0851074 - A Smashing Great Time

A SMASHING GREAT TIME: The Modern Tennis Racquet

In The

By most accounts, tennis was first played by French monks in the 11th or 12th century, and the first "racquets" were made of human flesh! By the 14th century, players had begun using what we could legitimately call a racquet, with strings made of gut bound in a wooden frame. The Italians are often credited with this invention. By the year 1500, racquets were in widespread use. The early racquets had a long handle and a small, teardrop-shaped head.

With a more oval head, they would have looked much like a squash racquet. In 1874, Major Walter C. Wingfield registered his patent in London for the equipment and rules of an outdoor lawn tennis that is generally considered the first version of what we play today.

Racquets saw only minor changes between 1874 and the end of the wooden racquet era more than 100 years later.

Beginning

The Pathway to Success

Since the invention of tennis, tennis racquets have undergone some major changes which have greatly changed the game.

In 1867 the first patented wooden racquet was invented and used by the majority of players.

This design underwent some slight adjustments but stayed very similar to the original until 1967 when the first metal racquet was introduced by Wilson it was called the T2000.

In 1976 Howard Head who was working with Prince Tennis invented the first oversize racquet.

Where Racquets Are Today

Modern racquets are a combination of science, technology, innovation and history. Tennis companies spend millions of dollars and years of research into developing their new lines of racquets.

Some of the current technologies used by professionals today include: Nanotechnology (Wilson), Nanofoam (Wilson), Cortex technology (Babolat), Speedport technology (Prince), Microgel and Flexpoint Technology (Head).

All of these technologies are worked upon by top level scientists and spend years in development and research to produce the racquets we have today.

Failed Attempts at Innovation

There have also been some failed technologies and innovations when it comes to tennis racquets. Some are even comical. A few examples are:

The Wilson “roller” which was a racquet released by Wilson in 1998 which used a system of rollers to hold the strings in place which allowed the strings to move as you played. The racquet was a complete failure.

“ Double Strung” racquets where two times the string was used in the racquet the idea being you would be able to get more spin and it failed.

The prince “god” which was a racquet with a headsize equivalent to the size of a tennis ball which made it nearly impossible to hit the ball with. Only a thousand were made before they were taken off the shelves.

In the 1970’s some racquets were produced with oddly shaped heads (triangles, squares, etc). These racquets were a gimmick because the head shape was not aerodynamically practical.

Tennis Racquet Sales in 2008 by the Four Major Brands (% of Market) TENNIS SALES BY BRAND

Tennis Growth in the Last 5 Years (United States)

References