TennisOne Lessons
The Modern Game Is Not For the Masses Greg Moran I’ve got to tell you, I’m sick and tired of hearing about “Modern” tennis. I’m sick of watching it, tired of reading about it and I’m particularly fed up with seeing recreational players struggle to play it. “Tennis has changed” is the sales pitch and if you’re not playing the “modern” or “new” game, you can’t compete. I vehemently disagree with this premise and loudly proclaim that for the vast majority of tennis players the game has not changed. In the world of recreational tennis (where most of the tennis playing population happen to reside) “new” definitely does not mean “improved.” Yes, at the professional level the game has changed significantly over the past twenty years. Through advances in racquet technology, training methods, and the mere evolution of the elite athlete, professional tennis players today are able to hit balls at supersonic speeds, strike winners from virtually any area of the court, and create angles that make our jaws drop.
“Hit big to win big” is the credo” of this “modern” game and virtually all of today’s champions possess big groundstrokes and monster serves as their signature shots. They truly play a bigger and faster game then their predecessors. The bad news is that everyday players see this and their mouths start watering. "I can't believe how hard they hit the ball." These are the words that most recreational players will use when you ask them to describe the pro game. After seeing ballistic serves and Richter scale forehands being hit by their tennis superheroes, mortal players around the world develop a serious case of "I can do that too" disease. They grab their racquet, don their capes and attempt the tennis equivalent of leaping tall buildings in a single bound: big serves and monster forehands. This "I can do that too" approach brings a few fleeting flashes of brilliance, many more moments of frustration, and often enough shoulder, elbow, and back injuries to make an orthopedic doctor salivate. Now, there is much more strategy going on out there with the players on the tour then simply hitting big shots. However, many recreational players do not pick this up. They only notice how hard the pros hit the ball and the number of aces they serve in each match. They then head out to their weekly game and try to emulate their hero’s brilliance. The fact is, the game, as it’s played at the professional level today, bears such little resemblance to the sport that the majority of us play that comparisons are far and few between. Therefore I say that the modern game is not for the masses. Here are two reasons why.
The Modern Game is too Difficult for the Masses Former French Open doubles champion Sandy Mayer recently wrote in Tennis Week magazine that, “We've never been in an era where the gap between what the pros do and what you can learn from them is so wide." Mayer went on to say that, “I think it's absurd for a kid or adult to try to hit their forehand like Andy Roddick. I cringe when I see teaching pros telling their students to keep ripping the ball and saying, 'In time, it will come in.' Well, guess what? It won't."
In today’s pro game, bigger is better and two shots that seem to best exemplify this are the forehand and serve. With extreme grips, open stances, and jarring hip and shoulder rotations, all designed to provide more racquet head speed, players must possess superb skill and athleticism to execute the “new” version of these shots on a consistent basis. The “modern” player hits the forehand with either a semi-western or full western grip. Both require the player to bend the wrist at just the right time so as to present the racquet face vertically (as it must be) at impact. If the player’s timing is off just a bit, the risk of a mis-hit increases dramatically. This is particularly true with the western grip which requires a significant adjustment. Conversely, the traditional eastern forehand grip already has the wrist and racquet head positioned in the proper manner for impact, making the racquet an extension of the arm and the eastern forehand is a more versatile stroke than the semi or full western grips. The other key ingredient of the modern forehand is the open stance where the player coils his body and then uncoils it as he hits, employing his shoulders, trunk, and hips to rotate into the shot. Frequently, this “uncoiling” will cause the player to actually jump up off the ground during the shot, generating even more pace and topspin. Between the grips, open stance and quick, whipping-type of swing that is advocated, there are so many moving parts that a player needs superb timing to consistently hit the ball cleanly.
