Tennis Equipment
TenniSite museum
All you need to play, and compete at your best
Museum links:
Museum Home About Equipment Ad in Funnee Kid's Page Art History
The 'present' and past are here; the present and future can be found through the TenniSite Resources page. ---------- Balls - Many players don't realize how many choices there are these days. Here is a slice of the available market in 2000, available in 1 shop:
On
the top are Gamma permanent pressure balls. Permanent pressure balls
have really improved since the earlier (1970s) Tretorn days. The Wilson Rally and Penn OS (over size) balls on each end of the second row were a short-lived experiment by the ball industry to market slower balls to the recreational player. It did not last and these balls can no longer be found in stores. Plastic tennis ball cans began in the mid-1980s. ----- In the 1840s vulcanized rubber was invented and it was revolutionary in the development of a ball that could bounce well on the lawn, the lawn tennis ball that is. Prior to this all-weather resilient rubber application tennis balls were stuffed and sewn and lacked the bounce to be used on the lawn. Vulcanized rubber was also a major innovation for tennis
shoes. ----- Here is a collection of older ball cans, Spalding and Wright and Ditson (who were actually 1 company during the 20th century):
The plastic lids began in the 1960s or 1970s, and routinely covered 'pop top' (ala soda can). The convex metal lids preceded the 'pop top' and used a 'key wind' process to open them. The Wright and Ditson (W&D) brand, was the first to dominate the US ball market. For 60 years or so, into the 1940s at least, W&D was the offical ball for the USLTA National Championships (now US Open).
1887 above, 1947 below:
Subsequently, Wright and Ditson (Spalding the parent company) and Pennsylvania competed for the top honors.
1937 above, 1948 below
Today
Penn and Wilson fight to dominate the US market. Penn has long been
the ball of the USTA Leagues and seemingly most league players, whereas
Wilson is now the ball of the US Open. ----- Assortment of Wilson and Dunlop:
1949 Dunlop ad with Vinnie Richards.
----- Penn and a variety of others:
This Penn1983 ad describes some criteria for ball selection above the foundation that they all begin with effectively the same size, weight and static bounce height.
----- Slazenger 1930's -1980s:
----- Of course we want to be able to pick up our practice balls...
...these have been made this way for 50 years or so, and still are the most commonly used variety. These days however there are tubes, plastic frame, fabric for wear, a number of ways to pick up and hold a large number of balls. | Fundamentally one needs two things besides oneself and the court to play tennis - balls are on this page, and Vintage Racquets have their own page. ----- In the originating days of lawn tennis you may have brought more than just the player's needs to the lawn. You may have brought the net, poles, lines, etc - everything but the properly mown lawn itself. ----- In
association with its 'invention', and as lawn tennis was popularized
beginning in the 1870s, the equipment for the game was sold in a set,
as such:
1882 Peck & Snyder advertisement with a "Jefferie's Lawn Tennis" set. ----- This type
of 19th century box would contain playing equipment.
Racquets, balls, net and poles - except for the lawn and the players, everything needed came in a boxed set for the consumer to purchase. Someone (with a strong back) could carry the tennis set from court to court, or at least carry it home. ----- The players would have to mark out their own court dimensions on the lawn. A tennis tape measure as shown here was used to measure out the appropriate size of lawn tennis court:
If you take notice while browsing the pictures throughout this Museum you will see a variety of lawn tennis court arrangements - some with no real bounds marked, others with the lines 'painted' onto the grass. ----- Originally the net poles were wooden and light enough to be transported with a complete set (net, racquets, etc) in a larger version of the box above. The wooden poles could be driven into the lawn with a mallet and then anchored with 'guy wires'. By 1902 much more substantial metal poles were also available, as well as the idea of a back fence - as this ad describes:
----- 1930
- 1931
----- BAGS - Today the tennis bag is the source to supply the competitive player (pro or recreational leagues and tournaments) with everything to sustain their on-court efforts. For a candidate list of items to stock in your tennis bag click here (pdf file). ----- Here is a large multi-compartment tennis bag from the late 1990s which would easily hold 6 racquets and accessories as needed.
---------- Here is a tennis bag, actually a racquet bag, that is designed specifically for racquets. It will comfortably hold six racquets, but is not intended to also accommodate the accessories in its single shaped compartment.
---------- Here is a vinyl bag, probably from the 1970s that is functionally a cross between a general tennis bag and a racquet bag.
---------- Tennis and racquet bags are a relatively new item for the tennis player of this game of over 130 years old. Racquet covers, however have been common for a long time. Racquet covers have come in a variety of styles and materials. Here are some examples.
Yonex RQ-420 wide body frame with full length vinyl cover. ----------
Snauwaert wood-graphite composite with vinyl head cover. ----------
Draper & Maynard racquet circa 1920s or 1930s. Full length canvas cover includes a ball holder. ----------
Harvard racquet with 'wax cloth' head cover and Spalding racquet press. |
