It's a little easier to see on the men's side, but the high tech racquets are what let the Henins bang with the Davenports. More to the point, its lets the non-athletic hang with the athletic.
The speed of the Williams sisters would not diminish at all. Who on the tour could hit a winner past either of them with a wood racquet? Seriously. Tell me who? They could bang straight down the middle time after time and dare their opponent to risk drop shotting them. Which risks them getting to net.
Now think about how slow Martina Hingis's second serve would be with a wood racquets. She might literally go whole matches without winning a point off her second serve.
The problem with playing the Williams sisters, as opposed to Seles or Davenport or Clijsters, is that they are the fastest good players on the tour. Henin's the only one who's even close. The problem isn't THEIR winners, it's that their opponents don't get ANY winners, because Venus and Serena return EVERYTHING. Sometimes they hit it, sometimes not, but they always (99% of the time) touch it.
It's speed. It's way, way speed. That's why they can win without playing much. They are way, WAY fast and they both can change direction quickly. (Not gracefully, in Venus's case, but quickly.) But they are both as big as the Big Babes.
Think how much worse that problem is when their opponents has a wood racquet, instead of titanium. Think about it. The ball travels 20% slower. The Williams sisters run just as fast. They could go to net whenever they wanted. Who could hit an approach shot past them with wood?
Remember, the players would adjust. Venus already knows how to chip and charge. She'd wind up at the net after EVERY second serve by ANYBODY. You CAN'T pass someone that tall, that fast, that quick, that smart, from the baseline with a wood racquet. You can't. She'll approach to cut down the angle and she only takes two strides to get to net. (Lindsay does that too. It's shocking how much ground they cover.) And when the opponent strikes the ball, it's going 20% slower than it does today. Think it'll get past Venus?
I think SOME of the Big Babes will be hurt. The one's that WILL NOT leave the baseline are gonna find their rankings sliding. All the really good service returners Lindsay, Serena, Venus, Monica, Jenn would stay in the top ten.
I dunno. I'm not sure much would change.
Would Martina have won another slam? Would she have won the first five? Steffi Graf and wood racquets. Could Monica have won 9 GS titles with that 2-hander off both sides and wooden technology?