Technical Tennis: Racquets, Strings, Balls, Courts, Spin, and Bounce by Rod Cross & Crawford Lindsay (Racquet Tech Publishing)
True or false: Lower string tension produces more power; lighter racquets travel faster and have more power; thinner-gauge strings create more spin; a long follow-through keeps the ball on the strings longer for more power and control.
They’re all false. Surprised? I was too. These and other equipment-related myths are deconstructed in Technical Tennis, by Rod Cross, an associate professor of physics at the University of Sydney, Australia, and Crawford Lindsey, the editor-in-chief of Racquet Sports Industry magazine. In it Cross and Lindsey cover just about everything you could ever want to know about the physics and technology of tennis. Whether it’s strings, racquets, balls, or spin, they break down the science of it all using ordinary language and clear writing; you won’t have to run to the dictionary every other sentence. What’s more, at four chapters and 160 pages long, you can read it in an afternoon.
After reading Technical Tennis I couldn’t help but wonder why this book wasn’t written decades ago. It should be a staple reference volume on every serious tennis player’s bookshelf. And it should be required reading for everyone in the tennis-equipment industry as well as every instructor and coach on the planet.