Racquet Science: An Essential Part Of Winning Wimbledon

The racquet. Without objection, this is a very essential part of the tennis game. Winning or losing could depend on it. That much-coveted tennis trophy could go down the drain if a player is partnered with the 'wrong' kind of racquet.

The racquet, or more popularly spelled 'racket', is a netted frame with handle. It is used in different sports like tennis, racquetball, squash and badminton. Traditionally, the materials used in making the frame is wood while the net is made by using catgut. But that was a long time ago. Nowadays, the frames are made of synthetic materials like titanium, ceramics (which were mostly white), alloy, or carbon fibre. The net, on the other hand, is now mainly made of nylon.

The first ever tennis racquet was handmade. Only natural materials were used together with the ashe wood frame. It was already during the 70's that synthetic materials were used for racquet-making. The mother of all synthetic designs was the Wilson T-2000 which had its head wrapped with wires that were designed by Lacoste.

Soon to follow was the first-ever Prince racquet. This spear-headed the birth of racquets with 'large' heads and this happened in the 80's. Then, graphite frames were introduced, too and became famous. But it was the medium-sized racquets that became the initial standard for professional tennis.

There are also models called stretch racquets. These give the player a longer reach. Less tall tennis players could benefit greatly from these. Modern-day racquets now have different sizes for the head, length and also weight. The length for junior players ranges from 21 to 26 inches. 27-27.5 inches are for stronger and bigger tennis players.

The necessary specifications for tennis racquets are:

Size of the head
Length
Weight (while without strings)
Composition
Weight of the 'swing'
Balance
Width of the beam
Stiffness
Level of power
Speed of the 'swing'
Pattern of the strings
Tension of the strings

Now, think of the many available tennis racquets in the market today. Some are moderately priced while some are bordering exorbitant. Which would lead one to think: would the price difference in these products spell the difference in a tournament's result? Are those more expensive products more dependable than the cheap ones?

Here is a list of today's leading makers of tennis racquets:

Wilson - one of their most popular models is the one used by Venus Williams (model W5 Divine Iris)

Volkl - their racquets are all about control and precision. Their most popular professional tennis racquet model being the Volkl DNX 10.

Yonex - has models that are being used by Lleyton Hewitt and David Nalbandian.

Prince - these racquets include comfort and ease in their 'racquet science'. They even boast of having some of their racquets as the choice of editors of the Tennis Magazine.

Dunlop - advanced players should have a good grip on their racquets. This is because their products were made with precision and strength.

Gamma
ProKennex
Babolat
Head
Fisher; and
Technifibre

Well, in the end, only the player will be able to tell by the feel of the racquet if a game is 'winnable'. And if he would like to have a surefire win, then racquet 'strength' should be accompanied by hard work, constant practice, and love of the game.