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> Professional sports are first and foremost supposed to be fun to watch, and people find it less fun to watch There are some sports where they have a similar

> Professional sports are first and foremost supposed to be fun to watch, and people find it less fun to watch There are some sports where they have a similar problem (tennis and table tennis) where the speeds have become ridiculous, but no one wants to limit that (via limits on equipment sizes etc.) because people don't want to see long tedious technical exchanges. They want to see "wack" and "boom 200 kmh"

barrkel 4y ago
I don't think people want to see continuous exchanges of aces in tennis.
- illiarian 4y ago
  It's a fine line indeed :)
jaclaz 4y ago
Well, many, many years ago in the late 1970's there was the spaghetti racket in tennis that was swiftly outlawed: https://www.lovetennisblog.com/the-spaghetti-racket-a-documentary-about-the-infamous-racket/ https://www.lovetennisblog.com/the-spaghetti-racket-a-docume...
yowzadave 4y ago
In tennis, despite serves being generally faster than they were 30 years ago, the game seems to be less serve-dominated. True, there are still players who are one-dimensional in their ability to hit aces...but the very top players all have well-rounded games. Novak Djokovic has less than half the number of aces as John Isner, despite having played in many more matches. And for ground strokes, the net and court size restrict how much power you can give a shot--spin and control are more critical. Pro-level racquets are generally less powerful than those used by amateurs. If a company were to come out with a racket that could hit twice as fast, approximately zero pro players would use it.
- illiarian 4y ago
  I remember discussions in early-to-mid 00s how the game changed from skill to power. There were even calls to return to 80s-era smaller racquets. I wonder if there was at least some scaleback (I haven't followed tennis in a long time).
- vidanay 4y ago
  Wasn't/isn't there a player who uses 70's era wooden racquets (new manufactured - old tech)?

barrkel 4y ago

I don't think people want to see continuous exchanges of aces in tennis.

illiarian 4y ago
It's a fine line indeed :)

jaclaz 4y ago

Well, many, many years ago in the late 1970's there was the spaghetti racket in tennis that was swiftly outlawed: https://www.lovetennisblog.com/the-spaghetti-racket-a-documentary-about-the-infamous-racket/ https://www.lovetennisblog.com/the-spaghetti-racket-a-docume...

yowzadave 4y ago

In tennis, despite serves being generally faster than they were 30 years ago, the game seems to be less serve-dominated. True, there are still players who are one-dimensional in their ability to hit aces...but the very top players all have well-rounded games. Novak Djokovic has less than half the number of aces as John Isner, despite having played in many more matches. And for ground strokes, the net and court size restrict how much power you can give a shot--spin and control are more critical. Pro-level racquets are generally less powerful than those used by amateurs. If a company were to come out with a racket that could hit twice as fast, approximately zero pro players would use it.

illiarian 4y ago
I remember discussions in early-to-mid 00s how the game changed from skill to power. There were even calls to return to 80s-era smaller racquets. I wonder if there was at least some scaleback (I haven't followed tennis in a long time).
vidanay 4y ago
Wasn't/isn't there a player who uses 70's era wooden racquets (new manufactured - old tech)?