Samsonov factors of longevity

Hi there. I am impressed by the longevity and playing style of Vladamir Samsonov. I am an older guy and appreciate his relaxed approach and maintaining his body (few injuries) and do you think his playing style contibutes to that? I will never be as good as he is of course, but if I wanted to model my game on his, how would I go about that? Any suggestions?

Hi Bob,

He is a very good player to emulate.  His style is one that is maintainable.

I think the first thing is to utilise both the Forehand and Backhand sides so that you can limit the amount of movement that is required.

Then think about the relaxation of the arm and body through each of the strokes.  This places less strain on the body with each stroke and therefore over a long period it will mean a lot less wear and tear.

This isn't an easy thing to achieve.  It takes a lot of work mentally to allow this relaxation to happen even during matches and more stressful match conditions but well worth the effort and time.

He also takes a lot of care of his body physically.