The genuine question is whether Australian tennis can seriously rise again?

(Photo by James D. Morgan/Getty Images)

Hand on heart, I love the game, and The First Serve is committed to providing day-in, day-out coverage of this great global sport, but the concern raised in the above question is real.

I have said it before, and I will say it again, tennis is the toughest sport to 'make it'.

That makes it appealing because the human race loves a challenge and to defy the odds, a bit like someone taking the plunge to start their own business, because ultimately they are passionate about what they are doing and what it eventually could become.

You can clearly see why an individual would choose tennis as their vocation; it's a beautiful game mixing the blend of incredible athleticism and exquisite skill. It allows you to travel the world for work, plying your trade.

But it can also come with great trepidation for the majority in the ecosystem until you can start to draw a profit, and it becomes a sustainable living. Your own business against all the competition, and there is a lot to compete with.

As Host of The First Serve for the last 18 years - the only weekly tennis program that features on Australian commercial radio, I have come into contact with so many great people in tennis who love the sport, from the players putting everything on the line to the entourages who give up plenty to help that athlete do everything in their power to make their passion their living.

Listen to The First Serve Live every Monday at 8pm AEDT in its 18th year on the SEN Network/App, Australia's only dedicated weekly tennis program on commercial radio running through till the end of November.

As someone who has worked for myself for two plus decades, I can understand anybody taking on a job where you are in charge of your destiny. The greatest risk is to take no risk at all. There is a great incentive to roll up the sleeves and get to work and really believe in the end goal you're trying to achieve, mixed in with the risk element, that it may not work.

I write this piece from the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, my favourite tournament, and being here for two weeks each year, it is pretty obvious why you might contemplate becoming a tennis player. A job that allows you to work outdoors, with a spectacular mountain backdrop, with the sun shining on your back. Living the dream.

For the vast majority in the tennis rankings system, the dream is to get to the biggest stages in tennis, and for so many in the system, it is unrealistic, but history says it won't stop so many trying.

So in the current landscape of an ever-expanding global competitive game, it is tougher than ever to make it, so where the hell is that going to leave Australian tennis in the next two decades?

As we forecast ahead, just looking at the raw numbers of what we look like on paper, without even putting into the spotlight a junior cohort under 14 tapping into the competitive space, it is a very challenging period ahead.

Back in January, I wrote why the forseeable future could be the most barren period in Australia's rich tennis history, and following on from that, the biggest change in Australian tennis has become official with the departure of Craig Tiley confirmed, the most influential individual in the sport down under for the past two decades, in particular since 2013 when he assumed the role of CEO.

That article wasn't aimed at denting the future dreams of an 8, 9, 10, or 11-year-old, but just painting a picture of what is currently in front of us, and where the next tier in the right age profile is placed.

There is fascination with what the future direction is going to look like under a new leader. The leader sets the vision, the tone, the emphasis and provides the inspiration. Will things change regarding the most important topic confronting Australian tennis at present, the performance pathway? In all my time covering the game, it is a line in the sand moment.

Has Tennis Australia got the best pathway and competition structure in place and the best personnel to execute the plan to play their role as the governing body, and have we got the best coaching structure/standards in place to give our aspiring youngsters every chance to try and 'make it'?

There is a really common narrative from everyone who contacts me, wanting to speak anonymously (some revealing themselves privately to me as a player, parent or coach) or others identifying themselves as a TA insider, employee or former staffer, that the way the sport is being administered in the performance space from headquarters is a major concern.

In my role, I chat to a lot of salt-of-the-earth people who take the time to express their thoughts in a very considered manner.

From Talent Identification and Early Selection to the Import Strategy (one player told me "kids who are 0 per cent Aussie are just getting a free ride and are just messing around on multiple funded Tennis tours"), to Behavioural Consistency, to Culture and Treatment of non-supported players, to Selection and Transparency have all been put on the table by those who have contacted The First Serve from the categories I mentioned above.

As one parent of an aspiring player has said to me, "It raises a genuine question: do we truly lack talent, or is there an opportunity for greater consistency, transparency, and fairness in the system?"

The parent of an aspiring junior in Australia said to me, "I honestly feel like TA does nowhere near enough to grow and develop junior talent in Australia."

Another parent said, "My son had a period as part of a National Squad, and it was telling how we as parents openly joked at the relatively low quality of coaching, the level of inconsistency of coaches (different coaches every week), poor ratio of kids to coaches and serious lack of intensity injected in the sessions.

"It is no surprise to me that we struggle to develop the next crop of Australian stars.

"As parents, we want the best for our kids. That means that, if it is their dreams they are pursuing, and they are prepared to put in the hard yards, we will invest in their development.

"My ask of TA is that they create the environment to facilitate that, and where I want my child to be."

So yes, there is enough feedback to me over a lengthy period of time that there is dissent within the tennis community, but the thing that irks me the most is that so many are too scared to reveal who they are when putting these big issues on the table for fear of repercussion.

Really? We are not in North Korea or Iran. Everyone in Australian tennis should be able to speak their mind, and I want to talk to TA about that.

I do understand in theory the want to not be identified, and here at The First Serve, we feel it is important to put the information out there to a wider audience through our channels, to inform you what is happening in tennis, but I almost feel it needs a town hall gathering to build a stronger connection between the inner sanctum and the inner outer circle.

On the other side of the coin, whist their is angst within the tennis community, there should not be a sense of entitlement either, but the stench needs to be addressed.

As I opened another year of The First Serve Live on SEN at the start of February, I said we are here to have the real conversations and discuss the things that matter. All of us want Australian tennis to thrive going forward, whether you're in the weeds of it, a tennis fan, a tennis broadcaster, or, naturally, the governing body.

There are many questions from The First Serve to pose to Tennis Australia in an honest way to get their take on things, not an ambush, but an open, transparent discussion and on my return from the desert on the 18th March, I have been told I can have that chat, so I will report back.

In the meantime, The First Serve is your platform to express yourself by calling 1300 736 736 or texting 0433 98 1116 during our live Monday night show or emailing thefirstservesen@gmail.com (anonymity respected) to share your take on the state of the game.

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