Taking the Love Out of the Game: Americans' Overtraining May Hamper Results

PARIS, France June 6, 2006 — -- The fading fortunes of American tennis may be the result of a paradox: The players train too much and spend too little time enjoying themselves.

That's the opinion of coaches and top players from foreign countries who have witnessed a drastic American decline at the 2006 French Open. Of seven U.S. men who qualified for the main singles draw, only one, James Blake, got as far as the third round. Of 11 U.S. women, only two, Venus Williams and Shenay Perry, got past the second round.

While Williams remained a contender on the red clay of Roland-Garros Stadium, Americans are not a dominant factor in a sport now populated by scores of better conditioned players from elsewhere in the world.

"I think they (Americans) train too hard," said Barbora Strycova, a 20-year-old Czech competitor on the women's tour. "I spent a month in Bradenton (Florida) and saw the training," she said. "It's different but not as effective."

The reason sounds paradoxical. Within the global culture of sport, hard work is always believed to be rewarded, but not in this instance.

"They overtrain. It's crazy," said Martina Navratilova, the Czech émigré to the United States who has won 341 singles and doubles titles and nearly $21.5 million in a career that continues at age 49. "There's no joy in it," said Navratilova of the American training regimen.

Navratilova has written a book, Shape Your Self, which emphasizes the importance of cross-training in many athletic skills, including basketball and non-contact ice hockey. Most coaches order lengthy stroke drills on the court and rigorous strength conditioning off the court. Navratilova says kids at 10, 11, and 12 years old don't do other sports in America for fear of losing their tennis skills. "They don't do enough other sports...it's stupid. [The other sports] make you a better athlete."