Vijay Amritraj in conversation with N. Ram: Power has replaced grace in modern tennis

Amritraj, who served as the President of the ATP Player Council from 1989 to 1993, also shared his point of view on the frequent complaints surrounding the hectic calendars. | Photo Credit: Johan Sathyadas J

When Vijay Amritraj retired from professional tennis in 1993 after a career lasting over two decades, the sport was in a completely different space.

Since then, the nature of the surfaces, the equipment, the playing styles, pay parity, player earnings and multiple other aspects have transformed in a significant way.

But while these changes were taking place, former World No. 16 Amritraj was still very much involved in the sport in various capacities. Hence, it wasn’t a surprise that the 72-year-old, a Hall of Famer and a Padma Bhushan Awardee, shared his thoughts on the said subjects with absolute clarity during a fireside chat hosted by Sportstar at The Hindu’s Chennai headquarters on Wednesday.

In a conversation with N. Ram, Director of The Hindu, Amritraj reflected on how the serve-and-volley style, a staple playing formula for his contemporaries, has vanished. “The Wimbledon grass court is much slower like the French clay now. So, when you see the Centre Court on the last day, the baseline is completely chewed up but the middle of the court is pristine because they (the players) haven’t been there yet,” said Amritraj, the current president of the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association.

He mentioned factors such as the increase in the average height of the players, bouncier courts and the tennis balls used nowadays being “six times heavier” than when he played, forcing the players to use both hands to hit a backhand, as another example of how the sport has evolved.

On the issue of players in the current generation often getting injured, Amritraj blamed it on power replacing purity.

“The way they strike the ball today, I look at them and see why they get injured. The shoulder, elbow, the wrist, everything is in it by the time they strike the ball. When we used to strike the ball, it was a lot more graceful,” said the Indian who won 15 Tour-level titles.

Amritraj, who served as the President of the ATP Player Council from 1989 to 1993, also shared his point of view on the frequent complaints surrounding the hectic calendars. “The packed schedule is supposedly for the Top 10 guys. They always have a choice. It’s important to allow the rest of the tour to survive on the ATP 250s and 500s that we have, so that we give them a chance to play,” he said.