Next tennis generation keeps getting better. Where will it end?
Posted by tennisplanet on September 3, 2008
Will tennis one day compete with NBA? Aren’t those the biggest strongest athletes on the planet? With the speed tennis players are getting taller and bigger, where else can this lead to?
Each generation clearly is heaving a sigh of relief that they were able to get their share of hardware before the next bigger and better one took over. Can you imagine Laver even winning ONE Grand Slam in his entire career with his physical prowess?
How about Connors, McEnroe, Borg and Agassi? They wouldn’t stand a chance. It won’t be too long before Federer will be feeling the same, if he is not sensing it already. I think by year end if not by February next year, no one in the top ten will be under 6′.
Add all the technology and you will be looking at rockets flying across the court. You will need replays in slow motion to just see the freaking ball, similar to the stupidity of ice hockey, where you cannot even see the freaking puck more than half the freaking time.
You think Agassi is glad he got out with what he got before the onslaught began? You bet!!! At a mere 5’10” he wouldn’t have had a chance no matter how much skill he had. Just the speed, power and wing span needed today to barely survive on the tour is mind boggling.
Why do you think Ferrer and Davydenko are feeling the pain? They are today’s Agassis and McEnroes run over by giants with power and muscle.
Can you see the day when 7’2″ guys will roam the tennis circuit and tie break will be the thing of the past? Hasn’t the trend already started? What do you think these clowns are doing – Karlovic, Isner, Querrey, Cilic, Del Potro?
Tennis Planet 
bunnee said
when they stop downing the steroids, etc…
Bento said
Dr. Ivo has got to be the worst player on the tour. And, no, what you’re saying won’t happen to tennis. The skinny guys win. Being tall doesn’t help because movement is very important. This is not about being strong at all. It’s about the way you move, and it’s about your one-handed backhand, for the sake of tennis, and it’s about your freaking forehand and headband.
TheHumbleOne said
I wonder how Yao Ming would look holding a tennis racket…
Or maybe Manut Bol.
m said
I would like to know what they’re feeding these boys. It seems like between 18 and 19 they just … explode.
Rafa. Delpo. Even the women – I saw Maria at a reception; she was literally head and shoulders taller than just about anyone else in the room. And to complete your analogy, TP, LeBron James is no shrimp. He looked 26 when he was 18.
I know we have the FTC and FDA to thank for aspartame and HFCS. But where are they getting the good stuff?
m said
“I wonder how Yao Ming would look holding a tennis racket…”
Hot, I think.
Can we try that? 😀
Jenny said
The day tennis becomes very tall, and even taller with power to blast a smaller opponent off the court is the day I stop watching the game so much. I’ll just stick to watching the clay swing, where a player doesn’t have to rely on power and big serve alone, and where movement, returns, rallies, constucting points are so much more enjoyable to me.
Deep South Girl said
I agree Jenny. I think there should be a height limit. It changes the game. No finesse. Boring.
Who wants to see a giant hit ace after ace after ace after ace ad nauseum…..
“Not I said the cat.”
Abdullah said
i don’t think there’s a substitute for pure talent and good hands. Federer’s going to prove that in the year to come, and so’s Murray. Height alone is not going to do much. It may even hamper a person to get down low enough for an effective drop volley or to pick up a half volley at the feet. Some of the guys you mentioned are over-rated. Some aren’t. Worry not purists, tennis isn’t going the way of the NBA. In NBA you “have” to be tall, because the taller you are the easier it is to dunk the ball. That doesn’t apply in tennis. Your height does not guarantee that you’ll be a good player as well.