My problem with the 'reform tennis' movement is that, at least from my selfish perspective, atp tennis seems to me pretty optimal right now. We have a single global tour where all the best players play. We have a system where 14 tournaments have been successfully established and, injuries aside (that's a problem!), the very best players choose to play in 12-14 of them. We forget that Sampras only played in 5-6 masters 1000 and that was typical. The success of establishing 'big tournaments' (major, masters, atp final) as a recognized category in which the big 3 and others are compared is pretty new and a big largely unacknowledged success.
It would be nice if tennis channel were a better service but as someone currently confined to my sofa while recovering from achilles surgery I'm enjoying my ability to watch Rune, and Alcarez and Mussetti, also a big plus, and hopefully tc will respond to Matt's suggestions and improve.
For me, the threat looming over the sport is the rise of the tall servebot and the ugly tennis that goes with it. For the time being, the returners are holding their own. But the height of players, velocity of first serves and, most important, the % of first and second serves won are rising inexorably. At some point, the sport could tip to the servers and be ruined. I can imagine an Opelka-Zverev no-break Wimbledon final with over a hundred aces. I think some rule tweaks should be taken to prevent this.
My problem with the 'reform tennis' movement is that, at least from my selfish perspective, atp tennis seems to me pretty optimal right now. We have a single global tour where all the best players play. We have a system where 14 tournaments have been successfully established and, injuries aside (that's a problem!), the very best players choose to play in 12-14 of them. We forget that Sampras only played in 5-6 masters 1000 and that was typical. The success of establishing 'big tournaments' (major, masters, atp final) as a recognized category in which the big 3 and others are compared is pretty new and a big largely unacknowledged success.
It would be nice if tennis channel were a better service but as someone currently confined to my sofa while recovering from achilles surgery I'm enjoying my ability to watch Rune, and Alcarez and Mussetti, also a big plus, and hopefully tc will respond to Matt's suggestions and improve.
For me, the threat looming over the sport is the rise of the tall servebot and the ugly tennis that goes with it. For the time being, the returners are holding their own. But the height of players, velocity of first serves and, most important, the % of first and second serves won are rising inexorably. At some point, the sport could tip to the servers and be ruined. I can imagine an Opelka-Zverev no-break Wimbledon final with over a hundred aces. I think some rule tweaks should be taken to prevent this.
Funny you mention rule tweaks, I have a piece coming soon about that
I look forward to reading this piece Matthew.
Wow here’s to hoping old guys r not making lasting decisions for sports! Regardless if it’s short or long term success! Ugh