A decentralized approach could be the best way to increase the amount of top pros from the United States, say Bob and Mike Bryan.
Asked to comment on Patrick McEnroe's decision to leave his position as chief of player development at the USTA, Mike backed McEnroe's recent emphasis on more cooperation with private coaches.
The twins, who grew up coached by their parents, said they preferred this approach to relocating players at national or regional training centers. The USTA recently announced that it is building a new, 100-court facility not far from Orlando, where its player development and community tennis operations will be based in two years.
"I mean, it's tough to hand pick kids and put them in a center and say they're going to all be champions. I think just the best chances are to let the coaches do their jobs," said Mike Bryan.
"There are proven winners out there around the country that don't get a lot of notoriety out here on the pro tour," said Bob Bryan. "But they're doing great, great jobs and pumping out national champions and college players. They're successful for a reason. They're smart and know what they're doing. So why not help out those coaches and those programs instead of taking kids out of their comfortable environment and sticking them in a center without their parents and trying to make them pros in an uncomfortable environment—these are formative years [for] teenagers and young adults."
The top-ranked doubles team, who played Davis Cup while McEnroe was captain, are highly involved in promoting the game throughout the nation. Their father, Wayne Bryan, also has frequently had public disagreements with the USTA.
However, Bob added, the USTA's facilities and resources could also add some valuable top-level expertise.
''There are situations where a national training center could work. Have the kids come to camp or for camps and expose them to those techniques of high performance training or, you know, the things that the pros do," he said.
"Jose Higueras, these coaches are very educated. They have some great insight, and players can learn a lot from them. But I think as far as the day-in and day-out thing, I think the private sector coaches are successful. They're the successful ones that are doing great jobs time and time again that need to be rewarded and boosted with a little bit of help, financial help."
But Bob sees increasing the amount of children playing tennis will have the greatest impact on future American champions.
"Trying to promote the game of tennis to reach as many kids as possible. Just getting the numbers up at the base will increase the chances to have the next Andre Agassi or Pete Sampras," Bob said. "I think that's the key—just get racquets in kids' hands."