The difficult decision to eliminate both programs came after an extensive review and evaluation of available athletics resources and peer institution sport portfolios as the University transitions its athletics program from NCAA Division III to Division I.
The evaluation considered athletic scholarship support, coaching staff and other personnel, available facilities, competitiveness, the University's long-term financial model and projections, and the fact that St. After this evaluation, St. Thomas determined it was unable to adequately provide the conditions necessary to sustain an outstanding student-athlete experience at the Division I level for participants in the tennis programs.
Shortly after last month's announcement that the programs would be eliminated, the University was threatened with a Title IX lawsuit by members of the women's tennis team, who argued that Title IX prohibited the University from eliminating a women's team. The University recognizes, however, that fighting a Title IX lawsuit would be extremely costly and time-consuming. Thomas would rather invest its resources in student initiatives, including the women's tennis program.
Therefore, while the reasons for eliminating the programs remain sound, St. Thomas agreed to reinstate the women's team. The men's program will not be reinstated. Thomas has an obligation to responsibly steward its resources. At the same time, it is committed to providing all student athletes with an outstanding experience.
With this reinstatement, the University will be dedicated to having the women's tennis team thrive. Olympic tennis, governed by the ITF, also has an inconsistent past when it comes to awarding ATP and WTA ranking points — points were given from to but not before or after — a decision which players have not historically been thrilled by.
Held amidst a global pandemic, on the back of an extraordinarily tiring and tough 18 months for the entire world, without fans and a depleted tennis field. It would be easy to look at the Games and feel jaded or conflicted. As such there really is little point comparing the two. Tennis players at the Games are therefore motivated by little else other than sporting greatness and representing their country. This uniqueness manifests in interesting ways.
At its heart, Olympic tennis is great for the same reasons any Olympic sport is great. Identity and community. Players belong and compete in something larger than their own individual careers. Fans watch athletes, who they share parts of their identity with via their national community, being brilliant at something. A great representation of people like them, often from the same villages, backgrounds, circumstances as themselves, excelling. Athletes and fans sharing in that excellence, a deeply wholesome vicariousness, is a happy and hopeful experience which the world certainly needs more of right now.
Patriotism, while being thoroughly unfashionable in parts of the western world at the moment sometimes for good reason , underpins much of the atmosphere that takes hold of and amplifies the Olympics. Because while the Olympic format is certainly zero-sum in that only one team or athlete can win gold, the earnest roar of millions of fans cheering on the success of others, in one large appreciation party of what humans are capable of, feels like one of the more utopian directions for collective, rather than individual, existence.
A positive, united intermission for each country which spends much of its time disunited. I was even told that for one evening, when I played, there were no reports of domestic violence or crime. No one was in the streets, they were watching anywhere with screens -- at their homes with their family, at bars, anywhere. I have videos of how crazy people were going after I won. It was so beautiful to see how this really impacted the island, and it meant so, so much to me. These achievements, experienced intensely by both nation and individual, are precious in a different way to most normal tennis trophies.
Medvedev Loves? The Clay? Click the link we sent to , or click here to log in. I agree. It's also interesting that tennis players have embraced Olympics much more than golfers, given that both sports have a similar Olympic history and they're probably the two most similar professional individual sports. I do think it's a shame that points aren't awarded and would support giving it a Monte Carlo status points but not mandatory as some players who'd qualify for a Masters don't get included in Olympics and they definitely should get rid of the coercive rule making players play Davis Cup to qualify.
Maybe PTPA could intervene there.
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