Since 2003, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have combined to win 55 of the 68 Grand Slams that have been played. Is this the year for a new player to break through?
At this year’s Australian Open you’ll see players moving sideways on the Plexicushion surface – which is specially designed to allow players to slide. It’s safer for the players and fun to watch.
The speeds at which top players deliver tennis serves are theoretically impossible. So how do they do it? The answer involves Isaac Newton, ping pong and a little bit of ‘cheating’.
Wrist injuries forced some of the top players to miss out on this year’s Australian Open. It’s an ongoing problem and such injuries are partly to blame on how players grip their racquet.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are two of the greatest tennis players in recent years at the Australian Open. So what makes them stand out from the rest?
Australian sport will never have the commercial clout to bring the economy out of recession or solve a regional unemployment problem. But it is more than a fringe player in the economic game.
The problem of corruption in tennis is likely to be an ongoing threat. So, it is important that the Tennis Integrity Unit develop into a trusted and convincing anti-corruption team.
Could the broader adoption of the Fast4 tennis format at the professional level prevent the rising trends in match durations, and make the sport more unpredictable?
Extreme match durations are more common today than at any other time in the modern tennis era. This poses a threat to the sport’s standard of excellence.
The current controversy over match-fixing in tennis has some ironic elements. Anyone watching the Australian Open on free-to-air TV will notice the proliferation of sports betting ads.
The evolution of professional tennis has always been linked to the changing technology of the day. For example, the decline of the wooden racket lead to the whole new power-based style of play we enjoy…