Now, i'm not saying it is or it isn't, but I was just watching some old videos of Sampras on youtube and looking then and looking now, the game nowadays seems so much faster.....it might not be but it looks alot faster....would you say it is? is there much difference in racquet technology? not really i would say.....it just looks a good bit faster now, might be just me.
Is the game faster now?
- Thread starter Lotto
- Start date
The game is slower today. The difference is how the ball reacts to the court. Racquet technology has not changed much (if at all) in the past 20 years or so. "It's the strings" as Andy Roddick says.
Couple that with slower surfaces, you can see why it is so homogenized. Even though players probably didn't hit as hard back then, the ball moved through the court quicker nearly everywhere but clay (which actually moved way slower back in the 90s than it does today).
I was watching the 1995 us open final between sampras and agassi yesterday. To me the big difference is the spin on the ball. Both Agassi and Sampras put far less topspin on their shots than todays players.
In those days you either hit loopy topspin or hard and flat drives. Today the standard shot is a hard with tremendous topspin.
In those days you either hit loopy topspin or hard and flat drives. Today the standard shot is a hard with tremendous topspin.
T
TheMagicianOfPrecision
Guest
That is correct, for example, Becker and Agassi in the 90s hit a lot harder than Murray and Djokovic off 2009.
do you mean they hit a lot flatter? (not a sarcastic question)
it seems the courts are slower, which is necessary because otherwise with current player fitness/power levels and the strings there wouldn't be ANY rallies EVER.
clearly tennis has evolved as all other athletic sports have in terms of players' fitness and conditioning. there's the odd freakish figure from the past, like Borg, in every sport, but essentially the changes in racquet technology, balls, and court speed are used by fans of yesteryear as a cloak for their arguments that players used to be better than they are now, contradicting the progression made in pretty much every single athletic sport in the last 30-40 years.
the game is clearly faster even than a decade ago, though it's a shame to see the French Open now apparently getting quicker and merging with the other surfaces too. the ball might move off the surface at wimbledon quicker 30 years ago, but it sure didn't go through the air as fast. the average top player's all-around abilities and shotmaking and athleticism are off the chart compared with 20 years ago.
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do you think there's a place for that kind of flat hitting now? berdych loiters on the cusp, blake is in wretched form, is it even possible when a standard rally ball fizzes like it does? agassi hit the ball sickeningly hard, i can't think of anyone who regularly hits harder off both wings.
The modern forehand is hit with so much topspin that the ball really jumps off the court after bounce. This is what makes it such an effective shot. Previously you could play a safe forehand with lots of spin but not much pace or you could try a riskier flat penetrating shot. The top players today hit a safe ball that clears the net by a couple of feet, lands between the service line and baseline and then explodes off the court.
i think it had to happen because of the power so many pros now have readily accessible thanks to their strength and technique.
joeri888 the waiting times between points drive me mad these days, they should get out there and play, it's ridiculous.
AAAA
Hall of Fame
I think Nadal alone raises the average for everyone to 30+ sec.
Shot clock. Now.
deltox
Hall of Fame
they hit harder? on average maybe, but best shots djokovic far outhits all the other three easily.
ChanceEncounter
Professional
I agree with this.
They need to start timing the length between points and handing out warnings and penalties to people who repeatedly violate the time rules.
It's a rule, it's meant to be followed.
Bilbo
Semi-Pro
watch alberto berasategui, carlos moya, and sergi bruguera play... and then tell me that they didn't hit with heavy topspin in the 90's.
droliver
Professional
I don't see much difference in the pace of the ball of the ground going back to the late 1980's on hard courts among the bigger hitters. I watched a clip on Youtube of Agassi & Kafelnikov from the Australian Open about 15 years ago and they were bringing it from the baseline as hard as anyone now.
I think the things I notice the most are
1. court coverage is better on average now
2. the average MPH of the serve is higher now among players as a whole
3. returns have gotten more aggressive
I think the things I notice the most are
1. court coverage is better on average now
2. the average MPH of the serve is higher now among players as a whole
3. returns have gotten more aggressive
Game has been getting slower and slower throughout the years since the 1960's
Faster in what way? The trend in tennis for the last 40 years has to be getting slower. Just look at Sampras playing indoor in the 90's or Laver playing on tiles in the 60's compared to now. The surface is much much slower. Yes, ground strokes are a lot more powerful and rackets have meant the ball can pass faster through the air. However, at the same time there is an emphasis on top spin which slows down the ball.
I think you mean faster in terms of racket striking power. But in terms of surface and bounce - it is sooooooo much slower now the tennis that in earlier times.
1960's - fast indoor tiles - hardly any time to react
1970's - Grass dominant for 2st 1/2 of 1970's
1975-1977 - US Open on clay - slowing down.
1978 - US Open fast hard court - but slower than 1974 Forest Hills grass.
1978-1987 - Reasonably fast. Indoor surfaces still around at the beginning and the end of the year.
1988 - Australian Open slows down to slow hard court.
2002- Wimbledon slows down to slower than Hard Court tennis.
Hence, the direction seems to be that tennis is getting slower and slower over the last 40 years.
Faster in what way? The trend in tennis for the last 40 years has to be getting slower. Just look at Sampras playing indoor in the 90's or Laver playing on tiles in the 60's compared to now. The surface is much much slower. Yes, ground strokes are a lot more powerful and rackets have meant the ball can pass faster through the air. However, at the same time there is an emphasis on top spin which slows down the ball.
I think you mean faster in terms of racket striking power. But in terms of surface and bounce - it is sooooooo much slower now the tennis that in earlier times.
1960's - fast indoor tiles - hardly any time to react
1970's - Grass dominant for 2st 1/2 of 1970's
1975-1977 - US Open on clay - slowing down.
1978 - US Open fast hard court - but slower than 1974 Forest Hills grass.
1978-1987 - Reasonably fast. Indoor surfaces still around at the beginning and the end of the year.
1988 - Australian Open slows down to slow hard court.
2002- Wimbledon slows down to slower than Hard Court tennis.
Hence, the direction seems to be that tennis is getting slower and slower over the last 40 years.
cork_screw
Hall of Fame
One simple abbreviation.
N.S
and that doesn't stand for "nice shot."
N.S
and that doesn't stand for "nice shot."
superbooga
Rookie
The game is faster, but at the same time, players are much more athletic and the technique and technology has evolved to compensate for
In other words, it doesn't seem faster because it's easier to play a high speed game today than in the past.
I don't think you have any idea how fast+heavy a groundstroke can be hit now.
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