'Maybe They've Got Too Much Money': Evans Slams British Tennis Culture
ATP
Daniel Evans criticizes fellow British players for prioritizing rest over matchplay, suggesting that players need to compete more consistently.
Current British no. 2 on the ATP Tour has openly criticized the culture of British tennis for putting too much emphasis on rest instead of participating in more matches. Evans is well placed to advise the underperforming British tennis scene as he's among the top on the ATP Tour for many years already.
Evans believes that British tennis players should be competing more often, and he discussed that after his early exit at the 2023 Madrid Open, as he's one of the players signed up for the ATP Challenger event in Bordeaux during the second week of the Italian Open.
"I think players need to compete more week in week out. The players need to get out on the road and just get after it. It's not like there's great science behind it. I mean, it can hard on the tour but you need to be at it."
While Evans acknowledges that he may not be the perfect example for success, he insists that players like Cameron Norrie have improved through regular tournament play rather than practice alone.
"I'm never going to say I'm a blueprint. but James Ward - when he made it to 80 in the world – was playing in Challengers and Futures events week in week out. Cam [Norrie] learned his trade by playing his matches and being in competitive situations."
"He's not got good on the practice court. He plays his tournaments, he sticks to his schedule, he's never injured – touch wood – and how that's not a blueprint is beyond me, basically."
Evans claims that, as a nation, British tennis players are too selective in the tournaments they participate in, leading to suboptimal rankings. He points out that after the Billie Jean King Cup in Coventry, no British women participated in any tournaments.
Evans suggests that there might be a cultural issue at play, with players resting too much preventing them from feeling the need to compete more regularly.
"[As a nation], we're picking and choosing what tournaments we play and we're ranked 200 in the world. I'm not going to bag the girls here but no one played after [the Billie Jean King Cup in Coventry a fortnight ago]. There’s some cultural thing about resting and all that. It's not new. Maybe they've got too much money or something."
