History of Tennis Rackets

A short history of  tennis rackets, and how the evolution of the tennis racket has revolutionised the modern game of tennis.
Throughout the history of tennis, rackets were made of laminated wood, with heads of around 65 in sq. In the late 1960s, Wilson produced the T2000 steel tennis rackets which featured a wire wound around the frame to make string loops. Back in the 60’s the steel tennis racket’s rise to popularity was fronted by Jimmy Connors.
The next jump in tennis racket technologies came in 1975, and was the introduction of aluminium, this material was lighter than steel and allowed the construction of oversized tennis rackets. Now players could hit with more spin or slice on the ball thanks to their 100+ in sq head sizes.

The 1980’s saw the introduction of the first graphite tennis rackets, graphite proved to be lighter and stiffer and allowed players to hit through the ball harder. Today’s tennis rackets are also made from graphite although a different grade of graphite that was used in the 80’s. Graphites are often mixed with other materials such as tungsten and titanium.