Why are tennis racquets so long?

[Steady Eddy]

Racquetball racquets have the hitting face just at the end of your hand. Pickelball paddles are the same way. But the tennis racquetbed is about 2 feet away from your hand! This makes it very difficult to get used to. This is one reason beginners struggle so much with tennis compared to the games mentioned.

Why is the tennis racquet so much longer? I thought it might have to do with needing the leverage to deal with heavier balls, but the tennis ball is only about 50% heavier than the racquetball ball. Right from its invention tennis used these long racquets. Why is that?

 

[GreenClay]

Good question.
I also wonder why the VAST majority of players use rackets between 27 and 27.5 inches. I shorten mine to 26.5 and am astounded that so few players (even those who obsess over specs) experiment w length. Crazy.

 

[Injured Again]

Over time, that length has proven to be the best compromise between difficulty in controlling the racquet face, and necessity for court coverage. Many years ago, I played a tournament match against an adult of moderately shorter stature with a 25" racquet. They were incredibly consistent on any shot they in their reach but had problems with high bouncing balls and being lobbed or passed at the net. It almost seemed that once they realized I knew how to play effectively against them, the spark went out and they practically gave up. He was, however, a pretty successful league player.

 

[graycrait]

Boomer here. I have gone short down to 26" and several at 26.5", even some up to 29", but I think 27&3/8" is the sweetspot depending on head size/pattern/weight/flex/SW.

 

[travlerajm]

This length question is a good one.

I was mostly self-taught player in high school, but I never really learned to hit a forehand properly. I had played one summer at age 12 with the aluminum prince junior OS, which has a sweet spot an inch closer to the hand than a typical standard length frame. I remember feeling like I had good control with it. But then a teaching pro suggested to my mom that I should get an adult racquet, and I received a flexible 85si Donnay Borg that was hard for me to control, and my interest in tennis faded until I picked it back up again and started using a POG mid, which was much stiffer and easier to use.

As an adult, I played most of the last decade with racquets shortened to 26.5 or 26.75”.

These shorter frames allowed me to hit forehands with more confidence. I’m back using longer racquets now, but it feels like my decade using shorties has trained my form so that now I am better able to use the longer frames now that “the training wheels are off.”

A longer frame definitely helps my serve and makes it easier to generate power. The shorties are better for control, volleys, blocked returns, touch shots, and lobs.

 

[Ronaldo]

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[golden chicken]

Take a racketball racket to the court and try it and see how it works out for you. Where do you have success? Where do you have troubles?

 

[g4driver]

Good question.
I also wonder why the VAST majority of players use rackets between 27 and 27.5 inches. I shorten mine to 26.5 and am astounded that so few players (even those who obsess over specs) experiment w length. Crazy.

I played with 28 inch Wilson frames for years so don't like 27 inch frames and sure as heck don't want a shorter frame. [emoji2961]

There is a reason Babolat and Yonex sell 27.5 frames.. there are players who want them.

 

[esgee48]

The @n8dawg6 standard response is "That's what she said".

I suspect that it evolved over time to this length as a convention. Anyone who used a Woodie used length plus width to measure the height of the net at the center strap. When non-wood frames made their appearance, they started out with the same overall dimensions. Then the head size started to get bigger, which required players to start carrying tape measures. During this evolutionary period, there were frames available that were less than 27" long. They just never caught on with the public.

 

[Deleted member 768841]

Good question.
I also wonder why the VAST majority of players use rackets between 27 and 27.5 inches. I shorten mine to 26.5 and am astounded that so few players (even those who obsess over specs) experiment w length. Crazy.

Why shorten? Nadal’s racquet looks slightly shorter than 27, but that could be the tv.

 

[travlerajm]

The @n8dawg6 standard response is "That's what she said".

I suspect that it evolved over time to this length as a convention. Anyone who used a Woodie used length plus width to measure the height of the net at the center strap. When non-wood frames made their appearance, they started out with the same overall dimensions. Then the head size started to get bigger, which required players to start carrying tape measures. During this evolutionary period, there were frames available that were less than 27" long. They just never caught on with the public.

Some of the shorties were legends. The R-22 for example. Many others in that 80s transition era.