Tennis Rackets

Tennis rackets have evolved greatly from the laminated wood rackets that used to be used to what we now know as rackets today. In the 1960's Wilson created a steel framed racket which became popular because the famous tennis player Jimmy Connors used it. In 1968 Spalding created the aluminium racket. The aluminium framed racket while lighter and more flexible than wood or steel was a lot less accurate therefore most professional and amateur tennis players continued to use either steel or wood rackets. In 1975, the improvement of aluminium led to oversized tennis rackets being created. Since aluminium became much lighter than wood or steel, tennis rackets could be larger than before without throwing off the player's game. With larger rackets, players were able to put more spin or slice on the ball which is very useful in a game of tennis. In the 1980's the first graphite tennis racket was created. The graphite racket was lighter and stronger than aluminium and players could hit the ball a lot harder with it. Today, tennis rackets are made out of graphite mixed with other materials such as tungsten and titanium.

There are seven parts to a tennis racket: the head, rim, face, neck, butt, handle and strings. Apart from the basic foundation, rackets vary depending on height, weight, colour, stringing and more. All of these variables apart from the colour can have various effects on one's game. Rackets can weigh between 230g (very lightweight) and 350g (heavyweight). A lighter racket is easier to move so players are able to swing it faster while a heavy racket gives a player more balance and power while hitting the shots. Rackets also have different head sizes- a smaller head giving the player more control over the ball and a larger head giving the player more room for error and more power in their shots. The stringing on rackets can also greatly effect one's game. If a racket is strung loosely the player is able to put more power and spin onto the ball, if the racket is strung tightly then the racket has more control over the ball and one is able to predict the power and angle the ball will be hit at.

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