Thursday 29 September 2016

History of the Tennis Racket

The modern tennis racket is nothing like the initial prototypes made decades ago. Advancements in technology and good old brand marketing has made today’s rackets far superior compared to the original designs, which were essentially just planks of wood. Tip tennis racket brands such as Wilson, Dunlop, and Head have certainly changed the history of the tennis racket with their tremendous ingenuity.

The game of tennis is said to have been created by French monks in the 11th Century who did not have rackets—they used their hands instead. The first racket was invented only in 1874 by Major Walter Wingfield in London. It was made of solid wood.By theyear 1947. advancements in laminating technology gave way to the first game-changing tennis rackets that were made using laminated wood. Heads back them measured around 65 in sq.

Wilson released the T2000 steel tennis racket in the late 1960’s and it was popularized by Jimmy Connors. This model became the guide for most all other
tennis rackets produced during this time. It was only in 1975 when another huge improvement was made—the
introduction of aluminum, which was much lighter than steel. Aluminum allowed the design and construction oftennis rackets with oversized heads (100+ in sq), allowing players to hit with more spin.Prince capitalized on the oversized racket trend and released a model that designed by Howard Head in 1976, which was designed to give players larger sweet spots. It was a top seller.

By the 1980’s, the world saw the emergence of the first graphite tennis rackets. This material is even lighter and stiffer than aluminum, allowing players to hit the ball harder.

These days, more tennis rackets sold in the market are also made from graphite—although the grade used is much different grade than graphite in the 1980’s. Modern tennis rackets feature graphite mixed with tungsten, titanium, and other such materials.

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