To address the multiple posters who said only runners whine about this topic: the families of American junior tennis players whine just as much, and RIGHTFULLY SO. It is utterly ridiculous that the majority of US college tennis spots go to foreigners. Why should we fund the plan B for the world's failed pros?
The best take comes from Wayne Bryan, father of the Bryan brothers, the best doubles team in world history. Both his sons got full rides to Stanford, so he is absolutely the opposite of a sour grapes whiner crying that his family missed out--he just sees the situation clearly. ***He says limit schools to 1-2 foreigners. *** That way you get any potential upsides: better competition, diverse perspectives, global friendships, goodwill with the foreign nation, etc. without excessively punishing the homegrown talent.
The facts: in D1 men's tennis there are only 8-10 roster spots. A recent analysis showed almost 60% of those slots go to foreigners, and for "starters" aka top 6, it's closer to 70% foreigners!
This is absolutely having a deleterious effect on the grassroots--tennis is a very expensive sport, and if there is little chance of the "elite" US kids playing in college, even compared to other sports, US families start to wonder if they should even bother.
Last year's college tennis "freshman of the year" was a 24yo failed pro from France named Timo Legout, playing for UT-Austin. Absurd.