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How absolute is the distinction between modern and classical tennis? As a player you may have found yourself perplexed–or even tormented–by this question: Should I play “classical” or “modern” tennis? You may have heard “definitive” statements from coaches on both sides of the divide. Possibly you have heard the same coaches make derisive statements about the “opposite” view. The radical advocates for the modern game argue that tennis has changed fundamentally over time and that so called “modern” technique is vastly superior to its antiquated predecessors. Everyone should play modern tennis and even the most extreme modern technical elements are applicable for any player who has ever touched a racket. The anti-modern viewpoint is that there is an “unbridgeable” gap between pro players and the rest of the tennis world. This means that trying to emulate pro players results in frustration, injury, and bad tennis. You can’t play like the pros and you will never reach your potential if you try to. Modern tennis is something that should only be watched on television. Is “modern” tennis something to learn from or just watch on TV? As a player how do you proceed when the viewpoints of the authorities are so…