Sweden has had a very rich tennis history

Sweden has had a very rich tennis history. But, the game is not flourishing in the country these days.

If you have a look at the world rankings in the male’s category right now, you will not find any Swedish player in top 100. The top ranked player is at no. 190.

If you go 4-5 years back, the situation was a lot different. Sweden had a player who was not only capable of getting there in top 10, but, he was also good enough to clinch a slam and that too in the presence of the Big 4.

Yes, it was Robin Soderling. The guy was at his peak towards the end of the last decade.

If you beat Rafael Nadal on clay, you must be playing your top tennis and you must have special quality and he indeed was special, Soderling. What an exciting talent he was.

You talk to any former player and you would get to hear high praises for Soderling.

Mats Wilander was talking to a TV channel the other day and as the name of Soderling came up, he felt a little sad.

“It was not the way he should have finished.” said Wilander.

“He was good enough to challenge anyone. I have no doubt whatsoever that he would have been a slam winner by now if not for that disease. I feel sad for him, really sad.”

Wilander, who is 50 years of age at the moment, won as many as 7 Grand Slam titles in his career. He also became the no. 1 player in the world.

Wilander left the game only at 32, but, by then, he had already gone down in the history books as one of the legends of the game.