The Australian Open is usually known for its spirited, nationalistic fans.  For years, it was the Swedish fans, then the Greeks and now the Croatian, Serbian and Bosnian fans who have made their presence known.  What’s surprising is which country had the most players in the singles draws, i.e. France, which also has had an active nationwide junior development program.  Spain, led by champion Rafael Nadal, had the most men in the main draw and Russia the most women.  On the other hand, the host country, Australia, which has a long tennis tradition, only had 16 players, many wildcards, in the singles main draws.  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 (2 players), Japan (4 players), Sweden (3 players), Canada (4 players) and England (5 players).  Another measure of a country’s tennis success is how many players reach the later rounds of Grand Slams and win titles, i.e. the Australian Open trophy count!  Listed below is a chart of the main draw singles players by country.


Country                             Men                 Women

Argentina                             9                       1
Australia                              7                       9
Canada                                2                       2
China                                   0                       3
Croatia                                 5                       1
Czech Republic                     4                       7
France                                15                     12
Germany                              11                      9
India                                    0                       1
Israel                                   1                       1
Italy                                    6                       9
Japan                                  1                       3
Romania                               2                       3
Russia                                  7                      14
Serbia                                  3                       2
Slovakia                               1                       3
South Africa                          1                       1
Spain                                  16                       6
Sweden                                2                       1
Switzerland                           2                       1
Ukraine                                1                       4
UK                                       1                       4
US                                      12                      5