Patrick Rafter: Technology inhibits the development of young players
The two-time US Open Champ Patrick Rafter is not a fan of the new racket and string technology.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Apr 28, 2020, 05:46 pm
Had it not been for Stefan Edberg - Pat Rafter would be at the top of the list for many as the best volleyball player of all time. The Australian knew only one way in the course of his career, namely the way forward. With success: In 1997 and 1998 he won the US Open, in 2000 and 2001 he was in the Wimbledon final, Pete Sampras and Goran Ivanisevic built him a third major title here.
There are several reasons why there is no one like him in current tennis. One of them: the new rackets and strings. "The technology simply allows the boys to knock out damn good passes and return a good serve, even if they have lost their balance. A lot of power and spin still comes back. That was not possible in our time," said the now 47 -Years in conversation with the Australian broadcaster Nine Network .
"The strings that we had at the time were either synthetic gut strings (multifilament or nylon strings, editor's note) or natural gut strings," said Rafter. "They didn't allow you to develop so much power and spin." An advantage for the common net player at the time.
Guga Kuerten was the pioneer
In fact, rackets and strings have developed a lot over the past two decades. In 1997 Gustavo Kuerten triumphed for the first time on a large scale at the French Open with the Luxilon Original String, a polyester string that allowed him to pull right through, but thanks to the enormous spin he kept the ball in the field. Since then, polyester strings have become increasingly popular. Andre Agassi once wrote in his autobiography that the new type of strings "made medium-sized players out of sizes and legends out of size," he switched to a poly string in 2002.
Another problem, according to Rafter: Many young players have a knack and good volleys. But if you don't play this game at a young age ... "For a 20-year-old, it is damn hard to just decide like this: Okay, I just get to the network a lot now. It doesn't work that way. It takes a long time Time." And many children would no longer try this type of game because the technology virtually no longer makes it possible, according to Rafter.