Tennis is widely renowned as one of the most popular sports in the world. Many people fly to different countries just to see their favorite athletes compete against each other in World Championships. These same athletes are likely to be sponsored by big-named brands, whose apparel and equipment they wear on and off court.
But before the Federers and the Williamses of the sporting world came to be, did you know that a long line oftennis innovatorshad to make their contributions to make the sport the attraction that it is today? Here, we will take a look at the top 10tennis innovatorswhose works have helped shape the sport that many hold dear to their hearts, as we know it.
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1. French Monastery Monks
Historically, credit is being given to the 12th to 13th century monks in French monasteries for introducing the concept of tennis through their handball game “jeu de paume.” Literally, this means “game of the palm,” and involves hitting a ball with their bare hands.
This game would eventually be referred to as the origins of the Real Ball, which would eventually become the basis for modern-day tennis.
Apart from the concept of the game itself, these 14th century monks would also be credited for the earliest development of tennis equipment, such as the racket. While they did not specifically design a racket in the form and shape as we know it, they did introduce the notion by creating custom playing gloves to avoid finger injuries.
As an added fun fact, although the “handball” concept is primarily credited to the French monks, technically speaking, this kind of game goes all the way back to Ancient Egypt, where they also used to play a game involving hitting a ball with the palm of the hand.
Interestingly enough, this action of striking the ball is called the “rahat,” which is said to be the actual origin of the word “racket.”
2. Major Walter Clopton Wingfield
British Army Officer Major Walter Clopton Wingfield is known as the father of modern tennis. Thanks to him, not only do we have tennis as a beloved sport, we also have the modern racket.
Major Wingfield’s foray into creating his own version of tennis stemmed from Real Tennis, a sport which was exclusively played by aristocrats and wealthy noblemen on indoor courts with hard surfaces.
For Wingfield’s iteration of the sport, he designed the courts to have standard dimensions at 78ft x 27ft long, and measuring 3.5ft high for the net with posts. It’s essentially similar to the courts of today, except for the fact that his court was hourglass in shape.
Apart from that, he also developed sturdier rackets. He created tennis rackets made of wood, with large, wide heads for stronger hitting power. It reportedly used sheep’s intestines for the strings, and were more teardrop than oval in its shape.
This racket eventually would become the standard for the sport, until a much more modern version would come along in 1947.
3. Charles Goodyear
In 1850, Charles Goodyear came up with the method of vulcanization of rubber. Thanks to this development, it became possible for the material to be easily incorporated into many various things.
One of these would be the tennis balls. Originally made of a stitched envelope of leather, or sometimes, simply of cloth stuffed with rags or horsehair for filling, rubber balls became a much more preferred material for the sport.
Eventually, the first versions of the tennis ball would be much improved with a hollowed core that’s been pressurized with gas. The bright yellow ball that we know today was first introduced by the ITF in 1972.
4. John Dunlop
John Dunlop is being credited as the inventor of tennis shoes, thanks largely to his creation of the Plimsolls in 1892. This was his patented method of sticking rubber to the shoe canvas, essentially coming up with the first pair of rubber shoes.
Prior to the rubberized version, tennis shoes were only made of canvas leather, and had laces for fasteners. Meanwhile, the soles were flat rubber, which did not really do much in terms of protecting the feet from injury and discomfort.
That’s why the use of rubber in shoes–specifically tennis shoes–is deemed revolutionary, because not only did it change the way the athletes played, but also how the sport itself became a modern day popular culture icon. That, we will look further into, below.
5. William Renshaw
What’s tennis without the tennis courts? We now know that Major Wingfield first modernized the tennis court designs. There were plenty more versions that followed after that, including grass courts.
But one of the most popular types is the clay court. As history would have it, William Renshaw was giving tennis lessons one day in the end of the 19th century in Cannes, France. On this particularly hot day, the grass courts where he was holding his lessons appeared to burn and “lose its luster.”
In order to protect the grass, he covered it with ground clay pot rejects, which were red in color. And that, as they say, is how the clay court was born.
This was a pivotal development for the sport because of the way it literally and physically changed the game. As experts put it:
“No other surface requires more tactical awareness than clay, quite simply because the reduced speed of the ball means longer rallies and longer matches. Whereas on grass or the quicker hard court surfaces, players can tee off in the expectation that the court speed will help them hit winners, on clay, there is more of a need to work for a point from start to finish.”
6. Adidas – first to market tennis shoes (1931)
Although it was John Dunlop who is primarily referred to as the inventor of tennis shoes, German sports apparel manufacturer Adidas earns a spot in this Top 10 because of their marketing contribution.
Thanks to them, a demand for this specific type of sports shoe was created when they decided to market tennis shoes in 1931. Finally, it was literally on a class of its own, and so began the never ending trend of collecting the best, the newest, and the coolest pair of tennis shoes in town–regardless if they’re actually being used to play tennis or not.
7. René Lacoste
Yes, that would indeed be Lacoste of the fashion label fame. As history would have it, Lacoste was the first to patent the first ever metal racket.
8. Wilson
In 1969, the sporting goods company Wilson bought the rights to the patent filed by Lacoste. They would then use this to launch their own line of metal rackets, which made an appearance in their products catalog for the same year.
9. Jimmy Connors
The metal rackets continue its reign as the preferred material of choice for the sport. And although Jimmy Connors technically had nothing to do with the invention and improvement of this equipment, he was responsible for popularizing its use.
During his playing years in the 1970s, Jimmy Connors made it a point to consistently use metal racket in competitions. It turned out to be the best way to market it, given how widely popular the sport has become.
Thanks to his showmanship and playing skills on the court, he efficiently showed just how far more superior metal rackets were over their wooden counterparts.
To this day, metal rackets are recognized as a force to be reckoned with, despite the many other varieties that have come out in its wake.
One of the most popular metal racket to be launched was the Wilson T2000 metal, deemed to be the “most innovative” of them all, thanks to its large head, which allows for maximum hitting power.
10. HEAD
Sporting goods manufacturer HEAD makes their own contribution with their piezoelectric material racket in 2020. This racket creates electrical energy, that is then passed back to the piezoelectric ceramic components embedded into the racket frame.
With this, the player is said to be able to generate much stronger, harder hit, making for a more superior play.
These 10 best innovators in the history of tennis are not the only ones who contributed to the sport, most definitely. Nonetheless, it is very interesting to see how the sport has evolved so much throughout time.
More impressive is how it remains to enjoy the high popularity it has ever since. Truly, tennis is one sport that can be enjoyed even more by generations to come.
You can also read:
- 7 Best Tennis Balls For Dogs
- How Long do Tennis Rackets Last?
- Whatever Happened toMartina Hingis?
- 11 Best Tennis Doubles Strategies
- Is Tennis An Aerobic Or Anaerobic Sport?
