How tennis has changed

I retired two years ago but in terms of tennis it feels like a lifetime ago. I work as an expert and analyst now so I remain in tennis. I still watch it religiously and I talk and think about it non-stop. And yet sometimes, it feels like I played an entirely different sport in another era.

Here is how tennis has changed from the time I played to now. Yes, there will be a lot of “When I played, things were xyz” but everything on this list is presented without judgement and solely an observation.

Material

In the last year or so, it has become normal to experiment with material. Players are changing racquets, strings and clothing sponsors like I used to change boyfriends when I was still young and reckless (it was obviously their fault, not mine). I remember vividly what a shock it was to hear Caroline Wozniacki had changed from Babolat to Yonex and everybody blaming the racquet change for when she dropped from number 1 to somewhere around 70. It felt like Caroline had committed blasphemy.

Tennis and all its protagonists were trapped in the notion that things worked in tennis like they worked in Harry Potter. The wand chooses the wizard and once it does it’s for life. There was a romanticising about the racquet you played with, a blind loyalty to your brand and a strange superstition about people touching your material.

Nowadays, Stefanos Tsitsipas changes frames and wins a tournament, Daniil Medvedev swaps out racquets in the middle of a doomed match and turns it around and most famously Madison Keys swung an unusually shaped stick to secure victory at the Australian Open. Back in my time (don’t you love that phrase?), it took me a year of elbow and wrist pain to realise that I should probably take some of the lead off. Players are less religious about how things are supposed to be and more willing to attempt transformation. Good for them!

Physicality

Players train differently now than how it used to be. They work as much in the gym as they do on court. They are stronger, faster and more flexible. They all have a food and sleep regiment and they treat their body like it’s a capricious horse that needs constant attention. When I first started as a teenager, we practiced a lot (and by a lot I mean 5-6 hours a day) but mostly all of it was mindlessly hitting tennis balls until you were so bored you wanted to hit your head against one of those concrete walls from The Brutalist and then you played points.

During the course of my 16-year career things slowly began to change. More and more hours were spent in the gym and on injury prevention. At one point, neurological training was introduced and players started to stare at light bulbs switching colours or they stood on one leg, closed one eye and followed their thumb. The one-eyed leading the blind really took on a new meaning.

We hadn’t lost our minds, we had just adapted to sports science. Hips were opened (hello, Andy Murray), Yoga was performed (Novak) and when Roger appeared in the gym with that weird rubber band thing you wear around your waist and that looks like a chastity belt, you know that 95% of players had the same chastity belt thing around their waist a month later. Didn’t make them more chaste though, so much is clear. I used to be able to win matches on physicality alone. That’s no longer the case. Because a) I don’t have any physicality left except for the aesthetic kind but also b) because everyone has gotten ridiculously strong.

in a weird way, it is like a chastity belt. nobody wants near it you know.

Depth

The biggest development in tennis has probably been the depth of quality. In my first 5 or 6 years on tour, I used to be able to win at least two rounds at major tournaments even if I was far from my best. I was tough and fit and in most matches that was enough. With the years, however, things changed dramatically, particularly on the women’s side. Prize money increased and with it the professionalism.

You can’t buy talent but you can buy good coaches and fitness trainers and you can afford to fly business class and stay at better hotels which in turn helps to get over jet lags quicker and rests the body better. And as you now know, the athlete’s body is a capricious horse. An inflamed hoof can be the nail in the coffin. All of a sudden, talented but wild players had coaches who told them how to tame their talent and streamline it into a sound game plan. Mental liabilities became more stable and players learned to work their bodies without destroying them (see above). They trained smarter and mellowed out their weaknesses. Everyone became better. Which was great for the tour but kind of annoying for me who couldn’t afford to have a bad day anymore. You might still see bad matches but the 2025 bad matches are better than the 2011 bad matches. At least, they are faster and better coached.

The increased prize money has a downside unfortunately. While in the beginning of my career we still shared coaches and traveled in packs with other players, sleeping three in the room to save money, stealing ham and cheese from breakfast buffets and forming friendships for life, the increasing team sizes have also increased loneliness on tour. People you pay are not your friends. I repeat: People you pay are not your friends. It may seem like it and you might end up being friends but as long as there’s a power dynamic of salary in play there is no equality and a friendship is not a real friendship unless there’s equality. As players travel with physios and coaches and psychologists and trainers they are surrounded by people they pay and who are taking up the space for possible real friendship. One where your friend doesn’t have to worry about losing their job when they tell you that this particular skirt looks shite on you.

I am somebody who has a hard time changing but generally welcomes change and doesn’t see it as an enemy that needs to be killed before it can fully envelope us. Careers have gotten longer and more sustainable. Players can walk away from tennis and have money put aside to think about their next steps when professional tennis is no longer an option.

It’s always good to remain wary though. As the Romans found out, just when you think you conquered the world, the world turns around and conquers you. Be alert, continue to change.

Things that make me happy:

If you haven’t been to the movie theatres in a while and all those Netflixs and Amazons and Apple TVs have you questioning why you should, I have the perfect reason for you. The new Ryan Coogler movie Sinners is phenomenal and I know I sound like an absolute douche but it should be watched in a movie theatre. Come for the music and Michael B. Jordan, stay for the sexiness and the Irish Riverdance moment. Yes, you read that correctly.

to be consumed in theatres only

Things that make me unhappy:

I know it’s hard but it’s time for certain tennis jokes to be put aside, to perish, to die. For example: 70% of the earth are covered by water, the rest is covered by X (insert player who gets a lot of balls back). My rule of thumb is: You can re-use a joke up to 3 times, 5 times if you do it in different groups of people. After that, you’re done. Breathe, accept and come up with something new.

Summer has arrived in Germany for now and I’m celebrating with sparkling water and fuzzy temperament. The next newsletter will arrive in your inbox all the way from Rome fuelled by espressi and Carbonara. Until then.

Yours truly, Andrea