History

• People started playing tennis with tennis rackets starting in the 1300s, by most accounts. The first rackets were made out of wood and had long handles with small stringed heads. As the years progressed, the heads came to be about 65 square inches and wood became laminated. The 1960s produced one made of steel with wire strings, and in 1975 the first oversized aluminum racket was constructed. Now, these equipment pieces are made with graphite and a number of other composites, and there are more options for string patterns and tightness.
  
  

Size

• The average tennis racket length is between 21 inches and almost 28 inches. Junior players use the smaller lengths. The size of the head with strings varies depending on how much power the player wants, but they vary between 90 sq. inches and 137. Larger heads give more power, and smaller ones give more control. Racket weight can vary between 8 oz. and 12.5 oz. without strings. Players of different heights and abilities will buy different sized rackets.
  
  

Features

• The basic features of a tennis racket are the strings, length, grip size, size of head and the flex. Strings used to be made out of cat gut but are now mostly synthetic fibers like nylon. Strings that are placed more openly can spin the ball better, but tighter, closer together strings are more controllable. Grip size is how wide the handle is when held. There should be enough space for an index finger between the longest finger and palm when the racket is gripped. Flex is how stiff the racket is and how much it resists bending. Flexible rackets have more control and less power.
  
  

Function

• Tennis rackets are, of course, mostly used to play tennis on a tennis court. Sometimes two players hit the ball back and forth over the net, and sometimes two teams of two will play. Tennis rackets are used to hit the ball, ideally in the middle of the strings, back to the other side. Tennis rackets can also be used to play squash, real tennis (the game that tennis as we know it now originated from), and variations of tennis rackets are used to play racquetball and badminton.
  
  

Geography

• The tennis racket is believed to be invented by the Italians in the 14th century. The game of tennis had existed before this, played by French monks, but these players used their hands instead of equipment. In the late 1800s, a man named Water C. Wingfield patented the equipment for lawn tennis in London, and then tennis rackets were traded in Canada, China, India and Russia to play with. London was also the place of the first tennis tournament, Wimbledon, in 1877.