Speaker

Tom Allen

About this event

Since the establishment of tennis in the 1870's, technology within the game has developed, which have massively influenced the way in which it is played. Initially, rackets were predominantly manufactured from wood with occasional occurrences of metal designs, until the 1970's which saw the emergence of the composite materials used today.

These progressions in materials have resulted in an increase in racket stiffness and a reduction in both mass and swing weight. The shape of tennis rackets has also changed, with the length remaining effectively constant whilst the head size has dramatically increased. Overall, these advances have allowed players to hit shots faster and with greater accuracy, raising the speed at which the game is played.

Due to the higher ball speed off the racket, a number of people believe that the server is gaining an unfair competitive advantage over their opponent and there is growing apprehension that this is resulting in a reduction in spectator appeal. The International Tennis Federation (ITF), who are the governing body for the sport, are obviously concerned with maintaining public and commercial interest to prevent the demise of the sport through a lack of financial support. Hence, the ITF set up a technical department in 1997 in order to monitor, direct and regulate scientific advances and innovations within the sport.

A large proportion of this work is undertaken in conjunction with the Sports Engineering Research Group at Sheffield Hallam University. This lecture will encompass the history of tennis equipment as well as explaining the different research tools and techniques which are used to examine the various aspects of the game. Techniques discussed will include experimental impact analysis and player testing using high speed video cameras, aerodynamics using both computational fluid dynamics and wind tunnel testing, along with analytical models and finite element analysis.