Aluminum: Generally the least expensive material used to construct a frame, aluminum is best suited for players who want a flexible racquet or don’t hit with enough precision or power to mind one.
Balance: The distribution of weight along the length of a racquet, usually called head heavy, head light, or even. The degree of head-heaviness or head-lightness is often specified as the distance between the midpoint of the racquet’s length and the actual point at which it balances, be that balance point toward the head (head heavy) or the butt (head light).
Beam Width: The width of the racquet head as viewed from the side. Now that wide-bodied racquets are no longer popular, beam width gets less attention. Generally, the wider the beam, the stiffer and more powerful the frame.
Bumper Guard: A strip of plastic material containing small tubes that run through the frame’s string holes. The plastic protects the strings from rubbing against the abrasive frame material. The outer, flat surface of wider grommet strips also acts as a bumper guard.
Butt Cap: Usually made of plastic, the butt cap seals the end of your handle and often provides a handy graphic when you spin your racquet to determine the order of service
Ceramic: Ceramic materials are used in some composite frames, along with graphite. They provide stiffness, but their weight and brittleness have limited their use.
Coefficient of Restitution: The ratio of the incident speed of the ball to the rebound speed of the ball. One of the three sweet spots on your racquet is the point on your string bed where the ball will rebound with the most speed. This is the point with the highest coefficient of restitution.
Comfort: The racquet’s overall effectiveness at protecting your arm from the forces of the ball’s impact, including shock, vibration, and the turning forces that are diminished with greater stability.
Composite: A frame material made most commonly from graphite and fiberglass, and sometimes also other materials such as titanium and kevlar, mixed with a plastic resin. The stiffness and cost of composite frames varies depending on the exact mix of materials.
Constant Taper Beam: A constant taper beam either becomes steadily thicker or steadily thinner from the racquet tip toward the shoulders and shaft.
Contoured Beam: A contoured beam can have a constant taper, a dual taper, or a more complicated profile, made of varying tapers designed to optimize a balance between power, cushioning, and control
Cross Strings: The strings that run perpendicular to the long axis of your racquet. These generally get less wear than the main strings.
Dense String Pattern: A racquet with a dense string pattern is designed to keep the strings close together, which results in more strings contacting the ball. With the ball’s impact distributed among more strings, each string compresses less and thus rebounds less. This results in less power and more control. It also creates less spin, because each string bites into the ball less.
Dual Taper Beam: A dual taper beam starts relatively thin at the shaft, then thickens through the shoulders and thins again toward the tip.
Drill Flash: Small bits of frame material that fall inside the frame as the string holes are drilled. This material is normally removed, but when a few bits remain, it creates an annoying rattle. Sometimes the bits can be removed through the butt cap or by removing the grommet strip and shaking them through the string holes.
Even Balance: A racquet with even balance has an equal amount of weight on each side of the midpoint of its length. A 27″ racquet with even balance will balance at a point 13.5″ from the end of its handle.
Fiber Glass: Fiberglass is used in many composite frames, but rarely by itself, because it’s too flexible for most players.
Long Body Frame: An extra long racquet has a length greater than 27 inches. Such racquets provide greater leverage and reach, but may be less maneuverable.
Flexibility: A flexible frame deforms more upon ball impact. On off-center hits this causes unpredictable changes in the angle of the string bed, which reduces control. Flexibility also reduces power, as energy is absorbed by the deformation of the frame. This energy absorption does reduce shock to your arm, though.
Forgiving: A racquet is often called forgiving if, on off-center hits, it transmits less shock to your arm or produces less unpredictability in the direction of the ball’s rebound. A flexible racquet is more forgiving to your arm, a stiffer one more forgiving to your shot. This term is currently used where two distinct terms would have much clearer meaning.
Frame: The racquet’s frame is usually considered to be those parts that are not replaceable: the head, shoulders, throat, shaft, and handle. The grommet strip and grip are part of the frame in some contexts, but they can also be considered as separate parts. The strings are never considered part of the frame.
Graphite: The graphite used in racquet frames is not the true graphite you would find in a pencil, but a carbon fiber that adds stiffness and strength to the plastic resin with which it is mixed to form a frame. Because of its high stiffness-to-weight ratio, graphite is the most common frame material in mid- to high-priced racquets. When a racquet is made of resin and graphite alone, it is called 100% graphite, even though it is at least 40% resin. If other materials are used, the frame is called a composite.
Grip: The grip on a racquet handle usually consists of an outer synthetic layer bonded onto padding. Leather grips are rare in current models. The grip size is measured as the length of the perimeter of the octagonal cross-section of the handle.
Head: The strings and the part of the racquet frame that encloses them.
Head Heavy: A racquet is head heavy if it has more weight in the half of the racquet’s length that is closer to the head. Such racquets are intended to deliver more power to the ball per overall racquet weight, but they are also less maneuverable. The degree of head-heaviness or head-lightness is often specified as the distance between the midpoint of the racquet’s length and the actual point at which it balances, be that balance point toward the head (head heavy) or the butt (head light).
