Eliot Spitzer Says Tennis Explains the Global Economy

If there’s 3 things I love, it’s tennis, politics, and Eliot Spitzer.

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from Slate:

I can’t help but see men’s tennis as a metaphor for America’s long-term struggles. Twenty years ago, the U.S. was the undisputed superpower. The Berlin Wall had fallen. Our economy was the symbol of capitalism ascendant over all other ideologies. President Reagan had restored Morning in America. And the U.S. dominated the men’s tennis circuit.

The real import of the decline of American men’s tennis is that it vividly demonstrates the most significant change in the world over the past 20 years: globalization. For 50 years after the end of World War II, we were the only nation that had the rule of law, liberal democracy, market-based competition, intellectual capital, traditional capital, skilled labor, and a middle-class consumer base. As these critical inputs to prosperity have spread around the world, amounting to an enormous victory for the ideology we have espoused, the playing field—or rather, the tennis court—has gotten a bit more crowded. It is not just in the realms of cars, airplanes, computers, fashion, and political leadership, that globalization has led to Tom Friedman’s flat world or Fareed Zakaria’s “rise of the rest.” It is in women’s soccer, swimming, basketball, and tennis.

But this is no reason for despair and resignation. Great competition allows great competitors to rise to the occasion. Who knows? Mardy Fish may pull the upset, Andy Roddick may serve his way to glory one more time, and emerging from the junior ranks may be the next McEnroe, Connors, or Arthur Ashe, ready to lift our spirits.

Why Tennis is Superior to Every Other Sport

1. Tennis celebrates individualism, not group effort

Yes, there are doubles in tennis, but for the most part, it’s one player against the other. Mano-a-mano. Other popular sports feature star players, but ultimately success depends on the team. In tennis, you are watching two people glaring into each other’s eyes as they sacrifice their bodies for victory. It is almost an existential endeavor, which could be why it served as the central metaphor in Woody Allen’s death-angst masterpiece Match Point.

2. It is a truly international sport

Unlike football, basketball, baseball, and others, tennis is genuinely a sport of the world, not just America. The best players from all corners of the globe compete against each other. So when someone asserts that Federer is the best player in the world, this could literally be the case, since he’s competed against people from dozens of countries.

3. It is the most cerebral of all sports

Obviously a certain amount of improvisation is required from most athletes, but generally they are instructed on what to do and how to do it. The strategy generally comes from the coaches, not the players. While tennis players do have coaches who help the players develop strategies for a match, it is of course impossible to predict how every match will turn out. Thus, the strategy is mostly determined by the player. Not only must a tennis player physically execute the strategy, but he or she must be able to alter their strategy at a moment’s notice.

4. It supports gender equality

Who is your favorite female football, basketball, baseball, or hockey player? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Women either can’t make a decent living playing those sports or they toil away in obscurity their whole lives. But most people can name a popular and successful female tennis player almost immediately. Maria Sharapova, for instance, was the highest paid female athlete in the world in 2008. 

5. It is a sophisticated sport, but not too sophisticated

Tennis occupies a nice middle ground between the grunting Neanderthalism of football and the stiff-collared conservatism of golf. Admittedly, tennis does sometimes resemble golf a bit too much, but thankfully there are people like John McEnroe around to rattle the cage and raise some hell.