Would you like to see tennis go back to wooden racquets?

[Caesar]

Pretty simple question. Obviously it's ridiculous to think it could/would ever happen, but I was having this discussion with some friends the other day.

Obviously the game would be vastly different with wooden racquets, but would it be better or worse?

I think it's a question with no real answer. Personally I'd prefer it, but there's no doubt that you'd be losing a lot. More variation would be great, but some of the crazy spins and power that modern players generate is beautiful in its own right.

 

[accidental]

No.

10caesarsalads

edit: I wouldnt like it because it would just turn into an error bonanza and pushers would dominate. Players who grew up with graphite wouldnt be able to properly adjust in an instant, it would take years and many would never adjust.

If you mean that all new junior players have to use wood and they grow up with it and continue it in the pros in like 20 years from now than yeah i guess that would be okay. I dont think it would necessarily be better or worse, just different. More style variations, but possibly a lower standard (less power being generated, less winners, aces, more errors etc) overall throughout the ranks

 

[kevvycore]

McEnroe in his book makes this point. He uses the example of baseball where in college and below they use aluminum then hit pros have to switch to wood.

 

[accidental]

Personally I think more restrictions in raquets would be a better way to go. For example minimum weight of a frame, maximum headsize, maximum beam width etc as well as limiting the ratio of materials that can be allowed in a frame

 

[Caesar]

McEnroe in his book makes this point. He uses the example of baseball where in college and below they use aluminum then hit pros have to switch to wood.

It's a bit hard to compare to baseball though. At the end of the day, a baseball bat is still a baseball bat - aluminium might let you hit it further, but you still swing it the same way. As such it's not a big deal for a college player to transition to wooden bats.

On the other hand, since McEnroe's day, graphite racquets and the techniques to use them have evolved massively. It's got to the point where modern players could not make the jump to wood without completely rebuilding most of their strokes.

As such the game would undeniably lose a lot. A number of beautiful and very impressive shots simply wouldn't exist if everyone used woodies - Nadal's lasso forehand, for example.

 

[magnut]

There should be limitations on equipment ....absolutely. There already is in fact.

Just going back to old wood racquets would be bad though. You would be looking at serving contests as well as serve and volley for the dominant style of play. Now I love S&V but I love variet of style more.

Limitations should include....

Ball presure
Natural gut only
Possibly Racquet dimensions (80 inch headsizes are too extreme though)
Racquet materlials (wood is fine)

And for gods sake leave the surface speeds alone. The court is equipment too no?

What we have now are loopholes that the powers that be manipulate to control the game in an attempt to mold it in a way as to make it more profitable for sponsers at the expense of tennis fans.

No more bait and switch paint jobs of pro players racquets either (for the fans)

 

[MichaelNadal]

Definitely not.

 

[fuzz nation]

While I absolutely appreciate what you're getting at, I don't think it's at all realistic to imagine reigning in the game by having the pros go back to wood.

A few years ago while he was still playing on the tour, Mark Philippoussis supposedly took part in a serving experiment that compared his serving with his current racquet, his first (older) graphite racquet, and a wood racquet. As it turned out, his serves with the woodie were only a few mph slower than with his current frame, while the older graphite racquet performed right in between the two.

Bonus points: Flipper broke the wooden racquet while serving with it. That would probably be common among the high-powered athletes that rule the sport today if the rules restricted them to using wood frames.

The pandora's box of racquet and string technology has been opened and I don't see us going back, but I don't believe that it's even necessary. A few years ago, one of the "powers that be", maybe the USTA, wanted to adopt a new regulation ball that was slightly larger. The thinking was that it would be a more rally-friendly ball that would make the pure power aspect in the game less of a dominant factor. It didn't catch on, but I think the idea was sound - I wouldn't be surprised if it's revisited down the road.

As for wood racquets, I'd be psyched if someone started pressing them again (pretty sure that's not the case today). Why? Well if I remember correctly, they were a LOT less expensive than the aluminum and graphite gear that was around at the same time. I'm not interested in paying $180-$200 for just one racquet, but I can't imagine "new" woodies costing anywhere near that. The downside? I'd need some serious help with figuring out how to string them!

 

[Dilettante]

No.

And wood racquets would be ruined with all this rain.

 

[max]

Too many people will voice an opinion on this who have NOT played wood, so their ability to understand the question is wholly compromised: they have an incomplete understanding.

It's like saying, "which do you like better, vanilla or chocolate," to people who have never tasted chocolate. They can IMAGINE chocolate, but really don't have much more grounding in the subject than this guess.

 

[BreakPoint]

Most definitely YES!!!!

So much more creativity, variety, strategy, point construction, tactics, etc. When you can't just hit winners from the baseline or off of a return, you actually have to play smart and think several shots ahead and construct the point. Makes the sport infinitely more interesting.

The mindless ball bashing we have today with modern racquets is pretty boring. Tennis used to be more like a cerebral chess match. Now it's more like a contest to see who can blast the ball harder.

 

[Devilito]

Most definitely YES!!!!

So much more creativity, variety, strategy, point construction, tactics, etc. When you can't just hit winners from the baseline or off of a return, you actually have to play smart and think several points ahead and construct the point. Makes the sport infinitely more interesting.

The mindless ball bashing we have today with modern racquets is pretty boring. Tennis used to be more like a cerebral chess match. Now it's more like a contest to see who can blast the ball harder.

Pretty much. The tennis IQ of players would go up as they are forced to construct points from the baseline and finish points at net. The variety of play would go up.

 

[BreakPoint]

No.

And wood racquets would be ruined with all this rain.

No, they wouldn't. I used to play in the rain with wood racquets. Besides, that's what racquet head covers and wood presses were for.

 

[magnut]

While I absolutely appreciate what you're getting at, I don't think it's at all realistic to imagine reigning in the game by having the pros go back to wood.

A few years ago while he was still playing on the tour, Mark Philippoussis supposedly took part in a serving experiment that compared his serving with his current racquet, his first (older) graphite racquet, and a wood racquet. As it turned out, his serves with the woodie were only a few mph slower than with his current frame, while the older graphite racquet performed right in between the two.

Bonus points: Flipper broke the wooden racquet while serving with it. That would probably be common among the high-powered athletes that rule the sport today if the rules restricted them to using wood frames.

The pandora's box of racquet and string technology has been opened and I don't see us going back, but I don't believe that it's even necessary. A few years ago, one of the "powers that be", maybe the USTA, wanted to adopt a new regulation ball that was slightly larger. The thinking was that it would be a more rally-friendly ball that would make the pure power aspect in the game less of a dominant factor. It didn't catch on, but I think the idea was sound - I wouldn't be surprised if it's revisited down the road.

As for wood racquets, I'd be psyched if someone started pressing them again (pretty sure that's not the case today). Why? Well if I remember correctly, they were a LOT less expensive than the aluminum and graphite gear that was around at the same time. I'm not interested in paying $180-$200 for just one racquet, but I can't imagine "new" woodies costing anywhere near that. The downside? I'd need some serious help with figuring out how to string them!

Those larger balls were fun but almost impossible to serve and volley with.