| I only played tennis with my father once. At that time, | | | | inches in length, and they can weigh between eight and |
| he wore a white T-shirt, white shorts that came to well | | | | twelve ounces (without strings). The size of the head |
| above his mid-thighs, white shoes and white knee | | | | is a major determining factor in a racquet's capabilities. |
| socks. In his defense, he was (and still is) in very good | | | | While a larger head allows for more power, a smaller |
| shape, and he pulled off the look much better than | | | | one gives the player more precise control. Today, |
| most of his contemporaries could have. Of course, the | | | | heads can vary from 90 to 137 square inches in area. |
| crowing glory to his ensemble was his wooden, circa | | | | The strings are is another major area of racquet |
| 1975 tennis racquet. Its wooden frame and small, | | | | variability. On traditional tennis racquets, natural gut was |
| ovular head were in marked contrast to my racquet's | | | | the material of choice, and some modern racquets still |
| metal frame and neon-colored polyester strings. | | | | use cow intestine. This material is actually considered |
| However, that contrast now serves as an excellent | | | | by many to be the best for tennis racquet strings in |
| example of the changes tennis racquets have | | | | terms of overall playability. However, natural gut strings |
| undergone over the past few decades. | | | | break easily and are very expensive, which means |
| Tennis racquets have, in one form or another, been | | | | that only professional tennis players tend to use them. |
| around for hundreds of years. Up until the late 1960s, | | | | Synthetic gut, on the other hand, is widely used by |
| most tennis racquets were made of laminated wood. | | | | amateurs and pros alike. It can be made from a |
| At that time, the first steel racquets were introduced | | | | variety of artificial materials, making it cheaper and |
| and popularized by Jimmy Connors, a top American | | | | easier to manufacture than the natural version. Strings |
| tennis player of the era. A few years later, aluminum | | | | made from synthetic gut are also more durable. The |
| construction came on the market, which allowed for | | | | most popular synthetic strings are nylon. These strings |
| racquets of much lighter weight. As a result, | | | | have a tendency toward breakage and often come |
| "oversized" racquet heads were popular for the first | | | | with wear-resistant coatings. Polyester is also |
| time. Previously, racquet heads had been about 65 | | | | common; these strings are fairly stiff and do not |
| square inches in area. After the inception of the | | | | create as much power, which allows a player to |
| aluminum frame, heads jumped in size to | | | | better control the ball with a full swing. Kevlar is the |
| approximately 110 square inches. Aluminum frames | | | | stiffest and most durable of the synthetic materials. It is |
| were followed by carbon fiber, ceramics, glass fiber, | | | | often used in conjunction with another material, as |
| boron and titanium composites in the early 1980s. Since | | | | Kevlar by itself is too stiff for many players. All of |
| then, composite frames have become the industry | | | | these materials come in both "monofilament" and |
| standard. | | | | "multifilament" variations: the former means a string |
| While modern tennis racquets vary in length, weight | | | | composed of a single, thick strand, the latter being a |
| and head size. Those for adults are usually about 27 | | | | string made up of multiple, smaller strands. |