US3515386A - Training tennis racket - Google Patents

Description

June 2, 1970 REMASQN 3,515,386

TRAINING TENNIS RACKET Filed March 26, 1965 (PRlOR. A

RUTH EL A/NE MASON lNl/ENTOA ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,515,386 TRAINING TENNIS RACKET Ruth Elaine Mason, 535 E. Barstow Ave., Fresno, Calif. 93706 Filed Mar. 26, 1965, Ser. No. 443,136 The portion of the term of the patent subsequent to Oct. 2, 1985, has been disclaimed Int. Cl. A63b 49/00, 69/38 U.S. Cl. 273-73 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention discloses a tennis racket with a head portion similar to the head on rackets used in regulation play and with a handle portion similar to the handle portion on rackets used in regulation play except that the handle is substantially shorter and the hand grip is smaller in diameter.

This invention relates generally to sports equipment, and more specifically to an improved tennis racket.

For the purposes of this description, the term racket is used to define only those hitting instruments for sp rts use which have a head portion comprising an elliptical or circular frame or hoop interlaced with strings to form a hitting surface. It does not include paddles or similar devices which utilize a solid hitting surface such as a sheet of board.

Tennis rackets have been made in substantially the same form for many years. Rackets in other forms have been made for different sports such as squash, badminton, and similar games.

The conventional tennis racket has a handle which extends approximately 14%" from its point of junction with the hoop or frame. The frame is elliptical and has internal dimentions of approximately on its major axis and 8%" on its minor axis. It is, of course, interlaced with strings of gut or other suitable material to provide a resilient hitting surface. The distal portion f the handle is equipped with a grip of leather or other effective gripping material and has a perimeter ranging from 4%" to 4%".

Heretofore tennis rackets have been varied in form to meet the requirements of the user but only to the extent that the weight and balance were different and a choice of grip sizes within the range mentioned above was avail-. able.

Because of the form of the conventional tennis racket, the skills of the game have been difficult for the average beginner to master. One problem is that the length of the racket requires the beginner to exercise eye to hand coordination at a distance which is unfamiliar to him,

because it is not taught by most other usual human functions. Furthermore the weight of the racket when held by the grip on the distal end of the handle, and the diameter of the grip itself, require muscle development in the hand and forearm which are not common to most other sports. These problems are particularly apparent in youngsters and women since the adaption required by them is even greater.

Because of these difficulties many beginners are not able to attain the skills required for an interesting game of tennis in a sufiiciently short period of time and lose interest in the game.

The need therefore exists for a tennis racket of modified form which can overcome these difficulties and aid the beginner in a more rapid progression to the point of being able to play the game.

It is therefore a major object of this invention to provide an improved tennis racket which is easier for "ice beginners to use and still handles in a manner sufiiciently similar to that of a conventional racket to be used as a progressive training device.

It is also an important object of this invention to provide a racket for tennis which is modified in form from a conventional racket in such a manner as to accelerate the learning transition from other physical activities to the skills required for good tennis.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a tennis racket of the type described in which the handle is shorter than that of a conventional racket but still long enough to function in a manner similar to that of a conventional racket.

It is another object of this invention to provide a tennis racket of the type described in which the grip is smaller in diameter than those heretofore provided.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a tennis racket of the type described which is lighter and more wieldy than conventional rackets.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a tennis racket of the type described in which the user is required to exercise greater body followthrough in his stroke in order to impart the necessary momentum to the ball, and greater attention to covering the court.

It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a tennis racket of the type described which, though modified in form from the conventional racket, is capable of manufacture with substantially the same machinery and at substantially the same cost as the conventional racket.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tennis racket embodying my invention shown in comparison with a conventional tennis racket;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a tennis racket embodying my invention taken on line 2--2 in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an illustrative view of a player using a tennis racket embodying my invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the numeral 10 indicates generally a tennis racket comprising a preferred embodiment of my invention. The numeral 11 designates a conventional racket which is shown for purposes of comparison with my improved racket.

The tennis racket 10 has a head portion 12 which includes an elliptical frame 13. The frame 13 has internal dimensions of approximately 8%" on its minor or lateral axis and 10%" on its major or axial axis. The frame 13 is interlaced with strings 14 of gut or other suitable material to form a resilient hitting surface in the manner well known to the art. The head portion as thus described is substantially the same as the head portion of conventional racket 11.

Tennis racket 10 also has a handle portion 15 which is integrally connected to the head portion 12 in line with the major axis of the elliptical frame 13 in a manner usual to the art. The handle portion 15 has a flared neck portion 16 at its proximal end, with respect to the head portion 12, and a grip 17 on its distal end. The flared neck portion is provided for strength at the junction point between the head portion 12 and the handle 15 and is also well known in the art. The grip 17 has a form and .covering suitable to permit an effective hand gripping of the racket and it too is constructed in a manner usual in the art.

