Australian tennis great Pat Rafter has bemoaned today's young players' over-reliance on the advanced racquet technology robbing them of fundamental tennis skills.
Rafter argued that with today's racquets allowing players to generate power and spin from almost any position on the court, it has resulted in a lack of "craftsmanship" in the game.
Speaking on Nine's The Greatest, Rafter explained how the advanced technology resulted in young players not being as well-rounded as their predecessors.
"I think I'd really struggle to be honest," he said.
"It's a shame but that's just the way it is. You want to see a little bit of craftsmanship.
"The problem with it is someone who comes along and they're a great tennis player, they've got good hands and they're good volleyers, if they haven't done that from a young age, it's pretty hard for a 20-year-old kid to say, 'OK mate, we're going to start coming to the net a lot more'.
"It doesn't work that way and it takes a long time and junior tennis has to be where you start honing those skills.
"The problem is a lot of our kids don't do that anymore generally because the technology doesn't allow them to play that way."
Rafter also expanded on the technology of the players' apparel as well as the racquets compared to when he played.
"Some of the shirts that we wore were so baggy and so thick, it's quite amazing now these guys are wearing singlets so I'd be fine in my Bonds singlet," he said.
"The technology has allowed these guys to make really good passing shots and (to) return a really good serve when they're off-balance (creating) a lot of power and spin.
"That really wasn't the case when we were playing. The strings we had back then were either synthetic or a natural gut string which didn't allow you to get that sort of power, pace and spin."
from WWOS http://wwos.nine.com.au/tennis/pat-rafter-bemoans-technology-robbing-tennis-juniors-of-fundamental-skills-early/356b8bc4-4bf1-4cce-b1ac-cbc53aacfe69
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