Tennis: Teens noticeable by their absence in top 100

Milos Raonic is ranked 152nd . Photo / AP

As the 2011 season gets into full swing, there is not a single teenager in the top 100 of the ATP rankings. The impertinence and brilliance of youth rarely rears its head these days; when it does it is likely to be bitten off.

Highly rated 19-year-old Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who is said to have copied every aspect of Roger Federer's style, sits at 105. Canadian Milos Raonic (152), American Ryan Harrison (173) and Australian Bernard Tomic (199) are the only other teens in the top 200.

"It has become more physical and more mental and maybe they need longer to break through now," said Roger Federer recently.

"It is a tough thing now, because right down to number 100, it becomes so hard to dominate guys day in and day out. It's already hard enough for us, so imagine it for a youngster coming up."

It certainly represents a sea change for the sport. Boris Becker won Wimbledon as a 17-year-old in 1985 (and repeated the feat a year later). Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg were also teenage grand slam champions, while an 18-year-old John McEnroe went to the semifinals at SW19. Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Michael Chang all reached the top 10 before their 20th birthday, with two of the three Americans also collecting grand slams before leaving their teens.

Lleyton Hewitt made the top 10 as a teen, while Andy Roddick (top 20), Marat Safin and Federer (top 30) and David Nalbandian (top 50) made impressive early breakthroughs.

Of the current crop Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet and Juan Martin Del Potro were all in the top 100 as 18-year-olds while the freakish Rafael Nadal was just 16. Nadal and Djokovic went on to reach the top five before turning 20, while Murray was part of the top 10.

"[It always seemed that] everybody was a teenager when they broke through," Federer said. "Today, they don't. I don't know if it is because the top 10 is preventing them from doing that or if it has just got so much more physical, and that's why it is hard."

World No 4 Robin Soderling, whose early promise took time to mature, says it is definitely due to the athletic demands.

"The sport has become a bit tougher, it's much more physical than say 10 years ago," he said. "It takes a couple of years to build up your body to be able to compete with the style of tennis now. I played my first ATP final when I was 19 but it was tough to cope with the demands week in week out."

Nadal disputes that it is any harder for the current crop: "When I [started], it seemed impossible to be in the top 10, because in that moment, all the players was very good and very young: [Guillermo] Coria, [David] Nalbandian, Roger [Federer], Lleyton [Hewitt], [Andy] Roddick. And when I saw the rankings, I say, Well, I don't know how I can be there? But finally you improve every day [and] you're going to have your chance, no?"

Power seems to dominate with every passing year, accentuated by advances in racquet technology and changes to court surfaces - particularly Wimbledon and the Australian Open, which have been slowed down. Another factor is the alterations made to the ATP rankings system in 2009, where more weighting was given to performances at the latter end of big tournaments, making it more difficult for youngsters to accumulate enough points to gain respectable rankings.

It may also be down to pure mental toughness; even 10 years ago players existed in a vastly different environment. Now young stars live in a bubble, with every whim catered for, making it harder to fight for yourself in the ruthless world of professional tennis.

There is also more depth. It is no longer a matter of being able to gain some cheap points at far-flung tournaments in South America or Asia. Even every match at a US$100,000 Challenger event is a battle.