The handle portion 15, as just described, is substantially the same as the handle portion of the conventional .racket .12. There is, however, a major difference between my improved tennis racket and the conventional racket regarding this particular element. In my improved racket 10 the handle portion 15 is approximately 5" shorter 3 than the handle portion of the conventional racket. In my improved racket the handle portion is approximately 10" while in the conventional racket this difference is approximately 14 This difference is an important feature of my improved tennis racket, for reasons that will be made more apparent later.

As a result of this shortening of the handle portion 15, the weight balance point for my racket is generally located about 2" to 2%" closer to the center point 18 of head portion 12 than in the conventional racket 11. This shift in weight balance compensates to some extent for the reduced length of the handle in imparting driving momentum to the ball. My racket is also lighter in overall Weight than the conventional racket and is more wieldy because of this shifted weight balance, its shorter overall length and its lighter weight.

From this description of a preferred embodiment of my invention it will be understood that structurally speaking the modifications which it incorporates into a tennis racket are relatively simple. The results, however, are surprisingly beneficial.

Before describing the use of my improved tennis racket and the substantial benefits which flow from it, it is first necessary to further particularize the problems encountered by tennis beginners, particularly women and children, with respect to the conventional racket. The most common problem of the beginner is that he cannot connect with the ball often enough, and stroke it effectively enough, to feel any measure of success. Without early success, he loses interest in learning to play at all. The major factor contributing to this difficulty is the length of the conventional tennis racket. The usual tennis beginner because of his normal human activities and his experience in other sports, is able to bring his hand into contact with a ball with much greater ease than that with which he can bring a conventional tennis racket into contact with the ball. This is so because his eye to hand coordination in the area in which his hand would normally contact the ball is better developed than it is in the area in which the conventional tennis racket would contact a ball. The beginner who has had experience in paddle tennis or ping pong has made some progress in developing his eye to hand coordination for objects further from his body but he is still considerably short of development of this coordination at the distance from his body required by the conventional tennis racket. Therefore, even for the beginner with ping pong: or paddle tennis skills the step to eye to hand coordination at a distance required by the conventional tennis racket is a big one.

Another problem experienced by the beginner in using the conventional tennis racket is not only its length but that element coupled with its weight. Holding the conventional tennis racket at the required distance from the body and effectively striking an object with it requires considerable strength in the wrist and forearm and this strength is generally not developed by other human activities and by other sports to the extent that it is required by tennis. The conventional tennis racket therefore feels unwieldy and is awkward for he beginner to use. It also causes quick tiring of his wrist and forearm.

In FIG. 3 the advantages of my improved racket in overcoming these difiiculties are readily illustrated. The racket is shown in use by a player 20 who has moved the racket into the preferred point of contact with the ball in a forehand tennis swing. The position of a conventional racket 11 at the same point of a forehand tennis swing is indicated by a dashed line. The distance from the eye to the point of impact is illustrated by the line 21 and is, of course, shorter than the distance between the same points when a conventional racket is used. With a racket of the type described in my preferred embodiment this eye to point of impact distance 21 is a reasonable intermediate between the distance required by a conventional tennis racket and the distance required 4 by a player striking a ball with his hand or a paddle. The use of my racket therefore permits the learner to advance his eye to hand coordination from hand or paddle coordination to conventional tennis racket coordination in an intermediate step.

Also, because my improved racket is shorter and lighter, the beginner gets a greater feeling of control. Furthermore, since the improved racket is a shorter lever arm it forces the user to make greater use of his body weight and to stroke the ball better and follow through more. The fact that the improved racket permits the beginner less reach than the conventional tennis racket causes him to cover the court better and this is an additional beneficial training factor.

Because he is contacting the ball closer to his eye, the beginners judgment is much improved on all strokes, and especially on the serve which is traditionally difficult for beginners to master.

The game of tennis is not changed by using my improved racket. Furthermore, experience indicates that with the improved racket 10, an individual not only learns the required skills more readily but is then able to make an easier transition to the conventional racket. As pointed out above, a player learns to stroke successfully by using the hand as in handball fairly quickly because this is a familiar distance for eye to hand coordination. As the distance between the eye and the point of contact increase, the problems of control, hitting, and adjusting, increase. The progression permitted by my new racket is therefore a logical one from hand hitting, to paddle hitting, to hitting with my improved racket and then to hitting with a conventional racket.

The ditticuly in transferring from my improved racket to the conventional racket is greatly minimized by the fact that all the basic skills can be acquired by learning to effectively use my new racket. The one additional skill required, that is making contact with the ball at a distance slightly further from the body, is thereafter easy to achieve. Since the user has already acquired the other skills normally required of tennis this one minor adjustment can therefore be singled out and be concentrated on solely.

Although the improved racket is obviously appropriate for beginners of all ages and for youngsters whether beginners or not, more highly skilled players will find it surprisingly enjoyable to use also, especially at the net and for improving their placement of drives or vollies.

An additional feature of my improved tennis racket 10 is the reduced size of the grip 17, as best shown in FIG. 2. The perimeter dimension of grips used on conventional rackets have been known to vary from 4% to 4%", with the great majority of rackets having a grip perimeter of about 4 /2". In my improved racket I have reduced the grip size to a perimeter of 4". This modification substantially increases gripping strength and comfort even for players with large hands.

