The biggest innovation of all is the improvement in camera technology so we can see what's bloody going on.

First video ever recorded: 1888 This guy: show footage from 1870

''Why, good day to you, sir. What a fine match you just played!!'' ''Thank you, kind man.'' ''Say, would you like to play an exhibition match for charity?'' ''Certainly.'' ''See, we have envisioned just for fun what tennis might look like 140 years from now in the year 2019. Just step into this metal carriage...'' ''Carriage? Well, where are the horses?'' ''Oh... um.... they'll be here soon. We can step inside while we wait for them.'' ''Oh, all right... and who will be my main rival?'' ''His name is Novak Djoković. He comes from Serbia.'' ''The newly-independent Principality of Serbia?'' ''Yeah, that one.'' ''I can't imagine those savages knowing anything about proper tennis. I imagine the match will be like a leisurely walk in the park.'' ''Oh, I'm sure it will. I am sure it will.''

My game is sort of at the 1870 level ...

Someone explain how video recordings were clearer in the 1870s than the 1970s . ....

I have in my possession a few photos taken by my great uncle while working in St. Moritz in 1929. In these photos are candid shots of Rene LaCoste, Jean Borotra and Jacques Brugnon, three of the "Four Musketeers" of French tennis in the 1920s-30s. Pretty interesting stuff. All the more so since I'm a pretty serious student of the game. The funny thing is, my great uncle didn't even play tennis, he was a jazz trombonist who was playing in the hotel these people were staying at. One of the photos is a large group shot that has the three tennis players, Sonia Henne, the Olympic skater and Harold Lloyd, the actor as well as some unidentified people. I'd LOVE to be able to identify everyone in the photo, but don't know who would have that kind of knowledge. My great uncle passed away years ago after suffering from dementia, so that avenue is closed.

Two-handed backhand and topspin of the 1970s from players like Connors and Borg changed the game. Racket technology of the 1980s (bigger surface area and lighter) gave all players more power and control.

7:26 that defense

Chapter 1: 1870s Chapter 2: 1890s Chapter 3: 1890s - 1970s Chapter 4: 1980s Chapter 5: 1990's Chapter 6: 2000s Chapter 7: 2010s I feel like you kinda phoned in chapter 3, dude.

Federer said one of the biggest changes in the game was the introduction of new string technologies in the 2000s. Believe he was referring to co-poly strings. That was not mentioned in the video.

I go to job interviews dressed like tennis players from the 1880s

A well executed one-handed backhand is one of the prettiest shots in tennis. It's a shame so few players use it anymore. I do, but I'm a far cry from the pro tour.

I wish I could go back to 1870s just to flex on them

that' video resolution quality from the 1880s is pretty LIT.

The next 10 years : Nick Kyrgios brings the underarm serve , which in modern tennis , was ignored a little

Correction: players are forced to play out more points because of the slow court speed, compared to other decades. This allows defensive players more time to react and return

I realize that the topic was how the game evolved but several players that were important in the 1960’s may not have been mentioned. I got to sit behind the baseline and watch Rod Laver play Ken Rosewall in 1970 on a red clay court. Rosewall’s slice backhand was so accurate. But Rod Laver could slice it, drive it or drop it off the BH with so much disguise. They both had great all court games. It was a chess match on a tennis court. I was fortunate to have watched both Connors and McEnroe play live. Nobody had more touch and feel on the volley than McEnroe. Connors played with an energy level and was so much fun to watch. Use he was famous for hitting hard but he knew how to attack the net or run down a great shot and stay in a point. Today I love to watch Roger and Raffa play. They are the modern versions of Laver and Connors.

3:27 Ryan Gosling could play Borg in a movie. Wow

Man everyone forgets about Pacho Gonzales & Hoad (pro & amateur/grand slam tennis didn't merge until the late 60s). Played some real monster tennis from what I've seen/ heard, for the 1950-60s

Tennis must remain as it is now and not change drastically.....

