The search for elite players is so competitive that IMG, the agency that once ruled tennis, is cultivating preteens to find the next prodigy, giving kids access to representatives from the pro tours and Nike.
ACHARNES, Greece — Behold Dominik Defoe. Ten years old and barely taller than the net. Golden brown shoulder-length curls bouncing in the air as he chases and crushes tennis balls, which he does better than just about any kid his age.
Defoe loves to fiddle with the GPS in his mother’s car, so in the morning when they head to school, the phone directs them to Roland Garros, site of the French Open.