Tennis Technology

By JOSHUA QUITTNER

A few years ago, after my wife and I bought tennis racquets with heads the size of garbage-can lids, we became (arguably) the world's best Bad Doubles players. The oversize racquet head was only one of many weapons in our quiver. We are also the kind of Bad Doubles players who are not above yelling "Misssssssss-it!" when someone on the far side of the net is serving. Plus we tend to do a little "chicken" victory dance after winning any point, to a loudly hummed rendition of Do the Hustle. Still, I'd have to say it was technology--the oversize head--that catapulted us to the ranks of truly brilliant Bad Doubles players.

So it was more than simple competitive spirit that caused me to ridicule the new tennis racquets our friends wielded when they took to the court against us. "Hammer system?" I snickered, inspecting Goldberg's Wilson racquet as if it were poultry. "What is this '6.2' nonsense?" I said, mistaking the racquet's flexibility rating for a version number. "Do you get free software updates?" Needless to say, the Goldbergs proceeded to beat us like cheap rugs. New technology--combined with an unseemly willingness on their part to run for the ball--left us in the dust. Team Quittner needed an upgrade.

Ah, but so many racquets to choose from! Wilson sells not only Hammers but also SledgeHammers. And what of the Head and the Prince? In the years since we bought our racquets, tennis gear has evolved as human beings will over the millenniums: heads are larger, necks longer and body weight is lighter. Meanwhile high- tech jargon is used to justify racquet prices, which have zoomed to the $175-$300 range. I sought guidance from Howard Brody, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert in tennis physics.

Brody collects some laughable racquets, including one made from a tube filled with flowing fluid. Yet he endorses much of today's tennis tech. A larger racquet surface, he says, does help propel even off-center shots. And a thicker "beam" or frame produces more power and stability. "The extra length in the handle will give you something too," he notes, especially on the serve. (The higher up your serve starts, the better angle it has into the service box.) He's more dubious about the new ultralight titanium racquets. Although a lighter racquet is easier to maneuver, many players lose control when the thing collides with a heavy topspin shot.

Stiffer racquets offer more control, Brody notes, but flexible racquets are more comfortable. The professor pooh-poohs the digital precision of rating systems, at least for Bad Doubles players: "You cannot tell the difference between a 6.0 and a 6.2," he says. But even players like me should consider string tension: "The tighter the strings, the less power you get," he explains. Racquets strung less tightly launch the ball like a trampoline but with some loss of control.

Brody declined to steer me to a specific racquet but pointed me to a website, www.racquetresearch.com which analyzes the latest in tennis technology. My advice to aspiring Bad Doubles players? Head's Ti.S7 is so big it's illegal for tournament play. This appeals to me greatly.

For more on tennis technology, see time.com/personal You can watch Josh and Anita Hamilton on CNNfn's Digital Jam at 7:30 p.m. E.T. on Wednesdays.