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Tennis World

By: Angel Miranda

Grade: 11B

Tennis World

Tennis is a sport full of long time traditions and respectful attitudes in and out of the court. That's why in England in the most important and emblematic grand slam; there are still a lot of the most important old traditions of tennis. But there are also other three grand slams, which are not too emblematic as Wimbledon (England); these other three complete the golden slam, which are Australian open, Roland Garros and US open. 



When you talk about a grand slam you immediately related to glory and the best quality of tennis you can ever see during the whole year. These tournaments are where we can see the top ten players of the world playing their best matches. But for that they have to be constant during the whole year in the masters 1000 and 500, for that is really important the physical strength and the mental stability. Also there are some specialized on playing doubles, but really few play singles and doubles at the same time, because is really hard to have good and constant results in both at the same time. But for other players the most important tournament is the Davis cup, in which the counties gather the best of their countries making a team of 5 players and play a kind of "World cup" in which it is lost the old traditions, because people feel like in a soccer field.

In Colombia we have had some really good players but never a protagonist of the top ten, actually the best ranking ever reached by a Colombian is 44 in the atp, which is Santiago Giraldo who is sponsored by Colsanitas. This sponsorship is considered the best sponsorship in the world, which has a team, conformed by only Colombians. So if these players have the best or one the best sponsorships in the world, why are they not in the top ten players from the world? 



The previous question can be answered with a simple word "selfishness", between the members of team that never look beyond what the members of the team do or not. But if these players didn’t had a good itf process, it would be very difficult to be a pro, this junior circuit gives most of knowledge for a player to pass from been a junior to be a pro, which is the most important transition in a tennis player. For example Santiago Giraldo had a good itf process but this is because he had the money and the conditions to do it, and when he had a good participation in this circuit is when the sponsorships come to the players. But in other countries the sponsorship are given when the children are little, when they haven't still play the junior circuit. In conclusion it can be said that the principal reason because Colombia is not consider a strong country at the professional circuit.

Another factor that stops the development of tennis in Colombia is the lack of qualified coaches that make a Colombian player a professional player, a top ten player. Many Colombian coaches began as caddies, picking up balls, then they became staffs and later, coaches. These coaches haven’t the necessarily study or preparation that is needed to reach that goal. A tennis player to be able to become pro needs many physical qualities such as speed, strength, endurance, and coordination among others. Besides the physical qualities is also important to consider the proper nutrition, mental aspects and some other. So for a Colombian coach is very difficult to improve in all the qualities and aspects that are required, so they don’t cover all the things needed for a player because of lack of education.

In addition, it is also important to take into account that the investment of money is very important because tennis is not a cheap sport. Tennis is a sport in which money is required in order to cover all necessary expenses, from a string to travel, and there are many Colombian tennis players that aren’t able to cover all the necessarily expenses in order to have a chance to be a top ten. In Colombia a sport such as tennis is not supported at all, there are, some sponsorship but really they are not very good. Brands like Babolat, Head, Prince and Wilson offer sponsorships in which is given a suitcase, a thermo bag, three racquets and a few clothes to the player, every year. These sponsorships aren’t for everyone, only are offer to the best tennis player of the country, in this case Colombia. Besides, the sponsorship helps a little, comparing all the costs that are required. Then as a consequence, the lack of support not only from these sponsors but also government is reflected in many talented players that are forced to leave the sport or simply stop traveling due lack of resources. If a player does not travel is impossible for you to become a professional because tournaments and competition is the most important part, because is where all results are shown and the effort and work can be reflected.

For example, not going too far in Bogota Tennis League for the past twenty years have seen corruption of many managers and presidents, who have stolen a lot of money. This stolen money affected the development of tennis in Colombia; we can say that did not allow the league to improve in many aspects, not also giving negative effects in the league, but in the city, and also in the country because it does not advance much. All the money that was stolen could help a lot, have been assembled with the best players in the league economically, also enhancing the different sites available to the league and also a very good investment would be having different trainings and courses for coaches and trainers to improve. Everything that could have been, but thanks to these people who only think about them and not to the development of young Colombian tennis players, tight for long. Currently in Bogota tennis league is Jaime Pedraza Yepes, as president, an orthopedic of Santafe clinic, father of the young players Daniela and Diego Pedraza. This character is putting order around the league. After the arrival of Dr. Pedraza, many employees decided to retire because they did not agree with the new rules and organization, Now everything is getting better and better, so is expected to see the improvements in few time.

As conclusion, we can say that for having a possibility of a Colombian player can get to play a grand slam such as Australian Open, Roland Garros, U.S. Open and open England or being in the top ten at ATP or WTA, is necessarily the start of a process since child, having good results in the country and then in the ITF. Also is needed the improvement of many internal aspects in the country such as the lack of trained coaches, sponsorship and economic aid, as it is also important that every player will improve as a person and have all the necessary dedication and effort. For all this may become, we need to stop corruption at all, and be supportive by thinking not only in their own benefit but also having into a count the future of Colombian young athletes.