Tennis Rackets: specifications, types

The purpose of the racquet primarily determines the target category of users for whom this model is designed.

— Adult. There are many different rackets that fall into this category, designed for both professionals and people who go out on the court for the first time. All that unites them is that the dimensions and weight are selected with the expectation that an adult will play the racquet (relatively speaking, from 13 years old), regardless of gender or level of training.

— Children's. This category includes rackets designed specifically for children under the age of 12. They are slightly smaller and lighter than adult racquets, but have a relatively large string surface area, so the child will miss the ball less, which means they will enjoy the game more. Children are not recommended to buy adult rackets "for growth", as this can lead to excessive stress on still fragile joints.

The material from which the racquet frame is made. Today, two solutions are the most popular: aluminium alloy and carbon (graphite).

Aluminium alloy is the simplest, most affordable and reliable solution, which, however, is not very popular in modern sports. The advantage of aluminium rackets is a long service life and good resistance to mechanical damage — it is quite difficult to break it on the court. Most often used in the production of children's rackets.

Carbon (graphite) is the most popular material for the manufacture of tennis rackets today, both professional and amateur levels. It boasts low weight and good strength. Quite rarely rackets are made of pure carbon, more often various metal alloys (carbon, titanium, etc.) are used, and each manufacturer has his own “recipe” for an perfect alloy.

Length refers to the distance between the top of the head and the bottom of the racquet handle. This indicator for most rackets for adults is in the range of 68-69 cm. Longer models in fact can provide a stronger hit, especially when serving, but are more difficult to manoeuvre during play. The International Tennis Association does not allow racquets longer than 74 cm to be used in tournaments.

There is a simple pattern here: the larger the area of the string surface and the lower the rigidity of the string tension, the higher the impact force and the lower its accuracy. This parameter is directly related to the string formula.

Now on the market there are rackets with the following string surface area: Midsize (452 – 574 cm²), Midplus (580 – 677 cm²), Oversize (710 – 742 cm²).

A string formula is a scheme for stretching racquet strings. Represents two numbers: the first of them is the number of longitudinal strings, the second is the number of transverse ones. A racquet with a lower string density will provide more power, while a higher density racquet will provide better ball control. It is important to pay attention to the fact that the same string formula on rackets with different head area will provide different stiffness. For example, a racquet with a Midplus head and a 16x19 formula will be stiffer than a similar model with an Oversize head.

By balance is meant the conditional point of the centre of gravity of the racquet, in other words, the point at which the handle and head of the racquet will have the same weight. Three options are possible: balance in the head, in the handle, neutral. The number specified in this parameter is the distance from the end of the handle to the balance point. Important clarification: balance is measured without strings!

— In the head. This means that the head of the racquet, relatively speaking, is slightly heavier than the handle. In fact, this can provide some advantage in hitting and serving.

— In the pen. The balance of such a racquet is in its handle, from which we can conclude that the model is more manoeuvrable and can best perform when playing under the net.

— Neutral. The balance of this racquet is in the middle, meaning it will not provide any advantage to the player regardless of playing style.

It is customary to read that the thickness of a tennis racquet should be such that when it is grasped between the fingers and the palm there is a gap slightly larger than the thickness of the index finger. There are two generally accepted systems for measuring handle thickness: American and European. If within the first one the indicator is measured in inches, then within the European one — in integers from 0 to 5, where zero is the smallest size. Usually, each racquet is presented on the market with modifications with a different handle diameter. So, the indicator "1-5" means that the model is represented by modifications with a handle diameter of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Exceptions may be some children's rackets, for which the manufacturer sometimes does not indicate the diameter of the handle, since it is less than size 0.

The racquet is equipped with a special cover for its storage and carrying, which protects the body from scratches, and the strings from reducing the tension.

As the weight of the racquet increases, the impact force increases, but its accuracy decreases. On the contrary, it is easier to swing with a light rocket, but at the same time the player needs to make more effort to give the ball the desired speed.