Head Light: A racquet is head light if it has more weight in the half of the racquet’s length that is closer to the butt. Such racquets are intended to be more maneuverable and are generally preferred by most advanced players, especially those who venture off the baseline. The degree of head-heaviness or head-lightness is often specified as the distance between the midpoint of the racquet’s length and the actual point at which it balances, be that balance point toward the head (head heavy) or the butt (head light).
Head Size: The size of the hitting area. A midsize has a hitting area of 85-95 square inches, mid-plus 95-105 square inches, and oversize greater than 105 square
Hitting Area: The measure, in square inches or square centimeters, of the area of the string bed, all of the area filled by strings within the racquet head. Within the hitting area are three different “sweet spots” at which you get the most power, least shock, or least vibration.
Junior Racquet: Any racquet measuring less than 27 inches in length is normally considered a junior racquet. It is usually lighter than an adult racquet and has a smaller grip.
Length: The measure from the end of the racquet butt to the tip of the head.
Main Strings: The strings that run parallel to the long axis of the racquet. The main strings carry most of the burden of biting into the ball to produce spin. Small areas on each main string tend to rub against much longer sections of the intersecting cross strings, and this concentrated friction tends to make the mains break before the crosses.
Maneuverability: How quickly and easily a racquet’s position can be adjusted during play. This is particularly important at the net, where quick racquet movements are essential.
Node of the First Harmonic: One of the three sweet spots on your racquet, this is the point on your string bed that produces the least amount of uncomfortable vibration on impact with the ball.
Open String Pattern: A racquet with an open string pattern is designed to keep the strings relatively far apart, which results in fewer strings contacting the ball. With the ball’s impact distributed among fewer strings, each string compresses more and thus rebounds more. This results in more power and less control, although the extra spin created by having each string bite into the ball harder can offer an alternate means of control.
Over Grip: An over grip or grip wrap is a thin strip of material used to cover the grip on your racquet handle. Unlike your grip, the much cheaper overgrip is meant to be used for a short amount of time, in some cases less than one full match. It can absorb sweat, improve handle traction, and add sligtly to the handle size and padding.
Pallet: The material attached to the shaft to form the octagonal shape upon which the grip is wrapped.
Profile: A racquet’s profile is described by its dimensions as viewed from the side. The profile takes into account all of the beam widths found along the frame. Most beams are tapered to some extent.
Racquet Face: The racquet face is whichever side of the string bed that is about to hit the ball.
Replacement Grip: Sometimes confused with an overgrip, a replacement grip is a whole new grip, installed after removing the old grip from your handle. Replacement grips include padding, adhesive, and other features not found in an overgrip, and they cost much more than an overgrip. An overgrip cannot be used without a grip underneath, whereas a replacement grip is installed on a bare handle.
Shaft: The part of the frame that extends from the butt cap through the handle to the throat. On most current racquets, the visible part of the shaft (not covered by the handle) is very short. The visible part alone is sometimes referred to as the shaft, with the handle considered a separate part
Shock: Shock is the initial force transmitted to your hand and arm from the ball’s impact with the racquet face. It is an important factor in causing many types of cumulative injuries. Shock can be reduced by increasing racquet weight and/or flexibility and lowering string tension
Shoulder: The racquet’s shoulders extend from the upper part of the throat into the lower part of the head.
Stability: A racquet’s stability can be measured as its polar moment of inertia, which is its resistance to twisting or turning on off-center hits. A more stable racquet puts less strain on your arm and sends the ball in a more predictable direction. Generally, a wider hitting area and more head weight add to stability. Head weight at the 3:00 and 9:00 positions (the tip is 12:00) matters most, but a head that is heavier in general will also be heavier at these positions.
Stationary Weight: The overall weight of the racquet, without consideration of balance. Current racquets weigh between seven and just over twelve ounces.
Throat: The part of the frame that extends from the shaft to the head. On most current racquets, the throat is rougly triangular, branching into a Y shape from the shaft, with the third side of the triangle being the bottom of the head.
Titanium: Titanium is a metal used in racquet frames because it offers a high stiffness-to-weight ratio with multi-directional strength. It is often mixed with graphite, the strength of which is much more dependent upon the orientation of its fibers
Vibration: Vibration is the rapid back-and-forth motion of the strings and frame that follows the shock of the intial impact of the ball. Although some players find it annoying and use a vibration damper to reduce it, vibration has little effect on your hand or arm
Wide Body: A wide body racquet has a greater beam width than the traditional 19mm-thick frames from the wooden and early aluminum days. The wide body design increases stiffness and thus power, but too wide a beam can get in the way when you try to brush the ball sharply to create spin, and it can also reduce maneuverability. Beam widths peaked in the early 1990’s, with some over 30mm, but most current models are in the 20’s.