Is Home Ground Really an Advantage in Sports?
Ryder Cup Generally Follows Home Ground Support
The Ryder Cup has traditionally engendered some of the most ardent local fan bases, some of which have been particularly vocal in their support.
The 1999 showdown at Brookline, Massachusetts will probably go down in the annals of history as the year in which the fans triumphed, to the detriment of the competition. The event was unfortunately marred by unsportsmanlike behaviour from some of the American fans. The Americans did, however, claim the cup, so local supporters will have felt justified in their tempestuous backing of their golfers!
Since 1989, when the competition ended in a tie, the victory march has generally happened on the greens and fairways of the golf courses of the winning team, so one can quite easily conclude that home ground, at the Ryder Cup, is a definitive advantage.
On the Whole, Tennis Grand Slams not Successful for Locals
The grand slams of tennis, apart from the US Open, have not been that successful for home based individuals. If you take a look at the winners of all the slams since the beginning of the open era in 1968, it is generally visitors to the venues who have claimed the singles crowns.
At the Australian Open, for instance, the last Australian man to win in Melbourne was Mark Edmondson in 1976, and he managed to beat another of his countrymen, John Newcombe. Since then only Lleyton Hewitt has even come close, when he lost to Marat Safin in 2005.
Although Australian women dominated from 1969 to 1978, with a flotilla of wins from Margaret Court Smith and Evonne Goolagong Cawley, no local lass has managed to lift the ladies crown since 1978.
The French Open has had a remarkably bad run of local luck with Yannick Noah triumphing for the French for the last time in 1983 and Mary Pierce in 2000. Local hopeful, Amelie Mauresmo has even made public the difficulty of performing at Roland Garros in front of an unforgiving home crowd!
The local win record at Wimbledon is even more dismal with Virginia Wade claiming the last title for her nation in 1977 and the last man to claim the crown at the All England club was Fred Perry way back in 1936!
The US Open is the one exception to the rule and by the looks of things Americans are generally given the right kind of home support that propels them to greater things.
Since 1968 21 women"s singles titles have been won by Americans and 19 men"s singles crowns have been claimed by local lads!
Teams Seem to Benefit whereas Individuals Falter at Home
It could be construed that team sports are more positively influenced by a roaring home crowd, whereas the individual sportsman or woman may just find the pressure of home turf a bit too difficult to contend with!
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