A Higher Net? Rafael Nadal Hints Tennis Might Need To Make Changes In The Future
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With players getting taller and stronger, Rafael Nadal suggested that in the future tennis might need to make some changes to combat faster serving.
Specifically, Nadal think the net needs to be higher to account for players just being taller.
“Is true that looking forward, you know, looking five, ten years in front, you see every time the people is taller,” Nadal said Sunday after beating Guido Pella at Indian Wells. “Every time people have the chance to serve faster, and if we want to maintain, I think, good points, if we want to maintain a good show for the people, it’s something we need to do, no?
“We need to start from the younger generations. So you need to put at that line and say in seven years that’s gonna change. We cannot change things like this.
“So let’s work on this, if it’s possible, but I am not — I am no one to say which change gonna be good. Just looking a little bit around, you see that tennis will need changes, you know. The net is still at the same altitude. People are not the same. People are much more taller now than 50 years ago. So it’s obvious that we’re gonna need some changes in not a very long period of time.”
But Rafa is not saying doing away with aces, he just wants them tougher to hit.
It’s obvious that every time people are taller, every time people have more power, serve is going faster, points are shorter, I’m not sure if that’s the way that we need to move our sport.
“So we need to find a way to manage, keep having a good show and keep having emotions,” Nadal added. ‘And people gets emotional when the matches are becoming more dramatic, and people don’t remember a lot of matches just with serves and aces. People remember matches with long points, rallies.
“And for sure you can have aces, and that’s part of the sport and it’s nice, the ace and the good serves, too, no? But cannot be that easy.”
Nadal won’t have to worry much about height and aces tomorrow when he takes on countryman Fernando Verdasco in the third round.
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