Some British retailers sell as much as 70% of their tennis racquet stock in just two weeks of the year. No prizes for guessing which two weeks; that’s right – Wimbledon. And it’s during these two weeks that we all get to see the manufacturers’ latest technological advances. They dazzle us with physics-jargon, and name-drop those endorsing their product. One thing’s for sure, the technology has come a long way since the days of Fred Perry and wooden racquets.
Have you ever wondered what tennis racquet frames are made from?
You might like to …
• carry out some research to find out what tennis racquet frames are made from; find out how the materials used have changed over the years, and why
• conduct some tests to work out how strong tennis racquet frames are; test other materials, and decide if there are any possible alternatives to the current materials used
• conduct various tests using different racquets; find out things like whether or not one has a larger ‘sweet spot’, or if some racquets hit the ball further, or if some frames absorb vibrations better
• find out about tennis elbow and what causes it; find out how racquet selection can help avoid tennis elbow
• find out if there any differences between the frames of different sorts of racquets (for example, badminton or squash racquets), and why.