because he is the right of parenthood and not get emotional a free brochure.

"This is 100 percent because his parents instilled in him that tennis is the most important thing you will ever do and they started from the age of four. What I do not want to live outside the child's parents. What do you want is hard work, delayed gratification, dream and work hard to show that it is good for you for a fantastic opportunity to push the boundaries. Parents have to support and push from time to time, but that is more than just tennis, as well as Tiger Woods' father when he said it was not just about great golfer but a great man and Tiger uses golf as a part-time force field to grow and become outstanding individuals ."

Jose Higueras, now Director of Coaching for the mouth of Elite Player Development under Patrick McEnroe and former teacher and Slam Champs Courier, Michael Chang, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, said that his work cut out for him in designing new programs to Mouth Home Depot Center in Carson and Boca Raton, but says that the good days may be ahead. But Higueras, as Jensen, stressed that defines American style, must come to the fore.

"I do not think our kids are stupider than anyone else, " said Higueras. "They are as good as anyone in the world. If we get the right people, it should only be a matter of time. It surprises me that there are a lot of American juniors who get the top 10 in the ITF, and then the pros and fall off If you look at American children in general -. I do not think we have a style ... When you look at players from South America, from Europe, they play pretty much the same game. changed where athletes are better, play more with the back of the court, which means you must be a better driver, a better understanding of the game, and this may be the reason why we are pulling back a bit. We have no definitive style or way of teaching ."

Jensen said that his team is Syracuse itself defines the work ethic, his style of play and the rest of the country should do the same.

"When I say Russian tennis, Spanish, tennis, Australian - you have a definition of work ethic, and the U.S. style of play that they are 60 and 70 with Gonzalez, Ralston, I. Kramer Trabert. There is a style which is a large service, a great volley. And this has continued through these 80-and 90-ies. Now I will talk with the best players in our country, and I say point blank, 'How many days a week doing practice? "' You know, four or five . "Four or five? What are your tennis aspirations? "These are elite players. They want to play tennis D1. They do not even think at the top of Mount Everest. They were just kind of getting into the database ... When Americans show up in practice courts? When the Russians do not appear ? Russians were the first ones there and they were the last to leave. No Russians were looking to get autographs. They are here to win. Are we there to win? Are you here on holiday or are here to win? Each of my children to five miles every day. It is 1850 miles per year. They do not crunch 500 sit-ups, 100 push-ups every day. It's all up to how badly you want it and we're going to want it more than the Russians and South America and all al. And if that fails, if you work hard does not know what else there ."

Higueras, who in his time was known as one of the most dedicated grinders tour, said that many of today's players are nurtured in the wrong environment and lack of mental stamina of Sampras, Courier and Chang.

"I do not think our children are exposed to on a daily basis to what it takes to become a champion," he said. "If you go to Europe, it is quite simple: ... children are four to five hours a day and it's a grind It's not so easy if it were, everyone would be great in the old days our children may have had a little bit more of that mentality ... If you want to become great players, it does not come free, and it does not happen only once trying every other day or once a week. It comes hard every day. "

As John McEnroe said, be devoid player that supports the extended family is not an automatic key to success. Environmental law is always key.

"Just because someone was hungry, and was in the middle of a war zone in Serbia does not mean that it is the only way to be champion in tennis, " he said. "Look at Nadal and Federer, they come from Majorca and Switzerland These are two perfectly good education, and they are the best in the world and someone found something inside that Nadal is outstanding We try to get better athletes in. .. our sport."

Loehr said that in the case of Federer and Nadal, it's not their economy which is so important, it was how their parents and / or extended families handled their access to sport.

"You can still do it if you're rich or middle class, if you have parents who are connected and understand the hard work and not try to buy their way into the finals ... Not enough parents understand how to create the right conditions home ."

Loehr said that the biggest obstacle facing the United States that the sport has become too expensive for most families to afford. While only playing a sport in public parks, shopping rackets, balls and shoes and pay for a few clinics is not prohibitive, the top juniors demand more. Provision of private coaching and travel for junior competition of 10-year period and costs in six figures.

"If the IMG Nick Bollettieri has not helped Monica [Seles], she could not have done it and would have just disappeared, " said Loehr. "You have an incredible sense of drive, as the Williams sisters, but also had time to open them and then it is earned. In this country, playing tennis is very expensive. It is such a big country and you have to go to be recognized and get to the highest level and there are serious financial obstacles. While in Europe, have the same geography and can play all these tournaments and the cost is not so great. In the U.S., only people who can afford the affluent and the perk and status symbol. They have not gotten 100 percent. When we find athletes who are gifted, they can not pay the tab for training and travel. As you get better and better, more cost has to be taken by mouth or outside sources, so it becomes cheaper for you to a certain level, but you have earned the right to have your expenses paid for. This will make it possible for those who are not rich to get to the top ."

Shriver was not sure if it's a real fix. "I think we can safely say that on a large volume of players anymore, but that does not mean we can not have quality players. It is a matter of setting the right framework and the path to success and finding the correct way to do that in this society is not going to be easy ."