DonDiego
Hall of Fame
Just a random (and probably pointless) thought...
We often hear about ''modern tennis'', or how tennis has changed, how serve and volley is disappearing, how fitness is now so important, how everyone is suddenly a baseline basher, etc.
And of course, all this translates into the new rackets that... rec players buy and use.
But I remember playing tennis at the park 25 years ago, and it was all baseline bashing. S&V? Are you kidding me? Maybe former top juniors can testify in a different way, but as a lifetime rec player, to me tennis hasn't changed one bit. Even the good players that were around us, the ones that would go to tourneys, they played a baseline game. Big serve, big forehand was what you bragged about, just like today.
I also remember that I learned my tennis by watching the pros on tv. And although there were some guys like Pat Cash, Becker, Edberg in my younger years, it never crossed my mind to try to volley. I could spend a whole summer, playing every day, without going to the net. And if it ever happened, it was like ''holy ****! How did I end up here? What am I supposed to do? Hit out, just hit it out!! Got to get the hell out of here!''
I guess my point is: I understand that professional tennis has changed a lot, but recreational tennis hasn't changed one bit in 25 years in my opinion. Yet a lot the products that are sold to us (racket, strings, technique) is marketed with the idea that we would need this for ''modern'' tennis. Heck, us week-end warriors have been playing (very bad) modern tennis for ages...
We often hear about ''modern tennis'', or how tennis has changed, how serve and volley is disappearing, how fitness is now so important, how everyone is suddenly a baseline basher, etc.
And of course, all this translates into the new rackets that... rec players buy and use.
But I remember playing tennis at the park 25 years ago, and it was all baseline bashing. S&V? Are you kidding me? Maybe former top juniors can testify in a different way, but as a lifetime rec player, to me tennis hasn't changed one bit. Even the good players that were around us, the ones that would go to tourneys, they played a baseline game. Big serve, big forehand was what you bragged about, just like today.
I also remember that I learned my tennis by watching the pros on tv. And although there were some guys like Pat Cash, Becker, Edberg in my younger years, it never crossed my mind to try to volley. I could spend a whole summer, playing every day, without going to the net. And if it ever happened, it was like ''holy ****! How did I end up here? What am I supposed to do? Hit out, just hit it out!! Got to get the hell out of here!''
I guess my point is: I understand that professional tennis has changed a lot, but recreational tennis hasn't changed one bit in 25 years in my opinion. Yet a lot the products that are sold to us (racket, strings, technique) is marketed with the idea that we would need this for ''modern'' tennis. Heck, us week-end warriors have been playing (very bad) modern tennis for ages...