Mats Merkel is scouting and coaching for Adidas. At the US Open, the 33-year-old German took care of the Taiwanese Chun Hsin Tseng in addition to his activities for adidas. In part 4 of our series Merkel talks about the importance of breathing in tennis.
tennisnet: Mr. Merkel. What role does breathing play in tennis?
Mats Merkel: A big one. Especially during the opening movement to the serve, one says that one should inhale as much as possible in order to collect as much air as possible in the chest in order to generate an extremely strong additional movement. It also makes sense when moving if you are able to breathe economically. Which has nothing to do with inhaling and then screaming out. It’s simply about keeping your oxygen level at the right level. The moment lactate accumulates, the player gets tired – and the brain gets the wrong information.
tennisnet: But now many players abuse their breathing for tactical purposes as well, wouldn’t it be up to the ATP or the WTA to stop the roar?
Merkel: From a certain decibel value, the point is lost, so to speak? I think this is a very difficult subject. For the tournament organizer as well as for the sport itself. Among the men, there are very few players who do this “grating”, Rafael Nadal for example. I am of the opinion that there are professionals on the tour who do this in a targeted and conscious manner, more frequently with women than with men. We know that some pros exhale loudly when their opponent is beating. You have to ask yourself the question: Is that fair and right?
tennisnet: And above all – is it necessary?
Merkel: I can’t judge that very well. I find it more annoying. I talked to a lot of people in the tennis circus who thought they would sit on the bench against players screaming so loudly. And only continue playing when the opponent stops roaring.
tennisnet: So are the rule keepers challenged?
Merkel: Above all, in the education of the players one could work towards saying: Honestly, this is neither fair play nor do you have any added value through the roar. But you always think you have to take advantage: Some say they serve Nadal from below against Rafael. Ivan Lendl said earlier, when his opponent wore a yellow shirt, yes to the chair referee, he refused to play. It doesn’t exist anymore. Whatever works. I’m sure a Maria Sharapova or other players wouldn’t be so difficult to play with if the yelling stopped.
tennisnet: Anything else you would give the younger players on their way?
Merkel: Well, of course you could also talk about the fact that Let-Play was introduced for young people. Of course, the children can’t help it. But this rule doesn’t apply to adults. So it’s bullshit to condition things in young players that may still be in college, but nowhere else.