Just to give an idea of what type of damage is caused by these actions, below are two pictures showing the damaged rackets used by Goran Ivanesevic (a player famous for slamming rackets on the floor) in one match:
4) Bad contact with the tennis ball
Bad contact with the tennis ball, in other words hitting the ball no where near the sweet spot of the racket could result in string breakage. This could happen at any point of a tennis match, be it while serving, returning or even just playing a normal stroke. When this happen in a tennis match, the racket cannot be repaired immediately and this is why professional tennis players normally come prepared for this by bringing three extra rackets with them. On the left is a photograph of an old tennis racket with three broken strings which are a result of bad contact with a tennis ball.
5) Loose Strings
Getting loose strings is bound to happen to every tennis racket. Depending on how often the racket is used, the strings will become looser and looser and eventually need changing. Another way in which the strings become loose is if the racket is left exposed in either extreme hot or extreme cold conditions.
Extreme hot and cold are two of the greatest enemies for your racket and strings. Heat extremes, such as in the trunk or back dash of your car, can do irreversible damage to the frame and string tension. You should store your racket at "room temperature," and never in your car on a hot day. Extreme cold causes many of the same problems as extreme heat.
5) Worn Grip
It is quite obvious that at some stage, the user is likely to experience changes in the grip of the tennis racket. These changes are basically to do with the grip of the racket wearing out. This is something about which not much can be done to prevent it. The time that is taken for the grip to wear out is also not predictable although one can say that the more times the racket is used, the quicker the grip of the tennis racket is likely to wear out. This can lead to additional damage of the tennis racket. For example, during a serve, a worn grip on the racket may consequence in the racket slipping out of the hand and scraping against the floor which then extends the amount of damage done.
Prevention of Failures
The bumper guard which is placed at the top of the tennis racket is a safety feature which is there to protect the racket from on court scrapes. Its must be checked regularly in order to make sure that is not fractured or broken. They are very easy to replace and can be bought from the local sports shop. It is quite apparent that the user would rather spend a little money on replacing a bumper guard rather than spending considerably more to buy a new tennis racket.
Another safety feature on most tennis rackets are the grommet strips which are placed on the outer edges of the tennis racket to do the job of shielding against scrapes and clashes with other tennis rackets. Careful and regular attention must again be paid to these because they must be replaced immediately in order to evade any further and permanent damage to the tennis racket.
After looking into the causes of failures 1(Scraping the racket against the floor) and 5(Worn Grip) into greater depth, it has been discovered that scraping the racket against the floor may be a result of having a loose grip on the tennis racket simply because the grip may be so worn out, that whilst playing a stroke the racket possibly will slip out of the users hand. Another reason why the grip wears out so quickly could be that the user could be somebody whose hands perspire excessively, which can cause a slip.
The only possible solution to this type of failure is to replace the grip on a regular basis which again is available from the majority sports stores.
One other unpopular way in which tennis rackets are broken and fractured on the professional scene is when the tennis player slams the tennis racket on the floor during a match. This is something which depends on the tennis player and the only way to stop this is by staying in control of your temper.
Strings Breakage
String breakage, performance and performance degradation can be frustrating and costly. The tension on the strings to go on the tennis rackets is custom and all depends on what kind of player the user is. The materials which strings are made from vary but below is a list of the most popular of all along with the good and bad points of each one:
Today's tennis strings are made from either cow gut or from combinations of polymers, which are sometimes reinforced with titanium. Tennis strings made from natural gut remain the most favoured and also most costly tennis strings on the market. Strings made from polymers are called “synthetic gut” and advertised for their “gut-like playability”. Tennis aficionados often claim that synthetic gut still cannot match the performance of natural gut.
The major material that tennis strings are made from is Natural cow gut. Other materials include combinations of polymers, sometimes reinforced with titanium. As can be seen from the table above, the most preferred tennis strings are made from natural gut but however, they are the most costly. Strings which are made from polymers are known as “synthetic gut” and are advertised for their “gut-like playability”.
