The Australian Open is usually known for its spirited, nationalistic fans.  For years, it was the Swedish fans, then the Greeks and last year the Croatian and Serbian fans who made their presence known.  What’s surprising is which country has the most players in the singles draws, i.e. France.  In addition, Israel, which has long had a very active junior tennis program, now has 5 players in the singles main draws.  On the other hand, certain countries which have produced strong players in the past and/or have climates well-suited to outdoor sports now have very few players in the main singles draws, e.g. India (1 player), South Africa (1 player), Japan (3 players), Sweden (2 players), Canada (2 players) and England (2 players).  Another measure of a country’s tennis success is how many players reach the later rounds of Grand Slams.  For that data, we’ll need to wait another week or so to find out which country is the real “champion” at the 2008 Australian Open!

Country                   Players                               
Argentina                 15                                       
Australia                  17                                           
China                        4                            
Croatia                      5                                         
CzechRepublic        10                                                 
France                     29                                               
Germany                 16
Israel                       5                                         
Italy                       11                                               
Russia                     21                                               
Serbia                      6                                                
Spain                      16                                           
Sweden                     2                                          
United States           26