Do you honestly think that Betty from Buffalo, who has three kids and a part-time job, has the time, talent, or dedication to succeed with this difficult approach to the game? How about Walt from Wilton who a travels the world on business and is lucky if he can get to the court four or five times a month. Touring professionals are exceptionally gifted athletes who have spent thousands of hours hitting millions of balls to fully develop the very special and rare talent that God has given them. As a result, they are able to successfully, and brilliantly, execute the “modern” game. The vast majority of those who reside in the world of recreational tennis cannot. Wouldn’t you like to serve like Andy Roddick? Of course you would like to serve like Andy Roddick, we all would. I’d also like to beat Barry Bonds to Hank Aaron’s home run record and sing like Elvis but neither is likely to happen in this lifetime. The fact is to hit a consistent 100 M.P.H. serve, which exemplifies the modern game, on a consistent basis, is as likely for most recreational players as winning the lottery. Milton Ossorio, Senior Teaching Professional at the Four Seasons Racquet Club in Wilton, Ct, says that “The bending, torque, and toss required to hit a 100 M.P.H. serve is far beyond the skill levels of the average recreational athlete.” Oh, I almost forgot. The swinging volley is another shot that’s associated with the modern game. In fact, the world saw Rafael Nadal hit a fabulous one to close out Roger Federer in this year’s French Open. Given the athleticism required to hit the modern forehand and serve, I think you can probably figure out my feelings in regards to having one of my student’s charging the net and taking a full swing at a volley. It’s an impatient shot which the average player will not be able to execute on a consistent basis. Enough said, let’s leave the swinging volley to Nadal and his touring pro cronies.
The vast majority of the lesson-taking public, are not elite athletes who will be able to spend hours on the court developing the difficult techniques that define the modern game. Yet, through television, magazines and technology, they’re encouraged to try. Walt, who happens to play at my club, takes to the court, with a racquet named “turbo” of “thunder, moves his grip over a bit ("Because I noticed that's how Andy holds it"), opens up his stance, and proceeds to fire away. As ball after ball flies over the baseline and/or back fence, he ignores them, squeezes his grip a bit tighter and keeps swinging away. When I try to convince him that his approach may not be the best, Walt smiles and says, "Greg, my serve is unbelievable... when it goes in and they can't touch my forehand... when it goes in," he assures me. Of course, “when it goes in” is the operative phrase. Unfortunately, despite Walt’s occasional moments of brilliance, he’s yet to make it out of the first round of his club championships and has wrapped several racquets around net posts in the process. Sadly, the last time I saw Walt he said he was getting sick of tennis and considering taking up golf. The reality of it is that, for the millions of players like Walter and Betty, the “hit big to win big” approach usually translates into “hit big to lose quickly” and become frustrated in the process. This is not to put down the skills of the recreational player but, the fact is, Betty and Walt are solid representations of the tennis playing public. That being the case, the best method for them to approach the game is the one with least amount of adjustments which means the more traditional approach. More Pain than Pleasure The modern game can be extremely hard on the body. I’ve seen far too many junior and club players develop injuries as a result of their attempts to execute the modern serve and/or forehand because they simply do not possess the physical strength, flexibility or skill of the pros. A human’s hips and shoulders were not built to viciously rotate hundreds of times during each match. These jarring rotations put tremendous pressure on the player’s back, hips, legs, and knees which can ultimately lead to a breakdown. Even the pro’s bodies collapse under the stresses of playing this new game. Here’s a partial list of some of the top pros recent injuries:
Granted, the pros are playing 2 to 4 hours a day and competing week in and week out at the highest levels of the game. And yes, some of these are acute injuries, yet 20% of these injuries are attributed to the demands of playing the modern game. If the greatest, most finely conditioned, athletes in the world are becoming injured due to this approach what does that mean for the average recreational player? I suspect that 20% would at least double if not triple.
Also, keep in mind that these athletes are in their physical prime. What happens when the aging process begins to kick in? After age 30, humans begin losing muscle mass and after age 40, bone mass declines. Tendons and ligaments become less elastic and easier to tear.
These changes and others affect the way we’re able to play the game. All of the twisting turning, bending and timing that is inherent in the modern game cannot, in most cases, be achieved by the average older player. The success of recreational players should not be measured in wins and rankings but in years spent enjoying the game. The modern approach to tennis threatens this longevity which is why I say out with the “new” and in with the “old. I realize these are bold, and I suspect among some, unpopular statements, but to those of you that say the “traditional approach” is yesterday’s news, I think that 47-year-old John McEnroe (who recently captured a doubles title on the ATP tour with his “antiquated” game) and 49-year-old Martina Navratilova would disagree. I wonder if Andy Roddick and Serena Williams, with their “modern” games will still be able to hang in there with the big boys and girls when they reach their late 40’s?
Tennis Beyond Big Shots presents a bold back-to-the-future approach. A new game that moves away from power and big shots yet is more lethal to opponents than any booming serve. Greg Moran shows players of all ages and abilities that, with simple and small changes, you can not only maximize your tennis wins and play longer, but also have much more fun doing it. Click link to purchase Greg Moran's book, Tennis Beyond Big Shots. |
