Midlands Talent Performance Coordinator, Andy Barnes, spent the May Bank Holiday weekend at the French Open and penned his observations on the tournament.
"The French Open is a tournament full of flair and character, and the visit gave me a perfect opportunity to observe the current trends of elite tennis, helping me relate the work that coaches are doing with our talented under 12s to international tennis.
In the women's game it was great to see such a variety of shots. Many slice backhands and kicking topspin serves. The top women all had outstanding backhands from the baseline. In rallying situations they were all able to hit at high tempo, back to the opponents backhand, creating an opportunity to attack a weaker reply in the middle of the court. Dominating the backhand crosscourt is a key play in the women's game, and an area I feel we need to work on at a younger age. The best players also work hard with their feet and body positioning to ensure the greatest quality of trading and building strokes.
The world class men have multiple weopons, usually serve and forehand. The first player I got to see was Fernando Gonzalez with his amazing attacking game and power which brought gasps from the crowd. Being court side I was able to appreciate the margin that the men give themselves over the net on their groundstrokes. In trading situations the men use heavy spin and penetration to keep their opponents behind the baseline. I recommend that young players get courtside at top matches to appreciate this aspect of the game.
My overall conclusions are that playing on clay courts has many benefits:- longer rallies mean better endurance and toughness, slower courts mean that players have to generate their own pace to hurt their opponents, and the skills developped on clay transfer well onto other surfaces."