Tennis and changes; Sinner’s responsibility
View(s):Tennis stroke-making style, rackets, playing surface, scoring and tactics all of these and few more have changed. It has to, what was effective yesterday loses impact tomorrow. “The art of attractive and effective tennis is surging”.
It has to keep pace with challenges from other sports for global popularity. Tennis played on variety of surfaces. Meanwhile grass is not the grass known and the unknown hard courts a century ago is the global norm of today. Europe’s clay and grass courts are strange to modern players even in the professional realm.
Too many of the elites paid the price on Paris clay court and on the Wimbledon grass courts. Unfortunately, English weather was not supportive for the first three days. Question, why seasoned veterans lost and newcomers won.
Changes
The first signs of change in stroke-making had to come from a prominence. It was Bill Tilden in early part of 1900s; he and his compatriots led the revolution. A western grip forehand with bent elbow. Until Tilden registered success, the word ‘wrong’ used to describe anything other than eastern-stroke-making norm. Tilden’s approach named western, developed probably for wooden court surface in winter play. There were no indoor courts dedicated to tennis, wooden floored gym hall were used to play, here the ball slid and not bounced.
Eastern stroke making uses more support of core muscles. Greater physical comfort but a defect to be supportive to the increased speed of the modern challenge.
The modern rackets and emerging surfaces made eastern stroke-making a form of graceful ballet repertoire, good for musical rhythm not for flesh and blood professional feud. Now we have it all. Use of peripheral muscles to handle speed, use of extreme grips, rackets made out of aeronautic material, wrist and elbow flexes to generate extreme spin, positioning and speed of foot work to cover the court mostly with forehand, variants in positional play are visible for tactical dominance of the game. Coaches now watch to select the style for players and not select style first to groove the players.
This is 2025 in tennis. [Upper thigh and right shoulder have become vulnerable. Both need long treatment time. Emma Raducanu and Leyla Fernades did fade away with these. Resurfacing slowly, a long line up of veterans are rationing their effort]
Tennis players have to change all known to be the norm. Grand Slam courts are the lead for development for efficiency and style. Time squeeze and availability of grass, burnt clay and the asphalt concrete of USA and Australia demands variance affect timing and positioning.
Reaction time to a player is the span between own ball contact of a shot and the next for contact. This now is in fraction of a second while the court dimensions remain the same. Increasing the challenge for the opponent is the goal of a good tennis tactician. This is now fraction of a second; it is the lead to conduct tactical play.
After Bill Tilden, Cliff Drysdale, a South-African for speed used double-handed backhand and often took the racket off the opponent at net. Later as coach went to the western seaboard of USA where his compatriot Dennis Van der Meer was having success in player development. Here the stroke-making is to win. Today all are into double-handed backhand. Drysdale still continues coaching.
Wimbledon 2025 – third Grand Slam
Wimbledon 2025 results will interest tennis analysts. Over 30 players from both genders lost in the first three days of the event. Schedule change cannot be the reason. Such a thing affects lesser player most, not the seeded veterans. Confusion of tactical play of the clay courts leading to Paris clay court Grand Slam and arriving for grass courts of Wimbledon may have shaken the playing form of all Top 20 players of the ATP and WTA. The fact that 30 players lost showed impact on the players.
There is a hint, professionals telling themselves lets be done with grass soon. It is the shortest season in tennis. European tennis is compulsory for professionals. The last of the Grand Slam in New York described to be on regular hard courts.
The names to follow in US Open 2025 will the Top 10 of the WTA and ATP rankings. In the WTA, Iga Swiatek has hit her peak again with a refreshed coaching team. Aryna Sabalenka, a powerhouse with background along with sweat and tears, is a last four prospect, very admirable. Her tennis can swing from brilliant to struggle within a match, already made the mark of being an all-rounder and survivor in most testing situations.
US Open is the home ground surface for Jasmini Paolini, Paola Badosa, Mirra Andreeva, Asian queen Qinwen Zheng – Qinwen a true tennis talent and performer. Coco Gauff and Alycia Parks of USA could become famous in New York.
Men in New York 2025
In the men’s, impeccable Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will steal the show if they last. USA players Ben Sheldon and Taylor Fritz, serving at 150 plus miles an hour, will count for honours. The close up challenge in men is strong with Jack Draper, Holger Rune, Alex de Minaur and Lorenzo Musetti. Not forgetting Novak Djokovic with his deep down injury, no physio is able to reach and only appears when he is losing. Drama in tennis is part of the show, especially when millions are at stake.
For a player to last, elegance and ease are pre requisites. If Sinner to last he will have to acquire the ease maestros. To me it looks he is on his way there. Who knows what he will become?
Doubles
Doubles is gaining popularity especially with new approach to scoring. A bit of a chitty-chitty bang-bang rallies. Now played positioning one at net and other at base line. The whole court used with never to image surprises, positions and shot angles.
Elegance of Roger Federer was factor that made tennis popular. The torch bearers now are Jannik Sinner and company; wait and see!
–George Paldano, European and Asian competition player; coach German Tennis Federation; National coach Brunei and Sri Lanka; Davis Cup, Federation Cup coach, coached ATP, WTA and ITF ranked players in Europe and Asia; WhatsApp +94775448880–