History of tennis racket 2/2
In 1947, the first Lacoste laminated wood racket was introduced to the market. In March 1922, an American magazine published an article about a rocket which frame was made of a previously heat-treated steel pipe, with a wooden handle, It weighed and measured the same as a wooden rocket, but had 30% less air resistance. The manufacturer gave it a one-year warranty, and considering that players needed 10 to 15 wooden rackets a year, it was more economical to use. In the late 1960s, a steel racket was created by Wilson Sporting Goods. The frame of this racket was wrapped with wire to create a stringing hook on its inner side. In 1975, the American company Weed used aluminum, which was lighter than steel. This allowed the head of the racket to be enlarged by 50% compared to the head of a wooden racket, without increasing its weight. Thanks to rackets with an "oversize" head, tennis players could give the balls more spin. Unfortunately, advanced players began to be disturbed by the excessive flexibility of the metal frame. Strong hits deformed the racket for a short moment, changing the direction of the ball. The best material turned out to be a mixture of carbon fibers and resin binding them. This material was called "graphite". The enlarged racket head turned out to be a hit. So a prototype of the racket was created, which is still used today. In the following years, it was improved thousands of times , but these are purely technical matters.



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