Tennis Racquets

Recently prodded, very gently I might add to play tennis, I was eager to give the game a shot. Earlier meetings with the tennis racquet had not been very successful. So with a friend as an able guide and a loaner "Walmart chi bhikari racquet", I decided to try the game. The game is actually very popular with royalty. ( Certain "Princes" have played it! )

Back to the point, after a week of poking, pushing and grunting, my guiding light decided it was time for a new weapon. Like any two geeks/nerds, we turned to the web for answers on where, why and how much?

I was amazed at the wealth of information available and the superior technology that goes into an ordinary tennis racquet. A few excerpts

[/Geek Alert]

1. Weight - (around 10 oz, Graphite Composite. Use of FPS units - No I am not american but the manufacturing companies are! ). All sorts of cool stuff is used to reduce weight like graphite composites etc. A light racquet makes it easier to wield but isnt necessary better. A heavier racquet has a better chance at winning the collosion between the ball and the racquet and hence is recommended for new to intermediate players.

2. Balance (1 pt Head Heavy )- Head Heavy => more power, Head Light => more control, faster thru the air. Balance affects the swing weight of the racquet )

3. Size - ( 110 inch^2 )A large head size implies presence of a bigger sweet spot, hence more power but less control over the depth of the stroke.

4. Stiffness - ( 58 units ) A stiff racquet has more feel but is less forgiving on the arms and vice versa. It depends on the thickness of the racquet.

5. String pattern ( 16 X 9 )- A dense string pattern endows the player with more directional control but reduces the spin that one can produce.

6. String type (single core) - Single cores are tougher and last longer, Multifilament strings can reduce a lot vibrations but break easily. Natural Gut ( yes it is called gut beacause it is made from the small intestine of a .. ) gives the best "Feel" but is affected by moisture etc.

7. Other neat stuff - air handles, kevlar strands , titanium meshes, peizo material strands to absorb material vibrations. Wow! The list goes on..


Thoroughly enjoyed the tech stuff...


--
The author was last seen wandering on nearby tennis courts with a brand new Yonex-RQ Ti Pro Long