TENNIS: Racquet Tech 2001

By Tom Kosinski Sports Central Columnist

Welcome back, everyone. It's been a relatively quiet few weeks tennis wise. Martina Hingis continued to prove why she is number one winning the first ever WTA event in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The most notable tennis event wasn't so much the win but the fact that a women's tournament was held in a traditionally Muslim country, where women are usually not allowed to even show more than their eyes in public. Add to that, Hingis accepting the check and trophy by riding in on horseback wearing traditional Muslim garb and you have a mighty interesting picture. Amanda "The Little Assassin" Coetzer also came up with a win in Acapulco, Mexico. Coetzer managed to pull out a fantastic come from behind victory over new sensation Elena Dementieva, losing decisively in the first set then fighting for the three set win.

For the men, nothing much to talk about, with the exception that this week both Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were eliminated early from the Scottsdale, AZ tournament. Aussie Andre Ilie put all his heart and soul together to defeat Sampras in AZ, while Francisco Clavet pulled out a three set squeaker against Agassi for his first really big win over a number one player. While it's really too early to worry, the Sampras loss adds to the continuing discussion of the game finally passing Pete by and Pete finally calling it quits. Don't forget, I predicted he would announce his exit from the game after the Big W this year, with 2002 his last year on the tour with any regularity.

Okay, so much for that. Let's talk tech. Head has really unleashed hellacious technology at us all this year. Aimed mainly at the beginner or those players with strokes even more compact than John McEnroe, the Intelligence series brings the first true breakthrough in technology to tennis since the oversized aluminum frame. The Intelligence series (known as the I.s10, I.s12, and I.s18) uses ceramic composites known as piezoelectrics in the frame throat construction. Piezoelectrics are materials that convert vibration or motion into electrical energy and vice versa. Basically, as the very stiff graphite composite racket makes contact with the ball it generates tons of vibration, much like a tuning fork. The piezoelectric ceramic composites absorb the vibration, process it and convert it into an electrical charge. The conversion of the vibration acts like a vibration dampener, dampening vibration as much as twenty percent. Enough to even eliminate the need for a separate vibrastop or dampener on the string bed. Add a good dampener and you have a virtually vibration free weapon on the court.

Won't I get electrocuted, you ask? Don't worry, because graphite is an insulator, and the electrical charge is basically shielded from the player. The amount of charge is also very, very small, so there is absolutely no concern. The electrical charge is used in the premier racket in the line, the I.s18. A circuit board is added, in the handle that takes the electrical signal, amplifies it and sends it back to the piezoelectric ceramics. The piezoelectrics take the signal and convert it back to mechanical energy. Not vibration, but actually the material uses the electric charge to stiffen. Now you have a very powerful racket with super vibration dampening that stiffens on impact. That means giga-power, and improved control. You can visit Head.com for more details. If you are really curious, you can surf to the Continuum Control Corp. of Massachusetts web site. They actually do the manufacturing and have an excellent explanation of how it all works. Really neat, isn't it?

If that's too advanced for you, or you don't live for that Star Trek type advance, you need look no further than Prince. Most of us noticed that Pat Rafter was using a new stick at the Aussie Open this year. The Prince Triple Threat Tungsten Warrior. Based on the wildly successful Triple Threat line technology (a combination of titanium, carbon, and copper woven into the frame at specific points to enhance stability, power, and control) Prince now adds tungsten to the weave. Anyone familiar with the periodic table of elements knows that tungsten is extremely dense and therefore adds significant weight with a minimum of material. The tungsten is added at the same points as the Triple Threat weave and improves the stability and handling of the racket even more, and the weight certainly doesn't hurt the power, either. In a novel approach to vibration dampening, Prince introduces the "Double Bridge". Basically, it's two bottom or bridge pieces on the frame with the strings running through both. I have not seen one in person yet, but I believe Prince adds a vibration dampening material between the two bridges, reducing the vibration to almost zero. When I was in high school, I never thought I would be using the periodic table in such a cool way. Guess that's why I write about and not invent the stuff.

Meanwhile, Wilson has come out with a new line called Rollers Technology. There was an ill fated attempt at a similar method way back in the '70s, but the aluminum frames at the time could not really be manufactured to the tolerances needed to pull it off. Wilson takes the majority of the grommets in the three and nine o'clock areas on the frame and replaces them with metal "rollers". The strings travel over the little wheels, and allow the string bed to move much more freely. This causes a trampoline effect, adding to the power of the already super powerful frame. The use of the rollers actually allows Wilson to add weight to these sides, increasing the stability of the frame on off center shots. Wilson has also instituted a double bridge, which will reduce vibration, but also lengthens the main strings. Wilson claims that that enhances stability and control. I'll take them at their word. If you look at a Rollers racket, it kind of looks like a tambourine. It doesn't sound like one, but I guess if you want they can make that happen, too. I haven't had the chance to play test one yet, but as an engineer, I really see the merits in their approach. (Note to all of you aspiring engineers, there really are cool, neat, and outrageous things for you after you graduate college.)

Dunlop is often the forgotten name in tennis. For almost a half century, Dunlop was tennis. The Maxply was seen in the hands of everyone from Big Bill Tilden to Rod Laver to John McEnroe. Dunlop continues the tradition today with the Muscle Weave C-Max series. The C-Max features the patented "muscle weave" graphite technology and couples it with a concave frame beam profile (and Dunlop's innovative throat design) to give a racket with oodles of power. Dunlop says that the concave design provides a wider string surface/bed, which creates more power. I don't know if that is absolutely true, but the one I play tested made my otherwise adequate backhand look like Laver's old backhand cannon. The racket was quite forgiving on off center hits. My engineering background tells me that there is much more to the technology than just this, but hey, it works, so I have to believe 'em. Oh, yeah, this is the same Dunlop that makes tires, too.

Well, that's it for now. Other makers like Yonex, Fischer, Pro Kennex, Wavex, and Vokll also have some new offerings, but nothing quite as advanced as these. Fischer does have a racket in their new line that weights about as much as a piece of paper, but the technology they are using is not really that innovative. Based on the latest offerings from all the manufacturers, it looks like the Star Wars Light Sabre tennis racket is not too far off.

I hope this fascinates you as much as it does me. Look forward to more updates on the equipment front in future issues here at Sports Central. Until next time, see you on the newly-revamped message boards!

Article courtesy of Sports Central