In 2003 a host of 34 retired players including John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Boris Becker and Pat Cash signed an open letter to International Tennis Federation president Francesco Ricci Bitti complaining that larger rackets were making games “unbalanced and one-dimensional. They suggested the racket width be reduced from the present limit of 32cm to 23cm (12.5 inches to 9 inches) over the next five years. They had played their glory days in the 1970s and 1980s when 70 sq in was normal and 90 sq in was definitely large. By 2003 95 sq in was normal and 100 in was considered large.
They had a point large rackets were making the game easier and faster; and when paired with better string technology the game was changing from serve and volley toward ruthless spin from the baseline. However it is hard to turn the clock back, and tennis continues to evolve. Where will we be in another 30 years?
So for fun, let us quickly look at how tennis racket head sizes have evolved with time. Here is the answer. The first rackets of the 1890s were tiny, only 46 sq in. That is about the size of a small Pickleball Racket head. By the 1930’s the classic Wilson / Dunlop Laminated wood rackets arrived but were still only around 65 sq in. This is about the size of a modern squash racket! Note that squash racket width is around 8.5 inch which is around what the letter from 2003 was calling for. Think about it, the pros from yesteryear want tennis to be played with squash sized rackets to make it a real game once again!
Here are the full data!
You’ll see that the increasing head size itself followed introduction of hitech materials such as carbon and graphite. Big head sizes in wooden and aluminium rackets didn’t work too well due to excessive flex. Of course just because you can make it, does not mean you should! If you ever tried a racket above 110 sq in you will find a huge “twist weight” which means ability to do top spin and slice starts to decline.
