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| SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | SEPTEMBER 2020 | 45 TENNIS RACKET TECHNOLOGY IS BECOMING MORE ELABORATE ~ Adapted from Tim Newcomb's Popular Mechanics Article, Jan 21, 2020 Sun Lakers can use new technology to improve their game! Engineers are embracing digital mapping, materials science, and robotics to provide an advantage on the tennis court. Racket evolution creates more power and spin. Companies across the globe take their own high-tech view on the process. Sheets of carbon fiber in climate-controlled rooms, new iterations of graphite, and an updated computational design offer fresh perspectives on flex and stiffness of frames. The new graphite pairs with the unique way Yonex designs tennis rackets. It produces a unique racquet with a square- shaped head, improving the sweet spot location by seven percent compared to a conventional round shape. By flatting the top, more main string gets lengthened to improve control. By widening the EZONE at the 3- and 9- o'clock areas of the racket, the sweet spot becomes even larger. Wilson Labs houses all the engineering, prototyping, and testing of its new racket designs. The Clash debuted in 2019, the product of building a racket from the ground up. CAD systems, finite element analysis, and 3D printing gave real shape to the concepts. By using digital mapping, the engineering team built stability into a racket that bends and flexes. Babolat created an update to the Pure Strike line. It features a beam design that combines the stability of a square beam frame with the dynamism of a regular elliptic structure. By adding in a new vibration filtering technology through the frame, the added control makes a huge difference on the court. Dunlop introduced a brand-new material to racket manufacturing by using super-elastic polyurethane, which is lightweight and outperforms standard foam. Researchers found that placing the refined material in the 2- and 10 o'clock areas of the frame, coupled with updated frame geometry, reduces vibrations and impact shock, helping to create a 30 percent larger sweet spot while increasing damping by 37 percent. Volkl has put its manufacturing efforts squarely on reducing arm fatigue for players with foam in the racket handle for more shock absorption. And Head's latest release improves energy transfer by using spiral fibers for more flex in the racket on ball impact. Sun Lakers can access new technology and the work of racquet engineers, using new specifications for comfort and control to better accommodate their individual needs. Let's get out there and play tennis! Tennis Just in case: Check with your club contact to confirm meeting place, date, and time.