Tennis technology
Encyclopedia
Tennis
can be dated back to at least as early as 16th century England; moreover, from 17th century Scotland there are original courts extant at Falkland Palace
. The object of the game was to hit the ball over the net into the opponent's side of the court to score a point. As the popularity of tennis raised tennis players required more consistency in their tennis equipment. As the materials became more readily available for tennis innovators, more and more technological advancements were made to every aspect of the sport.
Size classification
In addition to head size, the balance point and grip size of a racquet also changed as technology progressed. The balance point of the racquet is now easily changed to the user's preferences. Depending on the player's style of play, the choice is made between a head-heavy racquet and a head-light racquet. Head-heavy racquets provide more power on serves and ground strokes, while head-light racquets provide more control. Along with racquet balance, the size of the grip on the racquet can affect play style as well. With racquets made for personal specifications tennis has grown leaps and bounds. Unlike football, American football and baseball where sporting goods are tightly regulated, tennis has been rather free in the successive innovations of its sporting goods—whether materials, product architecture or weight. While often controversial, innovations are rather ambiguous in their effect on performance and ergonomics so that standards are not as common and more the result of social construction and less due to imposition of regulatory or engineering standards.
and titanium. Then many companies experimented with materials such as boron, ceramics, graphite
and composites, such as d3o. Each material had its own desirable qualities but ceramics and graphite were the best picks for being very stiff as well as being very good with vibration reduction.
consisted of rough cloth strips tightly bound together. Eventually the cloth strips became the core, wrapped in twine and covered by a finer cloth or felt hand-stitched around it. In 1972 the tennis ball was manufactured with the optic yellow felt. Now tennis balls are mass produced for high performance at minimal costs.
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
can be dated back to at least as early as 16th century England; moreover, from 17th century Scotland there are original courts extant at Falkland Palace
Falkland Palace
Falkland Palace in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a former royal palace of the Scottish Kings. Today it is in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, and serves as a tourist attraction.-Early years:...
. The object of the game was to hit the ball over the net into the opponent's side of the court to score a point. As the popularity of tennis raised tennis players required more consistency in their tennis equipment. As the materials became more readily available for tennis innovators, more and more technological advancements were made to every aspect of the sport.
Racquet technology
By far the most drastic change in technology was in the tennis racquet. Every aspect of the tennis racquet from the weight of the racquet to the shape of the racquet changed to better suit modern tennis players.Size of the racquet
In 1976 Howard Head introduced the first major change to the tennis racquet: the large head which created the racquet size classification that is used today. The large head gave an advantage to the average recreational player so they could play better with a larger hitting area.Size classification
- Mid - 93 in2 and below
- Mid-plus - 94 in2
- Oversized - 106 in2
- Super-oversized - 122 in2 and larger
In addition to head size, the balance point and grip size of a racquet also changed as technology progressed. The balance point of the racquet is now easily changed to the user's preferences. Depending on the player's style of play, the choice is made between a head-heavy racquet and a head-light racquet. Head-heavy racquets provide more power on serves and ground strokes, while head-light racquets provide more control. Along with racquet balance, the size of the grip on the racquet can affect play style as well. With racquets made for personal specifications tennis has grown leaps and bounds. Unlike football, American football and baseball where sporting goods are tightly regulated, tennis has been rather free in the successive innovations of its sporting goods—whether materials, product architecture or weight. While often controversial, innovations are rather ambiguous in their effect on performance and ergonomics so that standards are not as common and more the result of social construction and less due to imposition of regulatory or engineering standards.
Materials
The earliest racquets used in tennis were made of wood which caused a number of inconsistency problems such as the wood warping and the use of different woods in racquets making a different feel when striking the ball. Early designs used metals in their new designs many companies experimented with metals such as aluminum, magnesiumMagnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
and titanium. Then many companies experimented with materials such as boron, ceramics, graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
and composites, such as d3o. Each material had its own desirable qualities but ceramics and graphite were the best picks for being very stiff as well as being very good with vibration reduction.
Strings
The earliest strings were made from cow intestines (now called natural gut), a very reliable string but very expensive. With time and improved technology manufacturers have been trying to duplicate the natural gut feel with synthetic materials. Also, manufacturers are creating strings that are designed to produce more spin, power, and durability. It remains unclear whether the technological innovations in materials, product architecture, and size affected the performance of players, even if such innovations are controversial and even contested by sport-regulatory bodies. The prevailing standards are as much due to advancements in musical string technology as to the social construction of the racquet by the tennis playing public and the manufacturers who furnish the sporting goods. Social construction refers to the framing or interpretation of the physical implement by the community of tennis players some of whom often challenged the putative benefits of certain strings or other aspects of the racket.Balls
Originally the tennis ballTennis ball
A tennis ball is a ball designed for the sport of tennis,approximately 6.7 cm in diameter. Tennis balls are generally bright green, but in recreational play can be virtually any color. Tennis balls are covered in a fibrous fluffy felt which modifies their aerodynamic properties...
consisted of rough cloth strips tightly bound together. Eventually the cloth strips became the core, wrapped in twine and covered by a finer cloth or felt hand-stitched around it. In 1972 the tennis ball was manufactured with the optic yellow felt. Now tennis balls are mass produced for high performance at minimal costs.