"The nation's female tennis players struggle to pinpoint a single reason they have continued to flourish against the backdrop of a withering sports infrastructure, saying toughness fashioned from hard training conditions, strong genes and the enthusiasm for the sport left behind by late Russian president Boris Yeltsin all have played a part, as has the lack of high-level competitive opportunities that encourage many young to turn pro early. But perhpas the most obvious explanation, many say, is the sheer number of young girls driven to pick up rackets by the success of megastars Anna Kournikova and Sharapova, and hte host of top women who have followed them...Russia has not traditionally been a tennis nation, but the includsion of the sport on the Olympic program at the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul after a 64-year absence brought a shift in attention."
On The Court, Still a Superpower
by Amy Shipley
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/30/AR2010033001677.html
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