Nadal says tennis must change

[stotty]

Nadal's says tennis chiefs must predict the future and not allow racket power to dominate over skill and tactics. He has a good point.

http://www.skysports.com/tennis/news/12110/10218527/rafael-nadal-warns-tennis-needs-to-change

[gzhpcu]

Guess because he realizes he is not getting any younger... . He never said that earlier...

[klacr]

This from a guy that has used the Babolat Aero pro his whole career.

Pot, meet kettle.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[curiosity]

"Somebody stop me before I adopt another handful of body-breaking power boosters."

And yet I agree with him. It will stop others from following a similar trajectory as his. He did things his way in order to win, and from that perspective had no choice but to adopt what worked. For the reality is that many young players cannot help themselves, cannot think through the future of a gimmick, a very stiff racket, a supplement, a technique that punishes the knees. Tennis gimmicks can, like communism, work for a time, but leave wreckage. I think Nadal is well meaning in his comment.

[tennis_chiro]

I watched a recording of the Kyrios/Raonic match today. Kyrios really can make some amazing shots and he generates phenomenal racket head speed. As a shotmaker, he is fascinating. But it is also amazing how much he can do in spite of being out of position, off balance or literally falling down, his body completely out of control. Certainly, the reality has to be that he is controlling what he is doing to get away with those shots, but the fundamental skill of preparation and balance seem soooo... lacking an awful lot of the time.

If you looked back prior to 1985 and probably even just back into the last century, you would never find a player in the top 20 in the world striking the ball with such a lack of fundamental balance. There were lots of idiosyncratic strokes, but they would all be executed with the balance of a prima ballerina, if in fact, they were going to be effective at all.

But with today's rackets and strings, players are able to throw that out the window and still make it to the top 20. Hard to believe. At the top of the game, Djokovic shows a level of execution in his preparation for each ball and a mastery of balance which I believe will keep him invincible as far as the likes of Kyrios and his phenomenal power go. Likewise most of the players in the top 10.

I don't want to say Kyrios is not fun to watch; on the contrary, his personality and shot making are fascinating, even though I have been turned off by some of his other behavior. But I don't remember seeing anyone ever hit so many good shots from such bad positions; just think if he had a little more discipline in his shot preparation. But then maybe it would all just fall apart...

don

[stotty]

Good points...all of them. I think one the requirements these days is to be able to find balance when there is seemingly none to be had. It's very much about controlling one's core wherever you happen to be playing the shot from. Djokovic probably does this better than anyone that ever lived.

I think one of the problems players like Kyrgios and Thiem will have when they play Djokovic is being able to sustain their shotmaking. Thiem just couldn't come up with that one brilliant and brave shot when it really mattered. He has overwhelming power but that alone may not be enough.

Curiously enough, one thing Kyrgios may have in his favour when he plays Djokovic are his ill manners and lack of respect. And having the world against you can be a great help sometimes, especially when you're playing a pillar of the tennis community like Djokovic.

I know it sounds outlandish but it wouldn't be a bad idea if kids played with wood until they are fourteen. You have to be on balance and more stable to execute good shots with wood. I often get the old wooden rackets out at the club when teaching squads. The kids love it. They have to find other ways to win than they would normally. And, boy, it teaches them they have to get down to those low volleys or nothing will happen. Best of all the kids really enjoy it...they really do.

[don_budge]

Rafael Nadal is quite possibly a Moron...

This from a guy that has used the Babolat Aero pro his whole career.

Pot, meet kettle.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

Don't forget the clam diggers, the tank tops and the sickening pre-serve routine. The guy has played with a snow shoe is whole life…what does he possibly know about the real game of tennis. Traditionally speaking.

The interview showcases what a dumbed down game tennis is. One of the top performers of the last decade without a clue. Completely ignorant he comes off like a simple idiot. A moron.

I like this quote for instance..."People get emotional when the points are intense, long. If every time we make that happen less often, it's obvious our sport can be in trouble for the future."

Does retard boy have any idea how mind numbing the endless backcourt duels are? No of course not…he believes his own propaganda machine. The ITF…The International Tennis Federation. If you listen to their mouthpieces there is nothing wrong with the game. Everything is rosey in Paradise.

[stroke]

I watched a recording of the Kyrios/Raonic match today. Kyrios really can make some amazing shots and he generates phenomenal racket head speed. As a shotmaker, he is fascinating. But it is also amazing how much he can do in spite of being out of position, off balance or literally falling down, his body completely out of control. Certainly, the reality has to be that he is controlling what he is doing to get away with those shots, but the fundamental skill of preparation and balance seem soooo... lacking an awful lot of the time.

If you looked back prior to 1985 and probably even just back into the last century, you would never find a player in the top 20 in the world striking the ball with such a lack of fundamental balance. There were lots of idiosyncratic strokes, but they would all be executed with the balance of a prima ballerina, if in fact, they were going to be effective at all.

But with today's rackets and strings, players are able to throw that out the window and still make it to the top 20. Hard to believe. At the top of the game, Djokovic shows a level of execution in his preparation for each ball and a mastery of balance which I believe will keep him invincible as far as the likes of Kyrios and his phenomenal power go. Likewise most of the players in the top 10.

I don't want to say Kyrios is not fun to watch; on the contrary, his personality and shot making are fascinating, even though I have been turned off by some of his other behavior. But I don't remember seeing anyone ever hit so many good shots from such bad positions; just think if he had a little more discipline in his shot preparation. But then maybe it would all just fall apart...

don

You are so right about Kyrgios, mostly to me on his forehand. His backhand, this is not the case. His core body position on his forehand is undisciplined, particularly compared to Djokovic. I think Lc is right also about lighter racquets allow this to creep into one's game, but not in Djokovic's case. It would be interesting to know if Kyrgios uses a significantly lighter static weight/swingweight racquet than Novak. Federer uses a racquet for instance, from what I understand that is very close to 13 oz and 350 swingweight or so, which is pretty close to what some old wood racquets weighed. A player like Tomic, who gets in a good core body position on his forehand and backhand when at all possible, hardly looks like he is swinging hard at all. That really shows to me how these undisciplined core position forehands like Kyrgios are maybe not really necessary.