Thursday 29 September 2016

10 Things you Didn't Know About Tennis Racquets

Whether you're a beginner or dreaming of a championship trophy, you are probably fascinated about tennis racquets and might even actively search for historical facts and trivia about them. Let us make that quest easier! Here are 10 things you didn’t know—but you should know—about tennis racquets.

1. Before the 15th century, there were no racquets. Playersused either their bare hands, rope wrapped around their hands, or custom-made gloves to strike the tennis ball!

2. Early tennis racquets made between the 15th century and the year 1965, used wood. The strings were stretched and twisted cow intestines.Nylon strings eventually replacedgut strings, although natural gut still exists today, but due to their price aren’t very popular.

3. The first steel-frame tennis racquet was built by Rene Lacoste, a French tennis player. His invention revolutionized the industry and allowed manufacturers to redesign the head size and string tension.

4. Professional players did not embrace steel frame racquets right away because they believe that wooden racquets provided better ball control and accuracy. Over the years, though, steel framed racquets proved to be much more powerful. The first pro player to switch to steel-frame tennis rackets was Jimmy Connors.

5. ‘Graphite’ tennis racquets are not really made of graphite minerals. The word refers to the thermoplastic viscoelastic polymersthat are used to create lightweight tennis racket frames.

6. Japan is the world leader when it comes to international tennis racquet production. Most tennis racquets are also manufactured in Asia.

7. Experienced tennis players prefer to buy racquets without strings. They want full control over the tension and what strings to use.

8. Look closely at the head of your tennis racquet. You might notice that it’s dotted with small chambers that contain ball bearings (some models). These are believed to prevent tennis elbow, as theyabsorb some of the impact when the ball makes contact with the racquet.

9. When you choose a lighter racquet, you get less power and more vibration. The so-called sweet spot also becomes smaller.

10. The grip size on a tennis racquet is one of the most important factors to consider when buying a racquet. You need to choose the right grip size (out of the 6 sizes available) to play at your optimum.

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