Forums > Sports and Hobbies > Tall Tennis Players
Hey Guys,
I saw this article in the Wall St Journal about how tennis players are getting taller:
By TOM PERROTTA
Thursday’s U.S. Open match between Juan Martin del Potro and Marin Cilic might not be the most entertaining quarterfinal in the history of Grand Slam tennis. But it will certainly be the biggest.
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Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Juan Martin del Potro, 6’6” (2009)
This is just the second time since the Open era began in 1968 that two quarterfinalists at a Grand Slam tournament have combined for so many inches: 156 (both men are 6-foot-6).
No doubt that record will be broken soon, though, as tennis continues to get taller. And heavier, too. The participants in this year’s men’s draw are, on average, an inch taller and five pounds heavier than their contemporaries from 20 years ago at the 1989 U.S. Open. There are also more oversized players today, and fewer undersized ones. Of the 128 men in this year’s draw, 20 are 6-foot-4 and taller, compared to 10 in 1989. Only 38 are 5-foot-11 and shorter, compared to 54 in 1989.
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Getty Images
Michael Chang 5’9” (1989)
Conventional wisdom used to be that height was more trouble than it was worth in tennis. As it turns out, height is much less of a liability. Players hit the ball harder and with more topspin today, so the ball bounces higher, rather than below a tall player’s knees. Height usually means long arms, too, which are useful not only at the net, but when stretching to retrieve bullet serves and wide angles at the baseline. The emphasis on fitness and agility in today’s game has improved the footwork of tall players, who used to be clumsier than today’s giants.
There’s another thing about height and weight: It makes players more powerful. So, the next time you hear someone complain about what modern rackets have done to tennis, consider that the size of players themselves is perhaps more the reason for the high-octane tennis we see today.
Sizing Up the Open
Tennis players have gotten bigger over the past 20 years. Below, a look at the size of the men’s draw in the 1989 U.S. Open compared to this year’s U.S. Open.
check out John Isner he’s 6’9”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Isner
Isner only wears size 15. That’s pretty small for his height.
lol but a lot bigger than my size 7’s personally i wish roddick was a little taller…
Small for his height, maybe, but dude’s lanky. Every picture I’ve seen of him wearing sandals, his bare feet seem to stick out and even dwarf even other people’s shoes!
I guess since I’m wearing 15s right now, I can’t think of that size as dwarfing everyone else’s shoes. They look pretty normal to me.
BTW another tall dude won the US Open Men’s Singles title tonight… Juan Martín Del Potro, from Argentina. He’s 20 years old and 6-6.
I dunno – he says “15, maybe” in this interview talking about his 7-inch growth spurt at 17 years old. I think he was understating his shoe size out of bashfulness.
http://www.sonyericssonopen.com/3/en/assets/pdfs/interviews/isner032609.pdf
Isner’s ATP profile says size 15:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Top-Players/John-Isner.aspx
I don’t believe it. I’ll upload some pics and get your opinion.
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