Tennis equipment

Tennis equipment has changed a lot over the years.
It used to be that one put on a pair of Dunlops and picked up an old wooden racquet and played.
Not so today. Graphite racquets, with all sorts of different stringing formats and string tensions as well as width, are what all professional players use now.
Even the balls are checked continuously for compression and are different for altitude.
As for the dresses and men's shorts and tops, everything has changed.
Shoes are a minefield when it comes to choosing the best ones for you, but socks are pretty standard.
There is a lot more in the way of equipment you need to know.

You can play tennis in any kind of runners but if you want to preserve your feet, it is best to have shoes especially made for tennis.

They have some special features, which are different from the usual runner.

The shoe should have a herringbone style tread. This pattern wears more slowly and provides more traction than multipurpose shoes. The shoe will also last longer if you get reinforced toe-caps.
If you drag your toe on the serve follow-through, this is especially important.
Proper tennis shoes also allow for side-to-side sliding. They have cushioning in the sole.
Additional side-support is important to keep your foot stable even when hitting shots on the run.
Some players like to have extra ankle support, so mid-cut shoes are a good idea. Breathable mesh insets in the leather will also make the shoes less sweaty. Note too that Lleyton Hewitt wears ankle supports regularly.
Women tend to have higher arches in their feet than men so female players should look for extra support underneath the arch.

Socks
Socks should be cushioned cotton or toweling to give extra protection to the parts of your feet that take all the impact - the ball and the heel.
This cushioning effect also absorbs sweat, making blisters and conditions such as tinea less likely, but some players still wear two pairs of socks to avoid blistering. They can be any colour except at Wimbledon where they must be white. Many female players use the short sock.

Sweat bands
Sweatbands are used to soak up sweat especially on the serving arm wrist. Some players also wear them around their foreheads, like Blake. Federer wears a cloth looking wide band on his forehead. Caps or visors are very useful in the heat. I think Lleyton Hewitt began the habit of players wearing caps back to front. Now I notice that many of them do. Most players are sponsored for their gear so hats are usually by brand.

In professionals bags are also have your drinks, food, extra racquets and an extra shirt or dress. Professional tennis players will have sports drinks usually made by a nutritionist, bananas, warm tracksuit top if play stops for some reason and up to maybe 10 racquets, the reason for which is described here.


Players cannot go off court for reasons connected with getting any other equipment. That's why we see them with such heavy bags.


Towels are provided by the tournament sponsors.

Tennis balls


Tennis balls comprise a hollow rubber core and a wool or nylon shell known as the nap.
It must not have stitched seams.
In tournaments they must be white or yellow, but these days they are mostly yellow. They are kept refrigerated for major tournament play.
The rubber core is usually filled with pressurized air so the ball will bounce.
The rules concerning are described here

Tennis equipment

Tennis equipment has changed a lot over the years.
It used to be that one put on a pair of Dunlops and picked up an old wooden racquet and played.
Not so today. Graphite racquets, with all sorts of different stringing formats and string tensions as well as width, are what all professional players use now.
Even the balls are checked continuously for compression and are different for altitude.
As for the dresses and men's shorts and tops, everything has changed.
Shoes are a minefield when it comes to choosing the best ones for you, but socks are pretty standard.
There is a lot more in the way of equipment you need to know.

You can play tennis in any kind of runners but if you want to preserve your feet, it is best to have shoes especially made for tennis.

They have some special features, which are different from the usual runner.

The shoe should have a herringbone style tread. This pattern wears more slowly and provides more traction than multipurpose shoes. The shoe will also last longer if you get reinforced toe-caps.
If you drag your toe on the serve follow-through, this is especially important.
Proper tennis shoes also allow for side-to-side sliding. They have cushioning in the sole.
Additional side-support is important to keep your foot stable even when hitting shots on the run.
Some players like to have extra ankle support, so mid-cut shoes are a good idea. Breathable mesh insets in the leather will also make the shoes less sweaty. Note too that Lleyton Hewitt wears ankle supports regularly.
Women tend to have higher arches in their feet than men so female players should look for extra support underneath the arch.

Socks
Socks should be cushioned cotton or toweling to give extra protection to the parts of your feet that take all the impact - the ball and the heel.
This cushioning effect also absorbs sweat, making blisters and conditions such as tinea less likely, but some players still wear two pairs of socks to avoid blistering. They can be any colour except at Wimbledon where they must be white. Many female players use the short sock.

Sweat bands
Sweatbands are used to soak up sweat especially on the serving arm wrist. Some players also wear them around their foreheads, like Blake. Federer wears a cloth looking wide band on his forehead. Caps or visors are very useful in the heat. I think Lleyton Hewitt began the habit of players wearing caps back to front. Now I notice that many of them do. Most players are sponsored for their gear so hats are usually by brand.

In professionals bags are also have your drinks, food, extra racquets and an extra shirt or dress. Professional tennis players will have sports drinks usually made by a nutritionist, bananas, warm tracksuit top if play stops for some reason and up to maybe 10 racquets, the reason for which is described here.


Players cannot go off court for reasons connected with getting any other equipment. That's why we see them with such heavy bags.


Towels are provided by the tournament sponsors.

Tennis balls


Tennis balls comprise a hollow rubber core and a wool or nylon shell known as the nap.
It must not have stitched seams.
In tournaments they must be white or yellow, but these days they are mostly yellow. They are kept refrigerated for major tournament play.
The rubber core is usually filled with pressurized air so the ball will bounce.
The rules concerning are described here

Rules of tennis balls

Tennis balls comprise a hollow rubber core and a wool or nylon shell known as the nap. It must not have stitched seams and must be uniform on the outside. In tournaments they must be white or yellow, but these days they are mostly yellow. They are kept refrigerated for major tournament play.
The rubber core is usually filled with pressurized air so the ball will bounce. The ball must be between 2.5 inches (6.25 cms) and 2.63 inches (6.57cms) in diameter and must weigh at least 56 grammes but no more than 59.4 grammes. The rules of tennis say that the ball must bounce between 53 and 58 inches after being dropped onto concrete from a height of 100 inches. They must have atennis balls forward deformation of more than 0.22 inches and less than 0.29 and a return deformation of more than 0.315 inches and less than 0.425 inches at 18lb load, whatever that means! At altitude, more than 4,000 feet, the ball can be bound more than 48 inches and less than 53 inches.
The internal pressure must be greater than the external pressure. Alternatively, the ball must be bound more than 53 inches and less than 58 inches, but must have an equal internal and external pressure and must have been acclimatized for 60 days or more at the altitude that the tournament is being played. This ball, as opposed to the others, is called a zero-pressure ball or a non-pressurised ball. Balls are changed during tournaments because they begin to lose their bounce after about three hours of play.
At all major tournaments they are changed after the warm up and the first seven games, and after that, every nine games. Studies have shown the fluffier a ball gets, the slower it flies which is why you often see most players check several balls to find the least fluffy before serving. When not in use, tennis balls should be stored in the can they came in. This won't prevent them from losing pressure, but can slow it down.
The ball in play
As soon as the server serves, the ball is in play. It remains in play unless a let or fault is called. In that case it returns to play until the point is finished. The ball is in if it falls on any part of the line. To see how the lines are made you can see the court measurements here. If the ball touches a permanent fixture other than the net, posts, cord or cable, strap or band after it has hit the ground, the player who hit it wins the point. If it hits a permanentt fixture before it touches the ground then the opponent wins the point. If the balls are not changed when they should be, the mistake is corrected when the player who should have served with new balls is next due to serve. Thereafter, the change of balls should follow the correct sequence.