For players with smaller hands such as women and children I have found grip perimeters down 3 /2" are helpful in providing these benefits.

It is therefore my discovery that a substantial reduction in grip sizes from the 4%" to 4 /3" range to the 3 /2" to 4" range provides a racket that can be gripped more firmly and feels less awkward in the hand. The conventional grip range was apparently an arbitrary selection for it has proven too large to utilize the strongest grip position of the average sized hand.

The smaller grip perimeter cooperates with my shorter, lighter racket to provide the greater feeling of control heretofore mentioned. Because the player can bring greater gripping strength to bear, the racket is less likely to turn in his hand when it meets the ball at point off center with respect to center point 18. Also, with the smaller grip and the shorter, lighter Weight racket, the beginner tires much less easily and therefore avoids the many beginners errors due to fatigue.

From this description of a preferred embodiment of my invention it will be understood that the results achieved are surprisingly meritorious. It will also be understood that with my invention the game of tennis can be played unchanged. The teaching instructions also remain substantially unchanged. Yet, because of the advantages of smaller grip, lighter weight and shorter overall length a greatly needed intermediate step is provided between the functions normally required of players in other games and those required for good tennis, while at the same time good body action in the stroke and rapid coverage of the court emphasized.

The important criteria for the length of the handle portion 15 are that it must be long enough to provide a racket which functions like a conventional tennis racket rather than a paddle, and yet shorter than the conven tional racket so that the difficult transition from common functions to tennis skills is bridged. Also, the improved racket must have sufficient overall length and weight to impart the necessary momentum to the ball. Otherwise, the racket will not be useable for a full-sized tennis court. The length must also be great enough to permit, and in fact encourage, the user to wield the racket with a full arm and body stroke in a manner similar to that used by the conventional tennis racket user, and must not be so short as to permit, and encourage, a swatting type stroke utilizing primarily wrist action alone. Although, a handle portion length of approximately 10" has been found to be particularly satisfactory for providing the elfect desired, rackets with a handle portion length ranging between 9" and 12 can provide the results described to a suflicient degree to be useable. Rackets with handle portions shorter than 9" have been found to be ineffective for reason that they are not long enough to give the user the feeling of a proper tennis stroke and they make it diflicult for the user to impart suflicient momentum to the ball. On the other hand, rackets having handle portions geater than 12" begin to present again the same problems encountered in the conventional tennis racket.

The grip perimeter criteria are that it must be small enough to permit the fingers of the players hand to wrap completely around almost to the point of contact with the butt portion of the hand, and yet not so small that the fingers and butt portion are brought into over-lapping relationship by any substantial amount. This has been found to be the position of greatest strength and comfort for the average player, and particularly for beginners whose grip development is the result of activities other than tennis.

For the usual adult hand, a 4" perimeter has been found to be quite suitable. For players with smaller hands such as teen age Women and children smaller grip perimeters are necessary. Grips below a 3 /2" perimeter are considered unnecessary since nearly all players large enough to undertake the game can cope with this sized grip. Furthermore, grips with perimeters smaller than 3 /2" require handles with smaller perimeters and the result is a racket not sufficiently similar to the conventional racket to be truly useful as a training device.

Throughout this specification I have used the term conventional racket to describe the full-sized racket typically in use in competition tennis today. There is also a junior racket in use which is substantially the same as the full-sized racket except that the head portion 12 is smaller. Wherever applicable the term conventional tennis racket is meant to include the junior racket as well.

From this description of a preferred embodiment of my invention it will be understood that it is capable of providing the advantages and obtaining the objects hereto attributed to it. It should also be understood, however, that I do not mean to limit myself to the particular details herein described except as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An improved tennis racket comprising:

a head portion of substantially the same size and shape as conventional tennis rackets having a generally elliptical frame with a proximal end disposed for attachment to a handle portion and a distal end oppositely disposed from said proximal end, said frame having internal dimensions substantially the same as those of conventional tennis rackets which are approximately 10% inches along the major axis and approximately 8% inches along the minor axis;

a handle portion having a proximal end disposed for attachment to a head portion and a distal end disposed for gripping by a player, said handle portion being attached at its proximal end with said head portion proximal end and having an axial length substantially shorter than the axial lengths of conventional tennis racket handle portions which are approximately 14% inches, said handle portion axial length ranging from approximately 8% inches to 11% inches; and

a grip disposed on said handle portion adjacent its distal end.

2. An improved tennis racket of the type described in claim 1 in which:

said handle portion has an axial length of 10 inches.

3. An improved tennis racket of the type described in claim 1 in which:

said handle portion has an axial length ranging from 10 inches to 11 inches.

4. An improved tennis racket of the type described in claim 1 in which:

said grip has a perimeter no greater than 4- inches.

5. An improved tennis racket of the type described in claim 1 in which:

said grip has a perimeter between 3 /2 inches and 4 inches.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,843,384 7/1958 Schmidt 273-8l.4 X

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner R. I. APLEY, Assistant Examiner

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