May 27, 2015; Paris, France; General view of Court Suzanne Lenglen during the Dudi Sela (ISR) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) match on day four of the French Open at Roland Garros. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
Earlier this week Vice released a story blaming technology on the decline of America’s tennis prowess.
They specifically sited new polyester-based strings created by Belgian company Luxilon as the reason for this decline.
It is true the United States has not had a number one ranked tennis player since hard-hitting Andy Roddick topped the ATP rankings in 2003. But America has not fallen of the grid either.
John Isner was ranked as high as ninth just three years ago and contrary to Vice’s claims, the United States does have “young” talent in the form of 22 year old Jack Sock. Sock went into the year ranked in the mid-thirty’s and is consistently beating top ranked opponents, having just defeated 11 ranked Grigor Dimitrov in this year’s French Open.
But that still does not account for this decade’s lack of John McEnroe, Pete Sampras or Andre Agassis, American players consistently ranked in the number one stop.
So how could the strings of a racquet bring down an entire country’s tennis talent?
Vice claims it is because the news strings, which produce unnatural amounts of topspin, are not compatible with America’s style of play. That play is based around massive serves, powerful inside-out forehands and volleying from the net.
The new strings make hitting from the baseline more effective. What was once a defensive move is now just as effective on the offensive. More experienced European players benefit from this style of play for two reasons.
The reason the new strings benefit European and South American players is because the new style of play is more reliant on positioning than on overpowering your opponent. And European tennis players play on slower clay surfaces, allowing them to adapt more easily to a game that requires fitness instead of power. Most tennis surfaces in America (and struggling Australia) are hard-surfaces, which are not only more difficult to adapt too, but are being abandoned from the ATP schedule.
And more experienced players benefit from the way the ball reacts to the new polyester-based strings. With more topspin, the ball bounces higher than it ever has before. This requires younger players who are not fully developed to overexert their backs and shoulders to return a ball bouncing up at their face.
But we cannot conclude that new strings are the only, or even the main reason, the United States is no longer dominating the tennis scene. There are so many variables that could have disrupted the trend from a decreasing interest at the youth level, to an increase in competition from European countries.
And then there are all of the other technologies changing the sport, like Babolat’s Play and the Zepp sensor app.
Who knows, maybe in the future we will wondering why European players are struggling to keep up with Americans.
But one thing is certain. The new strings have changed the way tennis is played, and put an emphasis on a different style of play.
