Tennis Rackets

History

The word racket comes from the Arabic word rahat which means "palm of the hand".

Tennis is a sport played between two players. Each player uses a strung racket to strike a rubber ball covered with felt. These balls are usually yellow.

A type of tennis game has been played all over the world for many centuries using a stick or hand to hit a ball against a wall.

The Greeks and the Romans played a game called hard ball.

The earliest games of tennis were played in the courtyards of the monasteries in Europe, where monks hit the ball with the hand, similar to handball today.

They then progressed on to using webbing between the fingers of the gloves, while others used a wooden paddle.

The tennis racket began in the 14th century. The wooden framed racket had a long handle and small shaped head with strings made of gut.

The racket grew in size with the invention of lawn tennis, but changed little over the next 100 years.

It was not until the 19th century that the game of tennis took a critical turn.

Major Walter C Wingfield, an Englishman, patented the equipment and the rules in 1874, which would later develop into the modern day tennis.

Tennis rackets with metal heads and wire strings were invented in 1889.

Although the rules have changed very little since the 1890's, tennis rackets have progressed greatly.