Did the pro tennis circuit slow down the men's game? If so HOW?

Question

Women's tennis has always been popular...but exploded in the 90's due greatly to the sheer boredom of the men's game. The problem: the men's game was too fast- too many points won by serve (usually with no return whatsoever) or fast return. That's how Sampras broke the record for career grand slam wins- he had average pro groundstrokes (never had to use them). Even Agassi said- its pretty hard to return a ball hit 130 into the corners. This was a huge issue then. What did they do? What happened? I heard they were thinking of banning certain raquets then I heard they lowered the pressure in the balls...alllowing for serve speed but dampening speed when it bounces. is this true? Think about it- why are there rallies now? when before it was serve - point over...

Answer 1

They did a bit to match technology and the way players train now.  If you watch old Sampras and Agassi matches, even they look slow.  If tennis kept up at that pace, it would lose its entertainment value which is why they slowed the game down in several areas.

Balls are a bit heavier now

Hard Courts are grittier, they use a different type of grass now at wimbledon... they did little things to keep the game interesting and credit finesse and raw talent over pure power.

Also basically everyone on tour now has a big serve.  The players have just gotten used to it, that's why they seem to be returning better.

Answer 2

There are several reasons the men's game has slowed down.

1) BALLS - They the have experimented with different felt on the balls, lower ball pressure and even a little larger balls (which was quickly vetoed by the players)

2) COURT SURFACE - From Wimbledon to the US Open, the courts are not the same as yester-years (if that is a word).  The new grass at Wimbledon has drastically slowed the original surface down; as well as, allowing truer bounces!

3) RETURNS - Service returns have drastically improved over the years.  Something needed to happen with the HUGE booming services and 1 serve - missed return - point over.  The players had to shorten their back swings and use the servers pace (obviously racquet & string  technology has helped here) if they wanted to make money and place food on the table!  The return has proven to be a huge weapon in the modern day game and thus neutralizing the SERVE & VOLLEY player.  It is very common to observe a modern day player with a return = to if not better than their serve!    Thus, without the missed returns.....the rallies have become longer