Roger Federer: Severin Lüthi talks about Swiss tennis

After Roger Federer’s retirement, it was clear that it might take some time before the next Swiss Grand Slam victory. The fact that no Swiss tennis ace made it to the round of 16 of a major during a calendar year, whether men or women, is still historic. The last time that happened was in the autumn of 1986. The fact that no Swiss representative made it to the second round, as at the US Open, has only happened once since 1995. Viktorija Golubic (WTA 98) is currently the top 100 for all genders.

“This is simply a snapshot,” says Severin Lüthi about the current situation in Swiss tennis. Roger Federer’s long-time coach cannot fully understand the (media) outcry over the lack of Swiss success. The differences at the top are very small. In fact, the situation is currently even better across the board than it was during the great years of Federer and Stan Wawrinka.

“Roger and Stan were the exceptions. “You can do a perfect job in training and never have a top 10 player,” says Lüthi. Without Belinda Bencic’s pregnancy break or the injury problems of Dominic Stricker and Jil Teichmann, the overall picture would look very different. “For me, it’s just a matter of time before Leandro Riedi makes it into the top 100,” says the Davis Cup captain.

There is a well-known saying that success is the biggest mistake you make. Does this also apply to the work of Swiss Tennis during Roger Federer’s era of success? “There is a danger that Federer and Wawrinka’s successes will overshadow everything,” says Lüthi. “Then everyone suddenly comes and asks us about the secret of our youth development concept, even though it may have nothing to do with it,” explains the Bernese. It is not a sure thing to produce such top players. “But I also don’t know whether it is the job of an association to turn a player into a number 1,” says Lüthi. It is more about laying the foundation for a strong range.

One nation that is currently particularly successful is Italy. After decades of waiting for success, Switzerland’s neighboring country not only has the world number 1 in Jannik Sinner, but is also well positioned in the wider world elite. Among the men, seven Italian women are in the top 50, 16 in the top 200. Among the women, there are four other Italian women in the top 100, alongside world number five Jasmine Paolini. What can Switzerland learn from Italy?

“What Italy does well is that they have a lot of tournaments in their own country,” says Lüthi. Changing this is not easy. On the other hand, you can’t just copy everything. “Sometimes you need a bit of luck when putting together a group,” says the 48-year-old, referring to the Italian generation, which has several strong players in the form of Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti and Matteo Arnaldi.

With Leandro Riedi, Jérôme Kym and Dominic Stricker, Switzerland also has several promising talents who would push each other. In the Davis Cup, the Swiss once again made a statement with their 4-0 victory against Peru at the weekend.