Robin Soderling speaks out about the state of Swedish tennis, ‘something has got to change’

Robin Soderling is not blissful about the place Swedish tennis is in proper now.

Sweden has a very embellished tennis historical past, which consists of Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander, Stefan Edberg and Thomas Johansson successful a collective 25 Grand Slam titles.

Soderling came close to becoming a member of this listing, turning into the first participant to beat Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros before shedding in the 2009 remaining, as nicely as also being overwhelmed in the championship match at the Paris main in 2010.

Swedish tennis at present seems to be a long manner off having another Grand Slam champion, and after watching his nation be demoted to World Group II in the Davis Cup after shedding to Chinese Taipei, Soderling has expressed his frustrations on social media.

Robin Soderling tells the Swedish Tennis Federation what they need to change

Sweden are seven-time Davis Cup champions, and Soderling once reached the semi-finals as half of his national workforce in 2007, before going on to captain his nation for 4 years until 2023.

Although Soderling is no longer an energetic participant, he took to his Instagram to specific his frustrations at the present place Swedish tennis finds itself in, as he called for the federation to make the adjustments he urged.

Soderling wrote, “Something has to change in Swedish tennis, starting all the way down at the grassroots level. On the men’s side, we have players aged 27-30 who still call themselves professional tennis players while struggling to win more than a couple of matches at Futures level.

“Meanwhile the Ymer brothers (Mikael and Elias) moved beyond that stage more than 10 years ago. That is what genuinely talented players do. They don’t remain stuck at Futures level for years. They progress to Challengers and ATP Tour events within a few seasons, sometimes even faster.

“So what is a player approaching 30, ranked around No.1000, actually thinking? ‘If I just keep doing exactly what I’ve been doing my entire career, eventually it will all fall into place?’

“At some point, Swedish tennis needs to rethink how these players can contribute. The federation should make greater use of experienced players at this level as practice and sparring partners for the younger generation.

“Swedish tennis needs to focus its resources on creating a stronger pathway from grassroots tennis to Futures, Challengers and, ultimately, the ATP Tour.”

Who are the best Swedish ATP and WTA gamers proper now?

Backing up Soderling’s level are the rankings of the present best Swedish gamers, which do not make for fairly studying.

Soderling talked about the Ymer brothers in his assertion as one of the few positives for Swedish tennis in current years, and Elias Ymer is at present the high ranked Swede on the ATP Tour. However, Ymer is only just inside the high 200, with no other Swedish ATP participant ranked inside the high 400.

It is not much of a higher sight for Swedish girls’s tennis gamers, with none ranked inside the high 200 and only three inside the high 300.

There is clearly a lot of frustration at the present state of Swedish tennis, something that Soderling needs to be addressed.

Sweden were once one of the massive powerhouses in tennis, notably on the ATP Tour, but they are far from that proper now.