[guitarra]

As we all know the BIG3 era is slowly coming to its end. By the mid 2020s it'll probably be over with Rafa and Novak approaching 40 and Roger most likely retired.

So my question is how would you like tennis to develop after the BIG3 era, e.g.:

• would you rather have 2-3-4 dominating players (like during the last 10-15 years) or 10-15 guys capable of and sharing slams or maybe 1 super star winning almost all?
• would you rather see more variety in terms of style (e.g. S&V back?)
• would you prefer the surfaces to get faster/ slower and more/ less variety surface wise?
• do you think any changes in the calendar (once pandemic is over) and/or ranking system are necessary?
• do you think any changes regarding the rules/ counting system (but not only) are needed?
• would you rather see players playing more aggressive tennis (with bigger amount of winners and errors) or more consistent with longer rallies?

I know this topic is quite extensive but please share you 1-2 key wishes for the future once the BIG3 era is over.

 

[NextGenKing]

Great topic

Realistic
I guess i would want to see nextgen step up.
I would like Electronic lines calling(although would feel terrible for jobs of lines judges).
I would like challengers events to be broadcast on tennis tv too.

Unrealistic
I would like an extra grass week. Turning queens in to a masters.
I would like no byes. I hate the way some players play first match on Wed or Thur in 250s.

 

[Bella&Mirka]

More court variety would be the big one. Back to the days when all-court versatility, including serve-volley, was needed to sweep multiple Slams. Would prevent dominance by baseline clones.

And of course... reduce the service box area by a couple of square feet to reduce botting... make the serve more a test of technique than height.

 

[The Hero Cop Mark]

shorter matches

 

[bilentsob]

Robots and Drones to take over officiating

 

[Ilkae]

I'd like to see as many good players as possible, i.e. more than just a new Big 3-4. Certainly not just a single dominant player. Something like 8 potential slam winners e.g. Tech based line calls. Would enjoy more variety both in terms of style and surfaces, but don't expect that in terms of the former (dictated by technology). Would love to see more grass tournaments (but don't really expect that either as there are more easily maintainable surfaces).

 

[guitarra]

I'd like to see as many good players as possible, i.e. more than just a new Big 3-4. Certainly not just a single dominant player. Something like 8 potential slam winners e.g. Tech based line calls. Would enjoy more variety both in terms of style and surfaces, but don't expect that in terms of the former (dictated by technology). Would love to see more grass tournaments (but don't really expect that either as there are more easily maintainable surfaces).

That's close to my preferential level of competitiveness on top.
I feel like 3-4 is too few (or maybe because we've had this kinda scenario for so long), on the other hand more than 8-10 would be too "chaotic".

 

[Johnny Groove]

As we all know the BIG3 era is slowly coming to its end. By the mid 2020s it'll probably be over with Rafa and Novak approaching 40 and Roger most likely retired.

So my question is how would you like tennis develop after the BIG3 era, e.g.:

• would you rather have 2-3-4 dominating players (like during the last 10-15 years) or 10-15 guys capable of and sharing slams or maybe 1 super star winning almost all?
• would you rather see more variety in terms of style (e.g. S&V back?)
• would you prefer the surfaces to get faster/ slower and more/ less variety surface wise?
• do you think any changes in the calendar (once pandemic is over) and/or ranking system are necessary?
• do you think any changes regarding the rules/ counting system (but not only) are needed?
• would you rather see players playing more aggressive tennis (with bigger amount of winners and errors) or more consistent with longer rallies?

I know this topic is quite extensive but please share you 1-2 key wishes for the future once the BIG3 era is over.

Great thread mate

I predict an era where we have 5-10 guys who can win a slam at anytime. I predict we will not see another 10 slam winner until 2035, and not another 20 slam winner until 2050

Can't see S/V coming back, returns are too good, angles are too good, guys don't practice it enough

I'd like to see tennis invest in some ways to make the hard court surfaces not as damaging to the body. What can we do to reduce the harshness of the court, I know AO put a lot of research into this

Calendar and ranking system I see will remain largely the same. Maybe a few weeks shifted here and there but the skeleton of the tour should stay the same

I'd like to also see research into the tennis ball, some balls are more harmful to the body than others. Longer careers mean more money to be made in the game over a longer period of time means that young good athletes can see tennis as a more financially viable option

Also I want to see Tennis Channel on basic cable. We need to see tennis anytime we want. Like the Golf Channel

Commentators need to stop sucking so bad. Would definitely hire some MTFers if I ran ATP to do commentary

More video coverage and media coverage of challenger and futures matches

Partner with UTR to create more prize money events at a national, state, and regional level

 

[guitarra]

Great thread mate

I predict an era where we have 5-10 guys who can win a slam at anytime. I predict we will not see another 10 slam winner until 2035, and not another 20 slam winner until 2050

Can't see S/V coming back, returns are too good, angles are too good, guys don't practice it enough

