[SheepleBuster]

These days we hear a lot from folks like McEnroe talking about how some players of today would not be successful with old racquet technologies. So here is my question. Let's assume the powers that be decided to ban today's tennis racquet and required use of old racquets from the early 80s. What would the top 10 of today look like This is a hypothetical question. I am just curious how you would rate players of today as far as being able to play with older technology.

Any thoughts?

[thrust]

Just like the players of the wood era would adapt to modern rackets, today's players would adapt and still be champions. The game would be different, but the results would mostly be the same.

[Pajero de Nadal]

Somepin like this :

Nadal
Djokovic
Monaco
Soderling
Almagro
Dodig
Lopez
Ferrer
Fucsovic
Mahut

[SheepleBuster]

Originally Posted by Pajero de Nadal

Somepin like this :

Nadal
Djokovic
Monaco
Soderling
Almagro
Dodig
Lopez
Ferrer
Fucsovic
Mahut

I would argue that Nole and Nadal would not be as good with old tech.

[Fireballer]

Originally Posted by SheepleBuster

I would argue that Nole and Nadal would not be as good with old tech.

and why not?

[SheepleBuster]

Originally Posted by Fireballer

and why not?

Well, Rafa, I am not sure he could get the amount of spin he gets with the old racquets. Even John and Pat McEnroe and Rod Laver have said some of the shots the top guys pull would not be possible with older racquets.

[Looner]

Lol at RN being in the top 10 with wooden rackets. He can't volley to save his life so he stands 0 chance to do well even on these dumb slow courts. I am not so sure about others but I'll give it a quick go.

Federer will probably adapt, Djokovic might be affected due to reduced returning ability as well as smaller racket head, Murray should be ok, Tsonga may excel, Berdych would probably be dreadful as he'll lack control, Ferrer would still run and retrieve and suffer less from lack of spin, Del Potro won't be able to fire off bullets with wooden rackets.

Tipsarevic and Isner I am not so sure about.

[RNW]

With the 80s racquets it's more about technique and less about power and spin.
And the 80s courts were faster as well.

So we can say - all in all, very general - grass court specialists from today or players with nice technique (and probably more with offensive gamestyles) would have more chances.

Federer would probably be the best with those racquets.

Haas, Haase, F. Mayer, Mahut, Llodra or Tomic would have been very good with those racquets.

Players like Nadal, Djokovic, Murray or Ferrer probably prefer the modern racquets from today.

Today, the rallies between Lu and Tipsarevic were a bit of a reminder of older times because Lu plays with so much technique.
I think that the moment he touches the ball in every shot is very short.

The best example of a player from today who plays like in the 80s or 90s is on the women's side:
Kimiko Date Krumm.
Her racquet is very big and special, and her technique is very special.
She touches the ball for only a very short time.

All in all,
players from today who only a short time period of touching the ball.
A short "contact point",
because with those older racquets you can't play with longer "contact point".

[Leo]

This is actually an interesting thread, better than comparing generations hopelessly. My first two instincts when I read that question were: Federer and Murray. 80s was an era of early graphite rackets, faster and more varied surfaces, players with great technique and timing and obviously much lesser spin. Andy and Rog would be tough.

[PiggyGotRoasted]

The top players would obviously be Federer, Murray, Tsonga, Isner, Lopez, Gasquet, Warinka, Tomic and Nalbandian.

[SheepleBuster]

Originally Posted by Leo

This is actually an interesting thread, better than comparing generations hopelessly. My first two instincts when I read that question were: Federer and Murray. 80s was an era of early graphite rackets, faster and more varied surfaces, players with great technique and timing and obviously much lesser spin. Andy and Rog would be tough.

I think Federer and Murray would do well. Some crafty guys like Stepanek would do well too but obviously not win slams. I don't know. It's tough to think how the grand slam total would look like if people played with such racquets from let's say 2004

[stewietennis]

Obviously, Federer's more rounded skill set (and being the oldest probably means he was exposed to it more as a youngster) would translate pretty well to the older rackets so he'd likely be #1. IMHO Djokovic and Nadal would still be in any combination of #2 and #3. Although their current style of play is influenced by modern racket technology, these two would adapt just as quickly to the older rackets as the rest of the Top 10. The racket is just one part of the game and the courts are still the same, so Djokovic and Nadal still hold a major advantage in skill, adaptability, movement, technique, fitness and other intangibles such as clutch play and not choking over the rest of the field. Some say Nadal will not get the amount of spin that he's used to with the older racket, which is true. but once he reaches the maximum amount of spin possible with older racket, the rest of the field will have to work out how to deal with that much spin with their older racket – works both ways.

[Caesar1844]

It's not physically possible to play the way a lot of modern players do with a wooden racquet and be effective. Nadal, for example, simply would not be able to hit his forehand. He would have to reinvent his game. Great/talented athlete or not, that is a crippling disadvantage.

The advantage would go to the players who have to retool their strokes as little as possible. That means big servers, and players with a more classical style.

[Topspindoctor]

Originally Posted by Looner

Lol at RN being in the top 10 with wooden rackets. He can't volley to save his life so he stands 0 chance to do well even on these dumb slow courts. I am not so sure about others but I'll give it a quick go.

Federer will probably adapt, Djokovic might be affected due to reduced returning ability as well as smaller racket head, Murray should be ok, Tsonga may excel, Berdych would probably be dreadful as he'll lack control, Ferrer would still run and retrieve and suffer less from lack of spin, Del Potro won't be able to fire off bullets with wooden rackets.

Tipsarevic and Isner I am not so sure about.

John McEnroe would disagree. And I would take the opinion of a 7 time GS champ over an opinion of a forum troll like you anyday

[Ibracadabra]

Nalbandian #1