Serving it up: Views from New York City

Over the next few days, I will be spending time at Flushing Meadows, New York, watching tennis at the US Open. Spending time abroad is always good for reflecting on things at home, wherever that happens to be. I am going to be more extensive over the next few days, but for the moment the post will be brief, as it is nearly 2am in the morning, and my day has ended with a little drama. We were locked out of the apartment where we are staying and had to summon a locksmith to open the door.

But I want to reflect briefly on what was served up today. The US Tennis Association celebrated the 50th anniversary of Althea Gibson's winning the US title with a show including local singers and marching band, Aretha Franklin, a parade of black American women who had been firsts in their fields, and fittingly followed that with two singles matches featuring the Williams sisters (see www.USopen.org for details). Beforehand, each had paid fitting tribute to the doors opened for them by Althea Gibson.

The day also saw a short parade of black tennis talent. Donald Young (an 18 year old American, who previously won the junior US Open, and this year won the junior title at Wimbledon) won his 1st round match, and showed that the recent run of good form may signal that he is now ready to be a real player on the senior circuit. Ahsha Rolle (see photo; an American of Bahamian parentage, ranked #109 in the world, getting a wild card entry and never before getting past a Grand Slam 1st round) beat Tatiana Golovin, seeded #17, ranked in the world's top 20). Could she do a Marion Martoli in the US Open? Scoville Jenkins, from Georgia, played well but lost to Roger Federer. No surprise!

There is no one playing singles at the tournament who is a true product of the Caribbean. Mark Knowles, a Bahamian, is a doubles specialist, and is ranked very highly with his Canadian partner. Ryan Sweeting, also Bahamian by birth, but studying in the US and choosing to represent the US, is a young promising player. As I watched the match involving Donald Young, I met one of Barbados' best tennis coaches, Sydney Lopez, and asked him what it would take to produce players to compete at the highest levels. He merely remarked "US$150,000 a year". That kind of backing does not seem to come forward readily in the region. We ought to take a look at the talent we have in the region and wonder if we are letting a set of good assets go to waste, not just in tennis but across a range of sports.

The Americans showed how they can put on major events, and I have to admit that at many times during the day, I reflected on the experiences with Cricket World Cup, and wondered how we seemed to be all at sea over some of the logistics, knowing that there is so much expertise available to help put on big sporting events. Admittedly, a large part of it comes down to budget and what the customers expect, and for what they are willing to pay.

I'll try to tackle some of these points and other things with more energy over the coming days.