The Dirt on the French Open

Big changes at Roland Garros: There are no top-seeded U.S. women and Novak Djokovic could unseat Rafael Nadal to become No. 1

By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek

Earlier this month, as the French Open and the summer peak of the professional tennis season loomed, the U.S. marked a sobering milestone. For the first time in almost 40 years—since tennis's computerized ranking system was devised—no American man or woman ranked in the top 10 of their respective tours. This week, as the French Open is underway, the U.S. got a slight reprieve when Mardy Fish earned enough points to squeak into the No. 10 spot on the ATP list. Fish is the highest-seeded American in the Roland Garros men's field; on the women's side, no American was ranked high enough to be seeded.

Despite the dearth of Americans on the red dirt of Philippe Chartrier, Roland Garros' 1928-vintage center court, American fans will be watching … and watching. The French Open is being shown in the U.S. on ESPN2, Tennis Channel, and NBC (during weekends) in coverage that starts each morning at about 5 a.m. Eastern Time and stretches across the various partners past 6 p.m. On TV, a popular American player will remain front and center, regardless of what's actually happening on court: former WTA pro and veteran broadcaster Mary Carillo has joined Tennis Channel, hosting the cable network's live French Open tournament desk, conducting interviews, and handling play-by-play duties during select matches. Fan favorite Carillo will continue her role later this year at the U.S. Open.

The second big French Open drama this year, apart from the hide-and-seek-Americans story line, involves Novak Djokovic. Djokovic—the Serbian superstar long known as the third wheel to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal—is, at 41-0, fast closing in on John McEnroe's 42-0 season-opening streak, a record that has stood since 1984. Djokovic is six wins shy of the all-time Open-era record for winning streaks in men's tennis. The Australian Open winner has beaten "King of Clay" Nadal in clay court finals in the most recent events the pair played. If he defeats Nadal at Roland Garros, the sky's the limit for new global endorsement deals.

Djokovic's current endorsement commitments, with the likes of Head and Sergio Tacchini, are thought to net him close to $11 million annually. So far in 2011, on the court, Djokovic has earned about $5.5 million in prize money, blowing away Nadal ($2.7 million) and Federer ($1.4 million).

Purses Are Growing Fast

Tennis purses continue to grow year after year, especially in the sport's four Majors. The men's and women's singles champions at the French Open will each receive $1.7 million, up from $1.4 million last year, with total prize money increasing to $25 million, from $20.7 million in 2010. The purse for Wimbledon next month will be $23.9 million, up 6.5 percent from last year, with the men's and women's singles champions each pocketing $1.8 million, up 10 percent.

While it's not a factor at the French Open, the U.K.'s policy of taxing endorsement income might cause several of the world's top tennis players to avoid playing tournaments in Britain, including next month's Queen's Cup, the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, and possibly, the 2012 Olympic Games. U.K. rules require that men and women competing—or even just practicing in the country—are taxed a proportion of their income from sponsorships and endorsements, even if those deals have nothing to do with Britain.

Across the world, tennis—and the men's ATP World Tour in particular—has been gaining popularity, In 2009 the ATP drew a record 4.4 million fans, a 7 percent increase over 2008. It maintained its high numbers in 2010, with 4.34 million tournament attendees.

While Americans are scarce atop global tennis rankings, signs of encouragement for the sport abound domestically. In March, the Tennis Industry Assn., the sport's nonprofit trade group, announced a 46 percent gain in U.S. tennis participation since 2000, making tennis the country's fastest-growing, traditional participation sport over the past decade. (Racquetball came in second, at 3 percent.) In total, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) estimates that 30 million people played tennis at least once in 2010.