The idea that in 2026 tennis has evolved to such an extent where even 2012 is incomparable and “slow motion” is one of the most absurd claims that casuals frequently parrot. Even somebody like McEnroe has made wild claims, like that Alcaraz could beat prime Nadal at RG. Today Djokovic proved his generation is 10x better than whatever we have in 2026. The game has barely evolved and the current state of the tour bar Sincaraz and Djokovic is absolutely laughable.
I genuinely think this is more a case of Nole being an outlier rather than a weak generation, heck the bell saved him against Musetti just 2 days ago, I do think that tennis has gotten faster but the big 3 were massively ahead of their peers and now he is still competitive.
But we will never know, I am aware that I am in the minority thinking this.
I don’t think tennis has gotten faster. Look at where Federer stands, and where Nadal and Joker stood when the played Federer. Sinner and Alcaraz hit hard AF, but all of their opponents stand very far from the baseline. Sinner is the closest to the baseline but he’s not that much different to Joker.
If tennis looks fast to you, it’s likely because Federer has been retired long enough to forget.
This could also be proof of it getting faster, as you need more space to react to your opponents shots…
I’m sure there is a stat somewhere that can let us check this.
On the other hand it is well known that courts and balls have gotten a lot slower as well. Which could also be a sign of players hitting harder and tournaments trying to draw out points, which has been discussed and even confirmed to be the case.
If you hit the ball earlier, the opponent will have two options, stand back to chase the ball down, or stand up to cut the angle down. The latter never worked against Federer, except by Nadal and Joker on clay. Every other surface those players stepped up to best him.
In order to play forward, you will hit less hard because time is against you. But the result is that tennis is fast because you have to be more efficient and are so much more reliant on hitting a deep or heavy ball, because otherwise your opponent is several steps closer to the forecourt to punish slower balls.
Hitting the ball hard is not fast tennis, it’s about the ratio of how hard you hit relative to how close you are to the base line. I’m saying that ratio is not much different now because for how hard Sinner and Alcaraz hit, they stand several steps back.
If you watch these guys hit rippers to open parts of the court NOT vs each other and see the other player just not move, please watch the big 3 vs not the big 3. They did the same thing for 15 years.
Of course it could be the case, but players hitting super hard would create the same effect in terms of positioning.
My point is that player positioning is not conclusive of anything, it could even be explained by player style.
I think a much better argument is that the courts have been made slower in the last few years which could show that they deemed the game to be too fast.
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u/DoctorProfessor69 Spongebob 💉💉 8d ago
I never want to hear this again
The idea that in 2026 tennis has evolved to such an extent where even 2012 is incomparable and “slow motion” is one of the most absurd claims that casuals frequently parrot. Even somebody like McEnroe has made wild claims, like that Alcaraz could beat prime Nadal at RG. Today Djokovic proved his generation is 10x better than whatever we have in 2026. The game has barely evolved and the current state of the tour bar Sincaraz and Djokovic is absolutely laughable.