'We could be coming back to players playing shorter...': Has tennis become too physical?

(Getty/Francois Nel)

Carlos Alcaraz sprinting full speed into the doubles alley, sliding into the advertising boards before somehow flicking a forehand winner back into play, has become one of the defining images of modern tennis. It truly is breathtaking to watch. 

But with the Spaniard sidelined since April, it also raises an important question.

Has professional tennis reached the point where the human body is struggling to keep up?

The game has never been faster, stronger or more demanding. Players cover more ground, strike the ball with greater force and recover faster than ever before.

While advances in sports science have helped extend careers, renowned tennis strategist Craig O'Shannessy believes the sport is pushing athletes closer to their physical limits more than ever before.

"The speed of the ball is definitely rising, particularly off the ground, particularly with forehands," O'Shannessy told The First Serve. "The speed at which players are swinging is faster. The racquet is made of material that allows you to hit it faster. It's exactly the same with the strings. So I definitely see the speeds going up, the physicality going up."

Listen to The First Serve Live every Monday at 8pm AEST in its 18th year on the SEN Network/App, Australia's only dedicated weekly tennis program on commercial radio running through till the end of November.

Alcaraz's recurring wrist problems offer a timely example. His explosive forehand, rapid changes of direction and remarkable court coverage are among the biggest reasons for his success, but they also place enormous stress on the body.

"When you're really hitting at that upper echelon of speed, the wrist is going to come under scrutiny. So is the elbow, so is the shoulder," O'Shannessy explained. "The amount of torque that's going through the body is greater than ever."

He also shared an interesting insight that modern tennis players are evolving physically.

For decades, players such as Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal represented a muscle-driven approach to the sport. Bigger muscles meant greater strength and power. But today's elite athletes are increasingly built differently.

"The old way of developing a tennis player is kind of like an Andre Agassi mould, where it's muscle-driven," O'Shannessy said. "But when you look at players like Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic or Daniil Medvedev, these tall guys that are very skinny, the engine is now a tendon-driven machine."

Unlike muscles, tendons don't fatigue as quickly, allowing players to repeatedly accelerate, decelerate and slide across the court. The result is extraordinary athleticism, but it also means players are constantly operating near the edge of what their bodies can withstand.

Equipment and playing conditions may also be adding to the strain.

One issue players regularly raise is the lack of consistency in tennis balls across the calendar. Different manufacturers produce balls with different characteristics, meaning players constantly adjust between tournaments.

"If you ask a series of players this kind of question, they're immediately going to talk about the ball," O'Shannessy said. "It's not so much that a ball is wrong, but it's the mixture of balls on the tour."

Heavy balls combined with slower courts create an especially demanding environment. Players often feel they must swing harder simply to achieve the same penetration through the court, placing additional stress on the wrist, elbow and shoulder.

Tournament organisers have also gradually altered court conditions. Wimbledon is often cited as having slowed dramatically since the early 2000s, although O'Shannessy argues the reality is more nuanced.

"The first part is you need to think about Wimbledon not so much slowing down, but Wimbledon actually getting better," he said, pointing to improvements in grass maintenance and court preparation that have created more consistent bounces and allowed baseline tennis to flourish.

Across the tour, however, he believes surfaces have become increasingly similar. 

Rally-length data suggests the gap between clay, grass and hard courts has narrowed significantly, reducing the stylistic diversity that once defined professional tennis.

Meanwhile, tournaments such as the US Open deliberately adjust court pace by altering the composition of the surface.

"There has certainly been a push to make it more appealing for the fans to have rallies going a little bit longer," O'Shannessy said.

Longer rallies may entertain spectators, but they also increase the physical demands on players who are already hitting the ball harder than ever before.

The technology debate extends beyond the courts themselves. Modern racquets and polyester strings allow players to generate enormous racket-head speed while maintaining control.

"I think it's a great topic," O'Shannessy said. "Making sure the faster swing speeds are not creating more vibration, which goes directly into the wrist and into the elbow."

He believes manufacturers, tours and players should continue working together to ensure equipment development doesn't inadvertently contribute to more injuries.

Then there is the calendar.

The ATP season now stretches deep into November, while several Masters 1000 tournaments have expanded from one week to two. Although the longer format benefits tournament organisers commercially, O'Shannessy believes it places another burden on players.

"The season's too long. It's absolutely too long," he said. "A lot of these events are now two-week events... it feels like another Slam."

He even suggested tennis could learn from Formula One by introducing a genuine mid-season break, allowing players time to recover physically and mentally before the second half of the year.

Perhaps the biggest question is what all this means for player longevity.

Roger Federer transformed expectations by remaining among the world's best well into his late 30s, along with Nadal. Djokovic has since taken this longevity to the next level. Better sports science, full-time physiotherapists and meticulous recovery routines helped redefine what was possible.

But O'Shannessy wonders whether today's extraordinary physicality could reverse that trend.

"Before Federer, you kind of played until you were about 28 and then you were done," he said. "With Fed, it was long. Now we could be coming back to players playing shorter because of the physicality of the game... we're just moving around the court faster than we've ever moved around the court."

That doesn't mean the nature of modern-day tennis is causing more injuries to players. If anything, today's athletes are arguably the finest the sport has ever produced. Their fitness, movement and professionalism are extraordinary.

But as Alcaraz's wrist troubles have shown, there may be a costly price for continually pushing the boundaries of athletic performance. 

If tournaments continue to favour longer rallies, equipment keeps evolving, and the calendar remains relentless, tennis may have to confront the reality that the modern game could simply be asking too much of the human body.

The solution, as O'Shannessy pointed out, might be for tournament organisers and equipment manufacturers to work together to ensure racquet and ball development, homogenised courts and a gruelling tennis schedule don't contribute to shorter careers.

Tennis Coaches Australia, coaches supporting coaches, your voice, your network, stronger together. For all enquiries and membership, go to tenniscoachesaustralia.au