At the end of March, an event was held at THE CLUBHOUSE in Fukuoka with S2O. It was a chance to meet tennis fans for the first time in a while.
Tennis has been mainly played by juniors recently, so it was refreshing to play tennis with adults who love tennis.
The lesson time was short, so when I asked her what she wanted to do, she immediately replied, "Volley."
The lesson focused on volleys.
The volley is the easiest shot to improve depending on your mindset. There was a time in the United States when lessons were said to start with the volley.
You might think that a back volley is easy because the swing itself is small, but it is actually quite difficult.
We'll get to the technical details later, but after the event, Mr. Takada from THE CLUBHOUSE brought along an old Popeye magazine. He talked about how he felt a generational gap in what he was talking about as he held up the tennis special edition.
The special edition, Tennis Boy, was first published in 1978. The entire issue is about tennis.
The magazine was packed with information on tennis, including the state of tennis overseas, techniques, tennis goods, tennis fashion, the tennis environment, and university tennis clubs. After that, special tennis issues were published about twice a year, and tennis lessons were also published in the regular issues, so tennis was a sport that received general attention.
While looking at the magazine, a cute female tennis acquaintance of mine asked me, "What is Dekarake?" "What? You don't know what Dekarake is?" Tennis enthusiasts over 60 years old would probably be surprised. But for people in their 20s and 30s, Dekarake has been the standard since they started playing, so it's not surprising that they'd be skeptical of the nickname.
The term "dekarake" was coined by Yoshihisa Kiname, the editor-in-chief of Popeye, after seeing the Prince Racket, and it became commonly used. It is true that Popeye ran a special feature on dekarake, which sparked the popularity of dekarake in Japan. I will write more about this dekarake boom later.
Of course, I didn't even know that the racket was made of wood.
The Dekarake was the catalyst for the change in racket material from wood to composite material, and wooden rackets disappeared.
You might think it was a comedy sketch to learn that going out into the city with a racket under your arm was fashionable.
You'll be surprised to know that tennis was popular in the 1980s, about 40 years ago.
This article is getting too long, so I would like to look back on the good old days of tennis, talking about the historical background, rackets, tennis fashion, tennis shoes, tennis events, and tennis TV programs.
Text by Keizo Miyamoto
At the end of March, S2O and THE CLUBHOUSE from Fukuoka held an tennis event.
It had been a while since I mingled with fellow tennis lovers. Recently, I've mainly been coaching juniors, so it was refreshing to play tennis with adults who genuinely enjoy the game. Since the lesson time was limited, I asked the participants what they wanted to work on. The immediate answer was “volleys.” So, the lesson focused on volleys.
Volleys are actually one of the easiest shots to improve—depending on how you approach them. In the past, there was even a time in the US when lessons were said to begin with volleys. The thinking was that they're easier because the swing is short. But in reality, the backhand volley can be difficult.
I'll write more about the technical side later, but after the event, Mr. Takada from THE CLUBHOUSE brought out an old issue of Popeye magazine. As we chatted while flipping through this special tennis edition, I really felt the generation gap.
The special issue, titled Tennis Boy, was first published in 1978. The entire magazine was devoted to tennis. It was packed with stories—tennis overseas, techniques, gear, fashion, the tennis scene, university clubs, and more. After that, tennis gained a lot of attention in Japan. Popeye started publishing two tennis specials a year, and regular issues even included tennis lesson features.
While we were looking at the magazine, a pretty young acquaintance—an avid tennis player—asked me, “What's dekarake?” I was surprised. “Wait, you don't know dekarake?” Anyone over 60 who loves tennis would probably be shocked. But for people in their 20s and 30s, dekarake rackets were already the standard when they started playing. So it's understandable that they might not recognize the nickname.
The word dekarake was coined by Yoshihisa Kinameri, then editor-in-chief of Popeye, after seeing a Prince racket. The term caught on and became widely used. It's true that a Popeye feature on dekarake helped spark their popularity in Japan. I'll write more about the dekarake boom in a later post. Of course, I personally don't have experience with wooden rackets. But dekarake was the catalyst for the shift from wooden rackets to composite materials, which eventually led to the disappearance of wooden frames.
You might think it sounds like a comedy skit now, but back then it was actually trendy to walk around town with a racket hidden under your arm. It might surprise you, but tennis was incredibly popular in the 1980s—about 40 years ago. Since this could easily turn into a very long piece, I'd like to take some time to look back on the golden age of tennis—reflecting on the era's culture, rackets, fashion, shoes, events, TV programs, and more.
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