PATRICK MCENROE TELLS CONGRESS FOREIGN PLAYERS DOMINATE COLLEGE TENNIS

Patrick McEnroe, a former American professional tennis player, told a US congressional hearing that international recruitment is squeezing young Americans out of college tennis. He said teenagers who see rosters filled with older, more experienced foreign players may conclude their opportunities are disappearing. McEnroe said college sport served as "the next rung on the ladder" for millions of young athletes, not a path to a professional career, and warned that removing enough rungs would eventually stop children climbing. He has raised the issue before in opinion pieces and podcasts, and repeated his call for a greater American presence in NCAA tennis.

NCAA figures show international athletes make up 64% of men's Division One tennis rosters and 61% of women's, the highest share in any college sport. Separate NCAA data covering 2017 to 2022 recorded a slight fall in international first-year athletes across Division One, from 3,174 to 3,137. Men's tennis, hockey, football, water polo and golf, and women's tennis, hockey, golf, field hockey and water polo, all had more than 20% international representation, according to that data. In response, Representative Tim Walberg and Senator Jon Husted have introduced legislation to cap international athletes on college sports rosters at 20%.

The debate follows wider cuts to Olympic sports across American colleges, with 22 tennis programmes dropped for the 2025-2026 season, nine at Division One level. The cuts have been attributed to cost per athlete and facility requirements, rather than international recruitment alone. Former professional player Chris Evert has publicly backed McEnroe's position, according to other reports, along with commentators Megyn Kelly and Tomi Lahren. The Walberg-Husted bill would need to pass through Congress before any cap on international athletes could take effect.