Good but imperfect video. Still enjoyable

Great historical video but script was scrolled by too fast to keep up with and enjoy.. redo it and slow down the script

Could you shorten the time that the text appears? It's not quick enough! I can read at least three words before it fades! Thanks.

You can see the evolution of tennis by the destroyed patches of the grass after Wimbledon...😅 these days the grass in the middle and centre of the court is in perfect condition!

Very good job. Excellent

Fantastic video

Next step in the evolution of the sport of Tennis: complaining about 'sexism' and/or 'racism' after getting caught cheating (coaching) or due to bad behavior (smashing rackets)

No one: Me at 3 am: Tennis Evolution Throughout the Years

Good video thanks!

Very interesting video... Thx for creating. For me, out of all the changes and evolution, is racket technology... And for better or worse it's created power baseliners galore. Couple that with the slowing down of surface and balls bouncing higher it seems like virtually every tournament has the same feel. Would love to see tennis go back to playing on three distinct surfaces. IMHO, it's too homogenized at present.

Borg had a sort of semi-two handed backhand: in the end of the follow through he released one hand. It is funny to see the wood racket; so heavy players would often move without holding them up: you can see the racket hanging loose, being held by one arm as they run around.

Back then, form was based on aesthetics and had nothing to do with bio-mechanics. That is why what was improper form then is the proper form now...

the evolution of tennis is amazing!

great video

Very nice video.

Fun video. Great beats too. Conners though? LOL.

Epic!

Aluminium racquets came before graphite ones, dude.

Great analysis! One gripe; (and I know I do have some brain rot) the three-line text groupings went by a little too quickly for me...had to backtrack to finish two groups. Thanks!

The best video

Great video!

quite informative vid clip, thanks! @2:39 it's "Connors" instead of Conners :) I see it misspelled throughout the video... :)

They needed to have mentioned how polyester strings changed the amount of topspin players generate allowing longer swing paths!

Amazing

Great video. Thank you. Would be nice to make one where you speak instead of writing (too fast).

I think I watch that first clip 30 times. LOL awesome

Motivational video for new Sampras :(

good enough for a thumbs up from me, even though video didn't exist until 1890 something so not sure what we are looking at but it makes your point. Sponsorship and TV made the game more popular in the 70's and led to a "global game". Top 100 used to come from 10 -15 countries now 30 or so.

The 1970s were a crazy time. Grown men and women playing tennis with no tennis balls.

You should have mentioned the changes towards slower surfaces and towards slower and higher jumping balls. Wimbledon even uses now bigger balls.

1:37 he actually did splitsteps

Well the tennis racket made she hit 50% harder than the day the racket technology

So much history

Please contunue your work in this way: each type of shot (show 5-10 examples) should be synchronized with the text talking about this shot (or movement..)

thanks

In almost all games physical power and alert brain for quick reflexes have become dominant, that is reason training has become more important covering all aspects.

i changed my serve to 1890's-1960's serve and i get it in everytime

Very poorly done video of a sport that needs to be more deeply explored. I've noted that even as recently as Rod Laver the purpose of the service seems to have been only to put the ball into play. And I believe that tennis has evolved more than any other sport and today truly deserves the epithet "the beautiful game".

Lendel got power into Tennis. Becker proved importance of a booming serve

Imagine Federer traveling back in time to the 1890s and playing tennis... hah

2:53 Ken Rosewall Vs Tony Roche US Open Final 2:6 6:4 7:6 6:3

Very nice music...

So you guys know this isn’t the actual footage for the time periods

Look at those outfit back in the 1800's!! As the years go by, the clothing started to evolve. Will there be a day for the naked tennis someday?

You forgot to mention the use of Polyester and Hawk eye. I think both are also game changer in the modern tennis world

10+/10.

Esperaba ver mas imágenes de lis 1800 y tempranos 1900 increíbles imágenes las del principio

Would be even better if you include the evolution in footwork and hitting pace.

And now there is Cheong Eui Kim who switches hands to hit forehands and serves from both sides.

