The decision of the International Tennis Federation (July, 1999) to approve trials of different ball types in the professional tennis circuit represented a clear admission of the need for tennis to adapt to the enhanced levels of competence of elite athletes. However, it can be argued that such action brings into question to what extent tennis is evolving beyond its modern appearance and how far such change is desirable. Over the last 30 years, tennis has become increasingly technological; a plethora of changes in racquet technology and increased investment into athlete training and support has yielded players that can be argued as having outgrown the structure of the game. In support of this, arguments suggesting that competition in male, elite tennis has become dominated by the power serve, can be cited as having promoted the ITF’s reaction. The need to ensure that tennis remains a challenging game for players at all levels and an exciting game for the spectator appears to reflect an interest and concern for the practice community of the sport. However, it is problematic to conclude that such changes are in the interests of all concerned. It is argued here that any such changes to the structure of the game must first be preceded with some admission about what future is sought for tennis and thus, where limits might be drawn over the changes made within the game. Such changes presume some prescriptive ideal about what constitutes the game of tennis and what is meaningful to preserve within it and it is paramount that the credibility of such ideals is made explicit. Whilst the changes to ball sizes are a worthy and courageous strategy to make for a better game, it is important to recognise that by invoking such change, a clear statement is made about what aspects of the game are considered worthy to preserve or not. Furthermore, it is imperative that such changes are consistent with other technological changes within the sport, such as the sophistication of racquet technology. To sustain consistency, the ITF must develop a framework for establishing which kinds of change to the sport would be desirable. This paper addresses the implications of technological change for tennis, identifying upon what basis such change should take place to ensure a credible future for tennis.

Keywords: tennis, technology, ball types, International Tennis Federation.

References

International Tennis Federation (1999, July 14). ITF to vote on larger tennis balls at AGM. The News Bulletin of the International Tennis Federation. [Accessed: July 1999].