Thank you Chris Evert for the lesson......

[Mick]

Originally Posted by tennis-kid

Agreed. Imagine Chris E. playing against serena.

yeah but chris evert did play against steffi graf and monica seles and those ladies didn't hit soft ball.

[Frank Silbermann]

Originally Posted by max pl

Chris Evert would get destroyed in today's game if she used that old style of play.

The game has changed for a reason.

The reasons are:

The demise of the grass-court circuit (way fewer low balls, way fewer bad bounces and therefore less need to get to the net),

The development of big stiff lightweight rackets (so that you can meet the ball with a glancing blow without hitting a dead spot on the racket or even framing it, and because you don't need to apply as much effort to lift the ball or to give it velocity),

More time to devote to physical training,

Better medical treatment of overuse injuries,

Rule changes that limit the number of games in a set.

Originally Posted by rkelley

Borg's strokes look very modern. It's amazing really. Granted the guy is uber-talented, but it shows that it can be done.

Borg was known for lots of miss-hits and framed shots, and for endless retrieving while he avoided rallying errors by sending balls high over the net to land not far from the service tee. But boy, could he run!

Originally Posted by guitarplayer

I agree hunter. I haven't used an eastern grip and traditional I guess you would call it, stoke in many years.

"Correct technique" is what virtually all tennis teachers called it from 1940 through 1980, so that's what we should call it today. (That's not to deny that certain blatantly incorrect techniques are far superior for pros and others playing today's game.)

[danno123]

Originally Posted by Frank Silbermann

The reasons are:

The demise of the grass-court circuit (way fewer low balls, way fewer bad bounces and therefore less need to get to the net),

The development of big stiff lightweight rackets (so that you can meet the ball with a glancing blow without hitting a dead spot on the racket or even framing it, and because you don't need to apply as much effort to lift the ball or to give it velocity),

More time to devote to physical training,

Better medical treatment of overuse injuries,

Rule changes that limit the number of games in a set.

Borg was known for lots of miss-hits and framed shots, and for endless retrieving while he avoided rallying errors by sending balls high over the net to land not far from the service tee. But boy, could he run!

"Correct technique" is what virtually all tennis teachers called it from 1940 through 1980, so that's what we should call it today. (That's not to deny that certain blatantly incorrect techniques are far superior for pros and others playing today's game.)

I grew up watching both Connors and Borg. Connors hit the ball almost perfectly flat while Borg hit with a lot of topspin. Their matches were usually close with Borg usually beat Connors but the difference wasn't their strokes - it was foot speed. I'm not saying Connors was slow, but Borg was almost superhumanly fast. If Connors had been as fast as Borg, Connors would have won.