'Tennis will need changes': Nadal flags set date for evolution
Rafael Nadal jokes that his success means he is happy with tennis as the sport is played today, but the 14-time major winner is open to setting a date for evolution.
After defeating Argentine opponent Guido Pella to progress to the third round at Indian Wells the Spaniard was quizzed about the future of tennis.
Where just three per cent of the top 100 men's tennis players in 1990 were 195 centimetres or taller, 16 per cent of the top 100 in August 2016 reached that mark.
While acknowledging the difficulty of discussing potential changes while he is still on the tour, Nadal believes the athleticism of future players will force adjustments.
"I am talking here about the sport overall, not about my generation, because with these conditions I had a lot of success. If you ask me, I don't want changes," he quipped to reporters.
"But it's true that looking forward ... five, 10 years in front, you see every time the (players are) taller. Every time people have the chance to serve faster, and if we want to maintain, I think, good points, if we want to maintain a good show for the people, it's something we need to do, no?
"We need to start from the younger generations. So you need to put at that line and say in seven years that's gonna change. We cannot change things like this (immediately)."
Rafael Nadal. Pic: AAP
The introduction of aluminium racquets, and later carbon fibre and graphite, in the 1980s was a significant shift from wooden racquets, which drew little power from shots in comparison to the new materials.
Nadal is one such player who has combined new technology with physical strength to shake up the tennis world, but even the 30-year-old understands his advantages will be superseded by the next generation.
Statistics show juniors 195cm or taller, even mid-ranked players, outperform their shorter peers once they reach the pros.
The same occurs on the women's tour for players over 182cm, and it goes a step further: taller women already win more grand slams than their presence on the tour suggests they should.
But while today's tall players are more likely to be dominant on the serve and only average in other aspects, Nadal expects serious improvements as the brigade of big men grows in number in the future.
"So let's work on this, if it's possible ... I am no one to say which change is going to be good. Just looking a little bit around, you see that tennis will need changes," he said.
"The net is still at the same altitude. People are not the same. People are much more taller now than 50 years ago. So it's obvious that we're gonna need some changes in not a very long period of time."