What We Are Chasing

Back when everyone used the continental grip in America, we all knew how to operate it, and when we learned the Eastern grip, everyone knew how to step up early and be powerful. We were taking the game to new heights. Then we began to talk about the Spanish and Western grips. We talked about those being "unconventional" grips and at the time, there was no reason for us to change because America was dominating. In 1984, 44 of the 100 players were American. We relied on the exerience of our past players as the knowledge of our pros and and their grips continued to drive us to the top.

When a South American or a Spaniard would play an American, When a South American or a Spaniard would play an American, most of the time the American could simply overpower them on a hard court.  The Americans could take the ball early and have a big serve.  The big backswings of the Spanish would wrap around their body and they would be late to contact as they made their turn.  Their extreme grips would produce a lot of short shots because they were hitting the backside of the ball and getting spin but not depth.  They turned more from the inside of the body than from the outside.  Then with all those short shots, they would just produce a “floaty” and soft change-up topspin that an opponent could really step up on and finish. 

Over the last 15 years, the Spaniards figured out how to come around the outside of the ball, and how to get their bent arm to contact by straightening it out.  Now they are getting to early contact most of the time.  Once they were able to get to contact, they were able to create massive amounts of racquet head speed with their legs and wrists, which worked the opposite of what we knew.  When we would hit the ball hard and flat, we actually had to slow down because we were afraid of missing long.  Their new racquet head speed recreated the shape of the ball traveling in the air.  Balls went from dipping over the net to rising over the net and dipping just in front of the baseline.  The more racquet head speed they developed, the more spin, and thus the less chance they had of missing.  That’s why you now see today’s pros swinging so fast while barely ever missing, as speed keeps the ball in.

Spanish, South American, and some European countries had years of experience in how these Western Grips operated.  This time around, the Americans and current pros went back to past players about how this worked, but they knew very little about these Western Grips: the rules of engagement, the new movement patterns, the change in finish, the change in the shape of the ball, and many other factors.  Thus, we all saw a significant decline in American, Australian, and South African tennis. 

We were still trying to finish and win the point, while those with the Spanish technique of racquet head speed entered a whole new world where the rallies became long and physical, and the sport became about the greatest cross court rally possible.  We still try to flatten out the ball without realizing that the Djokovic level 2 ball and the Nadal high ball are both more powerful than a fast flat ball.

I guess I am one of the few people who have documented the modern game, and my system is to create a basis on how to operate so that all pros around the world can understand how the Spanish and European systems can be duplicated.  This is to show how to teach the game and demonstrate that the Nadals and Djokovics can be manufactured just like the other players in the older days. 

Clearly, 0 for 39 on the American men’s side in the last 39 grand slams is not a fluke.  Clearly, Serena and Venus had early exposure to the modern game as they hit with a lot of open stances.  Sure they have the talent level of “the bigger weapon” on court, like a Soderling or Del Potro, but they also show their adaptation to the new world of racquet head speed. 

For the first time there was also a dominant racquet.  Babolat became the most suitable for the modern day game, and the other companies had to change to keep up.  Wilson made great improvements, and Head, Yonex, Dunlop, and Prince all have a claim to be called the best in the game.  Additionally, using poly strings seems to have taken people years to understand, but that gap is being narrowed and finally understood. 

In all, America is a great country, a very big country, but it is going to take a coordinated effort and a new system to change it.  Due to its size, America is actually a more difficult place to unite all of the pros.  In Spain, everyone is operating like Nadal and Uncle Tony.  Now pros everywhere, and there are many talented pros all over the world, will have a basis from which to operate and a system they can use to maximize their talents and coaching abilities.

 
I am ever so grateful for having the opportunity to play college tennis at the University of Miami as well as professionally.  I know that this system breaks down the modern day game, and the quality of movement on the backhand will take us into the future.                                                   

                                                                                         John Eagleton