Technology And Evolution Of Tennis Rackets
The history and origin of tennis rackets goes a long way back, to French monks in the 11th century. Their 'racquets' as they are often called, were their own open hands which they used to block and lob balls across a net. Since then, the technology and design behind the racket has come a long way.
Over time, the preferred 'weapon of choice' has moved from wood to aluminum to light-weight graphite composites. The wooden era ruled for a century starting from 1874. This was when Walter C. Wingfield registered his patent with rules and equipment for what is now known as lawn tennis.
After that, it was the turn of the aluminum piece, whose first big moment was in 1967 when the T2000 make was launched by Wilson Sporting Goods. It got a huge boost when Jimmy Connors started using it. However, the wooden racket was ultimately buried by the change in head size.
This was around 1976, when the 110 sq. Inch head was introduced. As opposed to the 65 sq. Inch head on the wooden racket, the aluminum one offered a whole lot more string area. Once players found out how useful the extra head size on an aluminum racket was, the wooden racket was as good as dead.
The change also resulted in differing head sizes being offered to players. The options included 90 sq inch mid-size heads and 95 sq inch mid-size plus heads. The point being that a bigger head offers more power and a larger 'sweet spot' while the smaller ones provide more control.
The two biggest issues facing manufacturers were weight and stiffness, which run in inverse proportion. That was true, until they discovered how to use graphite composites with a mix of graphite and material such as ceramics, fiber-glass and titanium to create a lightweight racket that offers more stiffness than was thought possible. Some are even testing piezoelectric material. There's no telling what tomorrow's tennis rackets will look like, or be made of.
Over time, the preferred 'weapon of choice' has moved from wood to aluminum to light-weight graphite composites. The wooden era ruled for a century starting from 1874. This was when Walter C. Wingfield registered his patent with rules and equipment for what is now known as lawn tennis.
After that, it was the turn of the aluminum piece, whose first big moment was in 1967 when the T2000 make was launched by Wilson Sporting Goods. It got a huge boost when Jimmy Connors started using it. However, the wooden racket was ultimately buried by the change in head size.
This was around 1976, when the 110 sq. Inch head was introduced. As opposed to the 65 sq. Inch head on the wooden racket, the aluminum one offered a whole lot more string area. Once players found out how useful the extra head size on an aluminum racket was, the wooden racket was as good as dead.
The change also resulted in differing head sizes being offered to players. The options included 90 sq inch mid-size heads and 95 sq inch mid-size plus heads. The point being that a bigger head offers more power and a larger 'sweet spot' while the smaller ones provide more control.
The two biggest issues facing manufacturers were weight and stiffness, which run in inverse proportion. That was true, until they discovered how to use graphite composites with a mix of graphite and material such as ceramics, fiber-glass and titanium to create a lightweight racket that offers more stiffness than was thought possible. Some are even testing piezoelectric material. There's no telling what tomorrow's tennis rackets will look like, or be made of.
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