I'd like to see tennis invest in some ways to make the hard court surfaces not as damaging to the body. What can we do to reduce the harshness of the court, I know AO put a lot of research into this

Calendar and ranking system I see will remain largely the same. Maybe a few weeks shifted here and there but the skeleton of the tour should stay the same

I'd like to also see research into the tennis ball, some balls are more harmful to the body than others. Longer careers mean more money to be made in the game over a longer period of time means that young good athletes can see tennis as a more financially viable option

Also I want to see Tennis Channel on basic cable. We need to see tennis anytime we want. Like the Golf Channel

Commentators need to stop sucking so bad. Would definitely hire some MTFers if I ran ATP to do commentary

More video coverage and media coverage of challenger and futures matches

Partner with UTR to create more prize money events at a national, state, and regional level

Thanks for your input - there's many interesting observations from you.
Especially those regarding research on hard surface done by AO and tennis balls - I wasn't aware of that.

 

[paca]

Damn, what an amazing topic.

I'm beating a dead horse at this point but a longer grass season with one or two Masters events would be fantastic, preferably at the expense of a couple of outdoor HC events. Grass needs to be a surface that top young players actually prioritise learning, and I think playing on it would help them develop more interesting and varied games even on other surfaces. Imagine if someone like Tsitsipas or Rublev could develop a good backhand slice, for instance.

Otherwise, I think the tour is fairly well-balanced in terms of surfaces and conditions. I generally enjoy the kind of tennis that is being played, and there is a pleasing contrast in styles between guys like Thiem, Rublev, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, and Shapo. For a few years it seemed as though interminable baseline grinding would prevail, but nowadays it's universally recognised that a good transition and net game is essential to really make it as a top player.

Oh and regarding the standard of tennis commentary, I agree with Johnny Groove. Where's the excitement? Where's the technical and strategic insight? Football commentators can wax lyrical about stats all day long, but apparently any actual analysis of a tennis match by the commentators is too much for the TV audience to cope with. I guarantee that a crack team of MTF commentators would do a far better job.

 

[Losange]

More specialists on all surfaces
More variety in style of play (creativity, intuition)
More grass tournaments
Faster hard courts
Better communication between associations and players (2020 was a farce in this respect)
Getting rid of wildcards (i.e. favouritism)

And of course players in their twenties really stepping up. Not focusing on the established opponent, but playing their own game.

 

[Pedigree]

My preferences:
-totally electronic line calling
-less constrained personalities on the court
-a little more year-to-year variation in the calendar (i.e. events staged every couple of years with a handful of mainstays)
-more surface and stylistic diversity
-more analysis of racket technology on TV ... seems like such a huge part of the sport but it’s never really discussed

 

[NextGenKing]

No q v q matches i add

 

[swissmaestro92]

more court variety in speeds and locations, a little more grass, a little less hard.

 

[Cloren]

Honestly I wanna see a group of dominant players because I think important rivalries are what make tennis. So yes I’ll like to see Thiem/Medvedev/Zverev/Tsitsipas/Shapogoat/Sinner at the top for a foreseeable future. I don’t want to see random winners like it happens at WTA. I want to see solid players that do well in slams and other tournaments. But I don’t want to see a big 3 like domination either. That has run it course. Maybe when I’m 50 years old then another big 3 ;p

As for the calendar, I’ll just like to add more grass masters, speed up one of AO/USO. Well speed up AO, and let USO be the slow HC slam and I’ll be ok with it.

Serve and volley is dead btw, the racket development has ensured to that, doesn’t matter how fast a court can be, it won’t work in this era anymore with this kind of modern rackets. Not that I find it a bad thing, not a big fan of S&V as a primary style.

 

[Joe Speedboot]

Commentators need to stop sucking so bad. Would definitely hire some MTFers if I ran ATP to do commentary

This for sure. Tennis commentary can be right up there with the worst in sports lots of the time. Dutch commentators are particulary bad.

Most of the points I want are named already: diversity, grass masters, electronic referee's.

But I've one more thing. I would like the Dutch tennis association to get their shit together and work out a solid plan for the next ten years. Organise and muster talent better. Don't let another generation go to waste. Otherwise tennis will become a D sport in my country.

 

[Sombrerero loco]

alex de miñaur being goat please

 

[ballbashingmug]

Standardized 64 player format for all masters, 32 for other tour events. I pretty much like everything else.

 

[Maestro99]

• Electronic line calling would be my favorite, particularly on clay (or at least allow video replay)- unacceptable for an umpire to be pointing to the wrong ball mark
• Bring back blue clay- it's difficult trying to follow a yellow ball against orange-red clay under glaring sun on television

 

[Servebots=GOAT]

More court variety would be the big one. Back to the days when all-court versatility, including serve-volley, was needed to sweep multiple Slams. Would prevent dominance by baseline clones.

And of course... reduce the service box area by a couple of square feet to reduce botting... make the serve more a test of technique than height.

Hell yeah to that, the other paragraph, not so much. Servebots are important for tennis