New breed of giants calling the shots in tennis nowadays
new york — When Milos Raonic steps out for a match, he usually expects to be the tallest player on court. Except at the US Open on Sunday, the 6-foot-5 inch Canadian found himself face-to-face — or, more accurately, face-to-chest — with man mountain John Isner, who stands five inches taller.
The sight of towering men taking only a couple of strides to run in from the baseline to the net is nothing new at the majors, with 6-foot8 Kevin Anderson finishing runnerup at Flushing Meadows 12 months ago and again at Wimbledon in July. Yet before 2007, there were no men ranked in the top 50 who were taller than two metres (6 foot 6), according to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) — today, five of the world’s top 11 men breach the 6-foot-5 mark.
As these tennis skyscrapers start getting deeper into the slams, they impact how the game is played, according to experts and professionals alike, with the serve being the most obvious weapon at the disposal of the sport’s new breed of giants. Isner’s coach David Macpherson said taller players can have “a massive advantage” with their serve.
“You can create more angle in the box, you can get the ball shorter and wider in the box than other players, clear the net by greater margins, and get the ball to bounce higher,” Macpherson said. Players above 1.98 metres (6 foot 6) served at least one ace for every 10 serves, according to the ITF’s most recent State of the Game data obtained from the Fed Cup, Davis Cup and Grand Slams. Men who are 1.82m (6 foot) and under recorded just one ace for every 20 serves.
Yet it is not just the ace count that explains why so many tall players are climbing the rankings.
Mark Kovacs, executive director of the International Tennis Performance Association, told Reuters that tall players cover more ground with longer strides and generate greater power from groundstrokes, impacting how the sport is played.
“With more tall players the style of play is shifting slightly due to the greater leverage these players have,” Kovacs said. —
With more tall players the style of play is shifting slightly due to the greater leverage these players have
Mark Kovacs, ITPA official