In 20 year's time, will Nadal's strokes look really 'old-school'?

[tennis_hack]

Not so long ago, no-one found McEnroe overly strange with his continental-grip, open-racket face gentle dinks at the ball, and guys with light eastern forehands also ruled the roost.

Nowaday, we're hitting forehands like this;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPTvISsAiWs

...But in a couple of decades, are guys like Nadal and him going to look prehistoric?

Are people going to say: "I can't believe he only hit with a western grip", as they twist and contort their poor hands all the way around the handle, past the Hawaiian grip and into an eastern forehand grip - but turned over to hit with the other side of the racket?

Similarly, do you think they will they chuckle at Nadal's conservative reverse follow-through, and end their own strokes with some sort of 360 airborne spinning maneuver?

(Attempted) humor aside, this is a serious question - technique has gotten progressively more and more extreme, so is it natural to assume it will continue to do so, or has it reached its natural conclusion?

Personally, I'm not sure how much more extreme forehands can get, but backhands can definitely afford to become more radical in technique. There has not been much innovation at all there, and Nadal is the only one using a sort of windshield-wiper two-handed backhand finish...

 

[RoddickAce]

Maybe one day everyone will be hitting two handed on both sides, or hit with two forehands.

 

[President]

I don't think Muster, Correjta, and Bruguera's technique looks antiquated at all and they played 20 years ago. It will be a similar case with Nadal.

 

[tennis_hack]

I don't think Muster, Correjta, and Bruguera's technique looks antiquated at all and they played 20 years ago. It will be a similar case with Nadal.

OK, so you think those guys sort of play like the average pro guy now, whereas Nadal is a step more extreme.

Are you saying that Nadal plays like the average guy will play in 20 years, and there will be a guy that takes it yet a step more extreme? What will that new extreme technique even look like?

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

they will still look as ugly as they do today.

 

[E La Banana]

they will still look as ugly as they do today.

bet you would wish the same for youself, however time is cruel.

 

[BrooklynNY]

I think Nadal's forehand is textbook at this point.

The more I watch it the more I realize it's perfect in every way.

I don't love his backhand though

 

[Mustard]

Vilas and Muster played a very similar style to Nadal in different eras. The biggest difference is that Nadal has a two-handed backhand (most of the time), whereas Vilas and Muster didn't. McEnroe's style, by contrast, is pretty unique.

 

[THE FIGHTER]

maybe strokes as a whole will be entirely old school and antiquated. the majority of matches are won and lost, in between points, on the changeovers and during medical timeouts. the occasional marathon will be decided in the post match presser.

 

[THE FIGHTER]

on a serious note, the biggest factor that allowed strokes to evolve the way they have is the trend to produce equipment that caters to spin production. while racquet technology seems to be slowing down in terms of creating light enough racquets with high RHS needed for spin, string technology is still improving. if everything stays on the same path, nadal's strokes in twenty/thirty years will probably appear the way lendl's strokes in his prime appeared in 2007

 

[cork_screw]

Not so long ago, no-one found McEnroe overly strange with his continental-grip, open-racket face gentle dinks at the ball, and guys with light eastern forehands also ruled the roost.

Nowaday, we're hitting forehands like this;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPTvISsAiWs

...But in a couple of decades, are guys like Nadal and him going to look prehistoric?

Are people going to say: "I can't believe he only hit with a western grip", as they twist and contort their poor hands all the way around the handle, past the Hawaiian grip and into an eastern forehand grip - but turned over to hit with the other side of the racket?

Similarly, do you think they will they chuckle at Nadal's conservative reverse follow-through, and end their own strokes with some sort of 360 airborne spinning maneuver?

(Attempted) humor aside, this is a serious question - technique has gotten progressively more and more extreme, so is it natural to assume it will continue to do so, or has it reached its natural conclusion?

Personally, I'm not sure how much more extreme forehands can get, but backhands can definitely afford to become more radical in technique. There has not been much innovation at all there, and Nadal is the only one using a sort of windshield-wiper two-handed backhand finish...

Jack Sock in your video is just using the windshield wipper technique. I think most guys are beginning to emulate Nadal. You see guys like Ryan Harrison hitting that buggy whip / flip forehand where they almost finish their racquet over their head. The old windshield wipper technique has been in use for a long time, it's nothing new.

Check out Ryan Harrison. Also when you pull guys out wide to their forehand, you see that they use it more (buggy whip forehand). But it's not so much a standard stroke like Nadal has made it where it uses it almost 70-80% of the time he's hitting a forehand. I bet in the near future most guys will transition to Nadal like strokes because that's who they grew up watching and admiring. Murray, Djokovic and Roger all do that buggy whip / flip stroke on certain occasions in a given match, but they don't set it as their standard stroke like Nadal has made it his.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfaZQT_DDR4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IcSIZN6Q9Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM4thCEf7fI

If you kids wanna learn something new, practice this shot. It is a nice tool to have in your belt.

 

[OTMPut]

Not so long ago, no-one found McEnroe overly strange with his continental-grip, open-racket face gentle dinks at the ball, ...

This is incorrect.
Johnny Mac playing style was always strange and his strokes stood apart. Noone played like Johnny Mac. Every coaching book from that time warned, "Do not try to imitate Johnny Mac; Only John can play like that".

 

[Steve0904]

This is incorrect.
Johnny Mac playing style was always strange and his strokes stood apart. Noone played like Johnny Mac. Every coaching book from that time warned, "Do not try to imitate Johnny Mac; Only John can play like that".

Exactly like Nadal in other words.

I believe Boris Becker put it something like this a few years ago in a coaching clinic.

"I'm not going to try and hit a FH like Nadal because I'd break my wrist."

 

[Sid_Vicious]

Exactly like Nadal in other words.

I believe Boris Becker put it something like this a few years ago in a coaching clinic.

"I'm not going to try and hit a FH like Nadal because I'd break my wrist."

Its more likely that someone in the future will play like Nadal as opposed to Mcenroe. Midway through Mcenroe's career tennis switched from wood to graphite. We won't see anyone with Mcenroe's ridiculous touch and improvisation, but I think we will see someone with a more extreme forehand than Nadal.

 

[moonballs]

Exactly like Nadal in other words.

I believe Boris Becker put it something like this a few years ago in a coaching clinic.

"I'm not going to try and hit a FH like Nadal because I'd break my wrist."

True a few years ago, and still true now for vast majority of rec players.

 

[OTMPut]

Exactly like Nadal in other words.

I believe Boris Becker put it something like this a few years ago in a coaching clinic.

"I'm not going to try and hit a FH like Nadal because I'd break my wrist."

what i find it interesting is that kids try to hit like nadal and coaches do not discourage them. in fact some even teach a buggy whip finish.

but in johnny mac days, johnny mac "technique" was just his. nobody was tought and nobody hit like him.

 

[Migelowsky]

Borg 35 years ago had "modern technique"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2h6-i6Q5is

Look at this from the 1920's, Open stance,loop, semi-western grip