| Semi-Classic Tennis: The Worldwide Senior Tennis Circuit | |
Dateline: 01/05/99
Tennis evolves.
Fifty years ago, most pro players hit with Continental or Eastern grips and very little topspin. Now, the median grip position on the tour is Semi-Western, and topspin is dominant. The 1949 style of tennis is hard to find these days, but the players who spanned the transition from the old styles to the current are still quite active, and the Worldwide Senior Tennis Circuit is the place to see them.
While players over 30 who are not active in the ATP Tour can play in the Worldwide Circuit, the minimum age for the U.S.-based Worldwide Senior Tennis Circuit is 35. ItWorldwide Senior Tennis Circuit has around three dozen players, all of them representing some important elements in the evolution of the game, but the leading draws on the tour are certainly Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, and John McEnroe. No player perfectly captures any point of time in tennis history, because at any given time, tennis is too diverse, but each of these three has brought such a distinctive style to tennis, watching them can be as interesting today as it was when they were capturing major titles fifteen to twenty-five years ago.
His personality aside, in many ways John McEnroe preserves much of an older tennis legacy. His grips are Eastern to Continental, and although he can hit topspin when he needs to, he favors flat and slice strokes. Most significantly, he is a pure serve-and-volleyer, which is fairly rare these days. Also rare these days is a game like McEnroe's that relies on spin and placement much more than on power. Elements of his style can be seen in current players such as Jana Novotna and Patrick Rafter, but McEnroe, with his ultra-low string tension, back turned toward net before serving, and skip-stepping approach footwork, retains an unrivaled uniqueness.
Jimmy Connors uses a forehand grip that tends toward the Semi-Western, but he hits much flatter than almost any other player using a comparable grip. He hits his two-handed backhand unusually flat, too. Whenever I tell my students that trying to hit low and flat does not favor consistency, I always expect them to say, "But, what about Jimmy Connors?" That question comes much less often these days than it would have twenty years ago, but when it does, I reply that Connors has focus, both optical and mental, that few of us could hope to emulate. Even if we can't copy Connors, watching him provides a great study in the use of flat strokes.
Rod Laver's tremendous record was achieved largely due to his mastery of the then somewhat rare topspin, but it was Bjorn Borg, a decade later, who really made topspin the dominant trend in tennis. Much like the average pro today, Borg's grips tend toward the Semi-Western. He represents the beginning of the currently prevalent style in tennis, although current players use more power than he ever did. Borg uses topspin for consistency and to make the ball accelerate and bounce high on his opponent. The fact that he can't just blast balls by his opponents makes his matches more fun to watch. Points last long enough to develop their own little dramas.
There isn't room here to give enough mention to all of the other Worldwide Senior Tennis Circuit players who are fascinating to watch, such as the king of variety, Mansour Bahrami. You could watch every ATP and WTA tour event all year and never see all of the shots Bahrami uses in a single match.
Catch Worldwide Senior Tennis Circuit events either at the venues or on TV. Fox, CBS, and Eurosport all broadcast events during the year.
