What is the ideal height for a player in today's tennis?

What is the ideal height for a modern tennis player?

  • Between 1.70m and 1.74m

    Votes: 4 12.5%
  • Between 1.75m and 1.79m

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Between 1.80m and 1.84m

    Votes: 2 6.3%
  • Between 1.85m and 1.89m

    Votes: 14 43.8%
  • Between 1.90m and 1.94m

    Votes: 10 31.3%
  • Between 1.95m and 1.99m

    Votes: 1 3.1%
  • Over 2m

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • There is no ideal height

    Votes: 1 3.1%

  • Total voters
    32

Winner Sinner

Hall of Fame
The average height in tennis, just like in modern society, is getting higher and higher.
Now we see players over 1.90 meters tall who were once just serverbot prototypes, knowing how to handle themselves very well in the game from the baseline thanks to a mix of mobility, speed and coordination of the highest level, to which they obviously necessarily combine an ability to generate power and see angles in the service superior to that of the "able-bodied".
Average height is increasingly higher so much so that some commentators have gone as far as to say that the best tennis talents potential sports such as volleyball and especially basketball are stolen from modern tennis.
I mean a boy 2 meters tall and above for a whole series of reasons is more attracted to basketball rather than tennis.

On the other hand, however, there is the fact that we are coming off an epic characterized by 3 players who dominated the circuit for twenty years, and whose height did not exceed 1.88 meters, in general the height of the big three ranged from 1.85 meters (Nadal) to 1.88 meters (Djokovic).
And in the meantime, a generational phenomenon has exploded like Alcaraz whose height does not reach 1.85 meters.

So the question is renewed.
 

aldeayeah

G.O.A.T.
Mid to high 180s with a slighter frame, or low to mid 180s with a bigger frame. Or 190-200 beanpoles lol.

It's all a power/serve/mobility/athleticism/injury-proneness trade-off. Natural surfaces favor nimbler players in particular so the perfect mix varies by surface.
 

The Blond Blur

G.O.A.T.
What’s that in:
ILvYrE.gif
?
 

Winner Sinner

Hall of Fame
Just curious, average height of the top 10 at the end of the year after 10 years;

End 2024
Sinner 1.92
Zverev 1.98
Alcaraz 1.83
Fritz 1.96
Medvedev 1.98
Ruud 1.83
Djokovic 1.88
Rublev 1.88
De Minaur 1.83
Dimitrov 1.91
Average= 1.90

End of 2014

Djokovic 1.88
Federer 1.85
Nadal 1.85
Wawrinka 1.83
Nishikori 1.78
Murray 1.91
Berdych 1.96
Raonic 1.96
Cilic 1.98
Ferrer 1.75
Average= 1.875

End of 2004

Federer 1.85
Roddick 1.88
Hewitt 1.77
Safin 1.93
Moya 1.91
Henman 1.85
Coria 1.75
Agassi 1.80
Nalbandian 1.80
Gaudio 1.75
Average= 1.829

In 10 years in 2034 it is likely that the average height of the top 10 will be close to 1.95 meters.
 

nolefam_2024

Bionic Poster
Just curious, average height of the top 10 at the end of the year after 10 years;

End 2024
Sinner 1.92
Zverev 1.98
Alcaraz 1.83
Fritz 1.96
Medvedev 1.98
Ruud 1.83
Djokovic 1.88
Rublev 1.88
De Minaur 1.83
Dimitrov 1.91
Average= 1.90

End of 2014

Djokovic 1.88
Federer 1.85
Nadal 1.85
Wawrinka 1.83
Nishikori 1.78
Murray 1.91
Berdych 1.96
Raonic 1.96
Cilic 1.98
Ferrer 1.75
Average= 1.875

End of 2004

Federer 1.85
Roddick 1.88
Hewitt 1.77
Safin 1.93
Moya 1.91
Henman 1.85
Coria 1.75
Agassi 1.80
Nalbandian 1.80
Gaudio 1.75
Average= 1.829

In 10 years in 2034 it is likely that the average height of the top 10 will be close to 1.95 meters.
And I know fed fans can joke about tennis always evolving but it does always evolve. Weather you like or not.

The height difference is huge. Berdych when he was in top 10, was a big guy. He is not that much taller than sinner now.
 

Winner Sinner

Hall of Fame
But Carlos Alcaraz at six feet tall and he's won more grand slams than Jannik Sinner.

And Carlos is nearly two years younger.
Apart from the fact that we will see at the end of their career who between Sinner and Alcaraz will have been more successful.
Having said that, you focus on a single exception when in reality you should analyze the matter on a larger scale.
The evolution is unmistakable as also demonstrated by the average height of the top 10 that I reported.
In 2004 it was around 1.83m, in 2014 around 1.87m, now in 2024 it is at 1m 90cm.
 

junior74

Bionic Poster
And I know fed fans can joke about tennis always evolving but it does always evolve. Weather you like or not.

The height difference is huge. Berdych when he was in top 10, was a big guy. He is not that much taller than sinner now.

Evolution is not always the same as improvement. Is an e-book better than a conventional book? I think not, but a lot of people find it more convenient in our time.
"Tennis" is more than the athletes' abilities. Technology, court speed and fitness have changed the game in a different direction.

Height is generally increasing worldwide. I think top 100 would be a better sample than top 10, as one or two guys can "ruin" the tendency within the top 10.

Movement is more important than height in tennis. And volleys aren't important anymore, since they hardly play them. When I was a kid, volley practice was a big chunk of the lessons. The game was oriented around how to get to the net first chance you got, which is why the backhand slice was so crucial to master, a low bouncing sliding slice was THE approach shot on quicker courts with lower bounce.

PS! De Minaur is barely 1.83 even with this:
16505613.webp
 

CHillTennis

Hall of Fame
Apart from the fact that we will see at the end of their career who between Sinner and Alcaraz will have been more successful.
Having said that, you focus on a single exception when in reality you should analyze the matter on a larger scale.
The evolution is unmistakable as also demonstrated by the average height of the top 10 that I reported.
In 2004 it was around 1.83m, in 2014 around 1.87m, now in 2024 it is at 1m 90cm.
Let's take a look at this for a minute.

in the 1990s we have Pete Sampras at 6'1". Andre Agassi 5'11"; Jim Courier 6'1"; Michael Stich 6'4"; Ivan Lendl 6'2"; Boris Becker 6'3"; Stefan Edberg 6'2; Petr Korda 6'3"; Carlos Moya 6"3.

In this decade we have the following slam winners: Rafael Nadal at 6'1; Roger Federer at 6'1; Novak Djokovic at 6'2"; Carlos Alcaraz at 6 feet tall; Jannik Sinner at 6'4"; and Daniil Medvedev at 6'6".

That's nearly identical.

The only outlier between these two different generations is Medvedev at 6'6" (and he's a one time grand slam winner.) Everyone else is 6-6'4".
 

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
As of today, Ugo Humbert is the 6th best player in the world (based on UTR rating).

Is he tall? Yes

Is he a beanpole? Yes

Is he actually good? :(
 

big ted

Legend
optimal is 6’2 with long limbs and small feet! and btw alcaraz might be 6’ but he might have the arm length of someone that’s 6’1 so height statistics can be misleading!
 
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