Then and Now: Historic Comparison of Tennis, Part II

David W. Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne

There is often a desire to compare the champions of bygone eras to those of today and through the clouded lens of nostalgia we tend to cling to the heroes of our youth. But under the glaring light of reality, just how well would past champions fare against today’s top players? Would Pancho Gonzales hold up against Roger Federer. Would a Rosewall, Emerson, or Laver compete well against a Roddick, Nalbandian or Nadal? How would Evert or Goolagong play against the likes of Sharapova, Davenport, or Henin-Hardenne? These questions, though they make for interesting table talk, are inherently unfair. Champions, in any sport, should be judged against the players they competed against and them alone. However, pondering such comparisons between eras and the players within does provide for interesting dialogue. Yet, these questions can only be answered in subjective supposition and certainly can’t be proven by definitive head-to-head stats.

However, we can make certain comparisons to how the game was played thirty to fifty years ago or more and compare it to the way it is played today. And that we will fearlessly attempt to do.

In this article, we will examine clips of Ken Rosewall and Cliff Richie in a 1971 Wimbledon match. If we compare the shots and strategies among players today to that of their counterpart several decades ago, there is no question that today’s players would annihilate those of the past. It isn’t so much that the pros today are in better condition than those of a generation or more ago. (I think we can all agree that there is better training and conditioning of players today than ever before!) I also don’t think it is all about the equipment change we have seen evolving over the past twenty years. (I have some highly-ranked juniors who hit with wood racquets much harder than when I was growing up, and certainly harder than what we see in much of the historical footage that we have for review!) There is something more significant that dictated the style and strategies of play that is different a generation or two ago from today.

Perception of Power: Psychological Barriers Broken Down

As with many sports, when a psychological barrier is broken down, many athletes go on to surpass previous pinnacles of that sport or activity. Roger Banister’s first sub-four-minute mile ushered in a slew of sub-four minute milers. Dick Fosbury's flop soon became the standard for all high jumpers. Bob Beamon’s 29-foot long-jump, driving distances in golf, and certainly the serve in tennis, all had milestones that stood for many years—if not decades, before finally being broken. And once broken, many athletes would join in breaking the old records for a period of time.

In tennis we have seen this certainly on the serve. When Roscoe Tanner and Craig Harter both held the world record at 128 mph, it seemed that no one could surpass this speed. I remember taking lessons from Harter in the early 70’s and admiring that service speed.

The record held for many years. Today, 128 mph seems average as a first serve for most of the men. Today, first serves of 135 mph and higher are commonplace. Roddick’s 155 mph record would have been perceived as impossible just a decade ago. Perhaps more impressive is the dramatic increase in women’s service speeds. In the not too distant past, it was rare indeed to see a woman serve faster than 70 or 80 mph. Today, we see women serve well over 110 and many have eclipsed 120 mph!

But this perception of available power is now seen in nearly every aspect of tennis, not just in the serve. Using clips of Ken Rosewall from the early 1970’s, we can compare his power to that of nearly all men, and even women, today in the production of speed in returns, groundstrokes, overheads, and even volleys.

Aggressive Topspin

Over time, we have seen more aggressive topspin production in groundstrokes. More and more players use more severe topspin grips such as the semi-western and full-western grips and that has changed much of how tennis is played from the baseline. Whereas pros of several generations ago favored the continental grip for its advantages in the slice, approach, and volley, all of which were part of the predominant strategy of ‘get to the net,’ today we not only see more severe grips, but we also see tremendous racquet head speed. Where, for the most part, the continental grip limits available topspin, players from past generations were not encouraged to hit with high racquet head speed since it decreased the ability to keep the ball in play. Consequently, the game played was largely a linear game as compared to the side-to-side game played today using weapons of mass destruction.

Players now swing with nearly all their might on punishing baseline groundstrokes. The justification of this significant speed makes sense: If topspin allows a player to hit balls higher over the net and still get the ball in, hitting with more racquet head speed—and thus more topspin—would increase this effect.

The purpose here is not to take anything away from the great players of the past. And it isn’t that Rosewall or any other top player of his generation couldn’t do what players today can do with a ball. It is just that the perception or possibility of such racquet head speeds was not thought of or practiced as it is today. Years ago, emphasis was to work the point with finesse, touch, and placement…not necessarily power. Today, we see players working the point but with far more power, spin, and aggressive footwork.

Footwork

Similar to how the perception of power has changed over time, the perception of footwork speed has significantly changed also. In watching Rosewall and others of that era play, there does not seem to be the urgency to finish the point off. Compared to today's players, who often finish points with an explosive first step or charge to the ball, Richie and Rosewall seem to pass on chances to close in at opportunistic times and, instead, hang back or let balls bounce in front of them instead of cutting off the ball for an open-court volley.

Some Things Can’t Change

While I have mentioned the advent of more power in several aspects of the today's game, there are some areas of tennis that simply can’t be hit much harder or more effectively (with consistency) than they were fifty years ago and that is the slice. The slice or underspin shot is hit as a forehand or backhand defensive shot, a neutralizing stroke, or as an approach shot and it can only be hit so hard before it can’t possibly land in the court. This is because the harder a slice is hit the more its backspin makes the ball resist gravity. The more pace generated, the more the downward arc necessary to get the ball to drop is reduced. Hit hard enough and there comes a point where the ball simply can’t land in the court.

Whereas the slice was a dominant stroke in Rosewall’s era and before, as I said before, it is still used as an approach shot, a change of pace stroke, or a defensive shot. Unlike other parts of the game, the slice has changed little, if at all!

Conclusion

As we can see, historically, tennis was played using a ‘cat and mouse’ mentality. Some may argue that we have lost a creative and intriguing part of the game when power and racquet head speed became the predominant strategy and swing style.

However, I believe, as we have seen in recent years, that the game will continue to evolve and incorporate many elements of creativity that we saw in decades past, yet highlighted with impressive power and formidable weaponry that didn’t exist in yesteryear. Today, we see drop shots and sever angles that were seldom hit a few short years ago. While the power of the serve dominated the game ten years ago, the return of serve has caught up and provides an answer to the big serves we see today.

One area I believe will suffer in today’s game is the incidence of injury that seems to inflict so many pros. In the smoother, less power-prone game of Rosewall’s era, players suffered far less injuries than today. While players today are stronger, faster and more powerful, the ability for the body’s joints, tendons, bones, and connective tissues to keep up with the stress that such power and strength exert is taking its toll. These non-muscular body parts can’t increase in size much, if at all, and they can’t be made stronger. Yet, the muscles around them can—and are—becoming more powerful. On top of this, connective tissue has a relatively low blood supply which slows the healing time of these tissues. Thus, we are seeing today, something we almost never saw a few short decades before: Joint Failure. Ankle, wrist, tendon and other connective tissues and bones are frequently hurt under the stress of the modern game. Add that to the predominance of hard court tournaments and you have a major problem. In Rosewall's era, most of the tournaments were played on clay and grass courts - two surfaces which are much more forgiving. How this aspect effects the way the game will be played years from now remains to be seen but even now stewards of the game are looking for ways to deal with this issue.

Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about Dave Smith's article by emailing us here at TennisOne .

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