The Heavy Ball in
Modern Pro Tennis

John Yandell

Spin. Fearsome spin. It's one of the most obvious and most important components in modern pro tennis and a key to hitting the mythical heavy ball.

RPMs on individual shots can reach 5000 or more. In the one second or so it takes for the ball to travel from one player's racket to the other, the ball can turn over 80 times or more. That's almost impossible to visualize.

1997!

But where did the first measurements of spin come from? The U.S. Open 1997. I was there with a team that was using one of the first high speed cameras—the so-called “Mac Cam.”

That camera filmed at 250 frames per second. Fast enough to see the ball bounce on the court in relation to the lines. That's what the networks used it for.

But I thought these cameras should also be pointed at the players. They were also fast enough to see the ball on the strings and then follow the rotation of the ball over its flight.

We filmed for a week. Then I spent a couple of long months in a dark edit suite with a high tech vcr counting spin of the players frame by frame.

The results were published by the USTA in its sports science newsletter, the first time spin data was ever recorded and made available. Over the next few years we continued filming spin as well as stroke biomechanics and captured data on superstars including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and many other players.

Click Here to read all about that groundbreaking data from the 1997 Open. But some highlights. The two top players of the era, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi averaged about 1800rpms on their forehand—way less that the current era.

But others, such as Sergi Bruguera, Tomas Muster, and Marcelo Rios averaged as much or more as many players in the current game, with Brugera's numbers roughly equivalent to Nadal at over 3000rpm.

As for the backhands? Pretty much the same story. Some players hit much flatter than others. Agassi was at about 1700rpm. But Bruguera and Muster were both above 2200rpm and Sampras was over 2000rpm, actually higher than his forehand.

Remember, this was all in the days before poly strings! So how much have spin values actually increased in the last 20 plus years?

Thanks to the painstaking work of our tour photographer Jim Fawcette, we can answer that question. With the advent of shot spot, the spin values can be measured virtually instantaneous without hundreds of hours of frame by frame ball counting. Jim combed that data and made a chart of over 30 players as below. There are even more detailed - and more difficult to read - charts to show all this in the Forum. (Click Here.)

The Answers

The answer is that almost all tour players are creating the same amount of spin as the extreme spin players of previous generations on both the forehand and backhand side.

But it's also interesting to note they may be equaling those spin values but not exceeding them. The players at the top of the list on the forehand are over 3000rpm, but this is similar to Sergi Bruguera.

Of those players Jim looked at over a dozen averaged over 3000rpm on their forehands. Felix Auger-Aliassime topped the list at 3350rpm, but the difference between him and the next 10 or so players, including Nadal, was minimal.

Stefanos Tsitsipas was at about 3200rpm and that is with an eastern grip. Federer at 2800rpm is about where we measured him years ago. The same for Djokovic at about 2700rpm. And at the bottom of the list? Danill Medvedev at about 2200rpm.

Backhand Spin

So what about the backhand? The one handers dominate those values. Richard Gasquet is at the top at over 2900rpm. Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov are both about 2700rpm. Stan Wawrinka is over 2400rpm as is Dominic Thiem. Federer comes in at about 2300rpm.

And the two-handers? A few rival the one-handers. Casper Rudd averages over 2600rpm. Felix is at 2450rpm, about the same as Nadal. Mattero Berrettini is a little over 2200pm. Fabio Fognini is at 2100rpm, about the same as Jannik Sinner.

Everyone else is less than 2000rpm. And Danill Medvedev is close to the bottom, similar to his lower forehand value. He's at about 1500rpm on his backhand, less than Agassi's backhand in 1997!

Thanks to Jim here is all that data in the chart below. He points out that we combined data from different years in a limited number of matches. Also that data against different players could yield variations. Still it's an amazing overview.

Ball Speed

And what about ball speed? This is the other critical component in creating a heavy ball. You do occasional see 90mph to 100mph forehand in televised matches. But the average forehand speeds associated with these spin numbers varied from 72 mph to 80 mph. Average backhand speeds ranged from 65 mph to 76mph.

How does that compare to previous generations? Although the radar guns were around in 90s pre shot spot, they were used only to measure serve speeds.

The only study from that era I know of is one we did separately from the 1997 Open filming. Using multiple cameras we studied Sampras playing on a cushioned indoor court.

His average speed numbers? 76mph on the forehand and 69mph on his backhand, just about in the middle of the speed ranges of current players. But in his day Pete was known for his high velocity. It's possible that the guys with heavier spin in that era had lower speed ranges. Click Here.

Conclusions?

So what does it all mean? Definitely the spin values across the entire range of current pro players have increased substantially. Poly strings must have something to do with it.

Probably the universal adoption of the windshield wiper on the forehand also has to do with it as well. But the spin numbers don't always correlate with more extreme grips. Look at Tsitsipas and Federer.

And what do we make of Daniil Medvedev's lower spin values on both sides when he seems highly likely to win a Slam and possible more than one? Or of Novak Djokovic, arguably the current top player, whose average values are lower than most of the other players?

After 25 years of study we can probably say that the heavy ball is heavier now than it's ever been, but its role is still somewhat mysterious. And the formula for winning in pro tennis remains complex and involves many factors.

I welcome your thoughts, insights and comments on all this in the Forum!