Tennis
balls
net
racquets |
Tennis racquets continue to evolve from the
days of the original wood racquets. Today,
high-tech materials are used to give the
racquet better control, more power, and lighter
weight. While a basic racquet is not very
expensive, the high end line can be extremely
pricey. Plus, expect to pay additional for
high quality strings and grip.
Features to Consider
There seem to be about as many
racquet designs
as there are professional players.
But this
is for good reason: attributes
that seem
to be an advantage can detract
from other
attributes, which makes tennis
racquet design
both player specific and a matter
of personal
preference. Here are some characteristics
to consider when buying a racquet:
- grip - the most basic design element of a
racquet is the grip; do not expect good performance
if you are unable to properly grip the handle.
Test feel a variety of grips to find the
grip size best for your hand.
- weight - weight takes more energy and reduces
nimbleness, but lightness is not always better.
Basic physics teaches that force is equal
to mass times acceleration. If you reduce
the racquet weight, you also reduce its mass,
which makes it harder to reverse the direction
of the ball. The best racquets move the weight
from the head to the handle, which provides
the advantages of weight while retaining
the nimbleness of lightness.
- strength - even though a tennis ball is light,
it is moving at a high speed and can hold
a tremendous amount of force. Consequently,
a racquet needs to be strong to endure that
punishment over time as well as not to deform
during each hit. However, if the racquet
is too rigid, it does not dampen the vibrations
from the hit.
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