Doubles tennis is not dead. You just can’t find it on TV.
You can find it being played on the back courts at the U.S. Open in Flushing. You just won’t find it at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Not until the semifinals and finals, anyway.
If you are a recreational player and play tennis on public courts or at a country club, chances are you play doubles. The chances, too, are that you cannot name any more professional doubles players than you can hold tennis balls in one hand.
Yet the second-ranked men’s doubles team in the world and current Olympic gold medal winners are twins Bob and Mike Bryan, who are American. So, too, is the No. 1-ranked women’s doubles team, Lisa Raymond and Liezel Huber. American sisters Serena and Venus Williams, known more for their singles prowess, won the Olympic gold medal for women’s doubles in London.
There has been no shortage of criticism during the last decade picking apart American tennis, which has had as many dominant singles players as you can find bargains at the concession stands at the U.S. Tennis Center.
The fact that America has not produced a men’s Grand Slam singles winner since Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003 and that, other than the Williams sisters, women’s tennis has been dominated by foreigners, is a constant negative reminder of how far we’ve fallen behind in the world game.
We have not, however, fallen behind in doubles. America actually owns doubles. Yet you would think no one pays any attention considering that the only time doubles gets onto TV is when networks need programming filler during rain delays of live singles matches.
If you were lucky enough to score a seat at crowded Court 17 yesterday to see the defending champions Raymond and Huber upset by Su-Wei Hsieh and Anabel Medina Garrigues you’d have a hard time believing no one cares about doubles.
On Thursday, Raymond and Huber played before a standing-room-only Court 4, defeating Eleni Daniilidou and Casey Dellacqua in a match that dripped with drama with the top seeds winning 6-4, 6-7 (10-8), 6-4 after trailing 4-1 in the third.
Yet when that match was over, Raymond and Huber were not escorted into one of the main interview rooms in the media center as singles winners almost always are. I was one of only three people who requested an interview with them.
“I don’t really know where to really start with that battle,’’ Raymond said , her voice laced with at least a hint of exasperation. “It probably starts with our tour [the WTA] and the marketing they do of us — or lack thereof. Get our names out there and promote us and people will start to recognize us. That’s where the cycle begins.
“If you ask the average fan, they like to go watch players that they’re familiar with.’’
The outlook by the Bryan brothers, who are awaiting their third-round match today against Santiago Gonzalez and Scott Lipsky, is bit brighter.
“Sometimes there is a focus in the media on the lack of American singles players that are dominating or winning Grand Slams, but we don’t ever really complain about the lack of notoriety; we like the niche we’ve carved out in this game,’’ Bob Bryan said.
“TV makes tennis players stars and fans come see the stars,’’ Mike Bryan said. “It would be nice to have more TV time; that’s what makes singles so big. But, it is fun being the face of doubles.’’
Bob Bryan said, “About 90-percent of tennis players at club level play doubles, so the hard-core tennis fan loves doubles and the casual sports fan doesn’t know doubles.’’
That changed, at least slightly the Bryans believe, when they won gold in London.
“It was the best thing we’ve ever done in tennis, by far, because sports fans who don’t know anything about tennis know who we are now,’’ Bob Bryan said.
“It transcended just the sport of tennis,’’ Mike Bryan said. “We feel like we’re in an elite group of athletes with gold medals.’’
Now if only the TV executives in their fancy suits would follow suit and treat them as the elite of their own sport.