I only played tennis with my father once. At that time, he wore a white T-shirt, white shorts that came to well above his mid-thighs, white shoes and white knee socks. In his defense, he was (and still is) in very good shape, and he pulled off the look much better than most of his contemporaries could have. Of course, the crowing glory to his ensemble was his wooden, circa 1975 tennis racquet. Its wooden frame and small, ovular head were in marked contrast to my racquet’s metal frame and neon-colored polyester strings. However, that contrast now serves as an excellent example of the changes tennis racquets have undergone over the past few decades.

Tennis racquets have, in one form or another, been around for hundreds of years. Up until the late 1960s, most tennis racquets were made of laminated wood. At that time, the first steel racquets were introduced and popularized by Jimmy Connors, a top American tennis player of the era. A few years later, aluminum construction came on the market, which allowed for racquets of much lighter weight. As a result, “oversized” racquet heads were popular for the first time. Previously, racquet heads had been about 65 square inches in area. After the inception of the aluminum frame, heads jumped in size to approximately 110 square inches. Aluminum frames were followed by carbon fiber, ceramics, glass fiber, boron and titanium composites in the early 1980s. Since then, composite frames have become the industry standard.

While modern tennis racquets vary in length, weight and head size. Those for adults are usually about 27 inches in length, and they can weigh between eight and twelve ounces (without strings). The size of the head is a major determining factor in a racquet’s capabilities. While a larger head allows for more power, a smaller one gives the player more precise control. Today, heads can vary from 90 to 137 square inches in area.

The strings are is another major area of racquet variability. On traditional tennis racquets, natural gut was the material of choice, and some modern racquets still use cow intestine. This material is actually considered by many to be the best for tennis racquet strings in terms of overall playability. However, natural gut strings break easily and are very expensive, which means that only professional tennis players tend to use them.

Synthetic gut, on the other hand, is widely used by amateurs and pros alike. It can be made from a variety of artificial materials, making it cheaper and easier to manufacture than the natural version. Strings made from synthetic gut are also more durable. The most popular synthetic strings are nylon. These strings have a tendency toward breakage and often come with wear-resistant coatings. Polyester is also common; these strings are fairly stiff and do not create as much power, which allows a player to better control the ball with a full swing. Kevlar is the stiffest and most durable of the synthetic materials. It is often used in conjunction with another material, as Kevlar by itself is too stiff for many players. All of these materials come in both “monofilament” and “multifilament” variations: the former means a string composed of a single, thick strand, the latter being a string made up of multiple, smaller strands.