3:52 .... brutal rally!

They were all wearing suits while playing. Amazing!

My favorite forehand and baseline tennis player is Steffi graf.

Is the footage at 1:06 real historic footage? If so, it appears large head rackets were in style very early !

1870年、その格好で良くテニス出来たな。

My opinion: lose the music and have someone narrating. Don't know why video makers feel the have to have music on everything.

I enjoyed that long rally between Becker and Lendl ... Amazing point won by a net ball.... LOL

The 2000s in tennis: the decade when the on screen scoreboard was actually used.

Am I seeing things correctly? It appears that at 0:42 a woman in the 1880s hits a couple of forehands with a windshield-wiper follow-through... To examine it closely, pause the video just before 0:42 and use the "." (period) key to advance the video a frame-at-a-time [the "," (comma) key backs up the video a frame at a time).

It's a pity that the courts became much slower. Now there are some "hardcourts" which are slower than " fast claycourts". I have to say I really enjoyed those times when players especially top players were trying to make clear winner shots. Federer, Roddick,Safin,Gonzalez,Davydenko,Nalbandian,Blake etc...Then Nadal came and showed the world that awesome footwork can be succesfull on every court not just on clay. He didn't have serve , volley, only basic baseline shots and amazing footwork. You don't have to be talented for running. You can achieve it in the gym. Nowadays there are many players in TOP 100 who sometimes can't finish the point from the T line, but they wont miss a ball from the baseline. If the situation is not that good they just lob the ball with some spin and the point starts again. If two of these players meet each other that a F***ING boring match. Now tennis is first being a really really good athlete than being a good tennis player. I hope in the next 10 years grass and most of the hard courts will be faster a little bit. The difference between courts became very thing. It's unbeleivable that last year end championship in London. Dimitrov could have won the event and he had only one match ( against Busta 6-1 6-1) where he hit more winners than faults. That's a disgrace for tennis. Now Roland Garros is going.... the court is soo slow. Most os the players doesn't want to hit first serve at all. It has no point for wasting energy on first serve and it almost has the same speed at the baseline as the second serve....

After football (soccer), it is the second sport that I like the most.

Awesome video. It is so nice to see images of tennis from the 19th century ! I think you could have talked about the surface change throughout the years, and also mentionned how Federer raised tennis level in 2004-2009

Nice. But too fast to read.

I think Guillermo Vilas deserved a mention when you talked about 2 top players hitting topspin

The evolution is that I saw the draw for a tourney. One man is entered in 3.5, 4.0 and Open. Really? The evolutuon of Open tennis. Wow.

Hello! I would love to use this footage for my research collegiate seminar project on the inequity of women in sports. Is there a chance that I can gain permission to use this? I will give you guys credit!

Biggest change to the game might be the bigness of the players. They’re ginormous.

OH YEAH YEAH

Really groovy music! Where can I find it? :)

I think they should have some modern tennis matches with opponents wearing the dresses worn by the 1870's female players. I'm not saying this would be great tennis, but it would certainly be entertaining.

Tennis is the world cultural heritage in itself.

最初から画質ええな

Maybe in future, players play forehand with both hands with full power and backhand may vanish

What material was the footage between 1870-1895 based on?

1870s tennis looked like it would be more tiring making the gestures than playing the actual game itself.

What year is the first video from? Really good quality but cant be from the 1870:s......

Modern day tennis looks more like a VIDEO GAME than anything else ! . . .

Little Bill Johnston used a semi western or western forehand back in the 20's.

1) Lendl was not the father of power tennis, even though he was one of the hard hitters from the baseline 2) Connors was not serve and volley 3) Evert and Connors did not have backhands better than forehands 4) Wilander was not more top spin than most others 5) Lendl did not invent inside-out forehand, he was just good at it, just like McEnroe or Edberg did not invent serve and volley, they were just good at it

When the 1870's have the clearest footage 😅

wood era - metal/graphite era - poli era