Jerome: Let us leave the net to fishermen. Nicholas: We shall sweat less if we play with a racket In 1522, Erasmus records a pun in his C olloquies: The King had a racket and as a result gave a meagre handicap of 15 to the racket-less Marquess. When the King of Castile visited Henry VII at Windsor In 1506 he played tennis against the Marquess of Dorset. (There is an early mention of “raket” in Chaucer’s 14 th century Troilus and Criseyde, although there is no conclusive evidence that this does not refer to dice.)Įarly rackets were primitive tools with short handles. A glove was added to provide more protection, and then cords or tendons were stretched across the palm as is done with a violin bow. In the sport’s early days a bare hand was used. It was not until the 16 th century that rackets became standard in tennis. The introduction of vulcanized rubber in the 19 th century was a landmark event for tennis as it allowed balls to bounce much higher, even on grass, and enabled the birth of lawn tennis.
In 1598 Sir Robert Dallington observed that French balls had started to be covered in cloth, not leather which was still the preferred method in England at the time. Originally France was the primary ball manufacturer, although the quality of French balls had declined by 1480 when Louis XI pronounced that contaminants such as sand, sawdust, moss and earth were not to be used in the core. Best practice at the time seems to have involved a tough leather cover surrounding a core made of compacted wool or hair (dog’s hair usually, although there is a hint in Shakespeare that human hair was used: Much Ado About Nothing III.2.43-44, “the old ornament of his cheek hath already stuffed tennis balls.”). When tennis was originally played with hands and off the sides of buildings, a smaller, lighter ball was used. Other than their shape, they would be unrecognisable to early tennis players who used their hands. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, call us and our team would be happy to guide you through our products.Balls today are made by real tennis professionals and look similar to lawn tennis balls. After that browse our racquetball tips which include videos and common questions. Take it one step further and learn some foundational racquetball techniques and racquetball serves.
Racket balls how to#
If you are not familiar with the rules of racquetball, we suggest starting with our how to play racquetball section. Not sure where to start? We have built a library of information to help you started playing racquetball.
Once you have all this equipment, find the right racquetball bag to carry your gear in style. Be sure to protect yourself with a pair of eyeguards. We offer quantity discounts on both, so stock up! Don’t forget a pair of court shoes that will give you more grip on the racquetball court. Perhaps you need to replenish your racquetball gloves or racquetballs. We have put together a good guide on choosing the right racquetball racquet for you or browse our best racquetball racquets. If you are in the market for racquetball equipment, we suggest starting with a racquet that best suits your game, age, and play style. We have qualified racquetball stringers, open level players, certified referees and tournament directors on staff that can answer any question you can think of about the game or it's products. You get exactly what you want faster than anywhere else. We turn around all our customizations in 24 hours. In addition to the lowest prices on all racquetball equipment, we also offer the most options to customize your racquet. If you find a better price out there from an authorized dealer give us a call or send us an email and we’ll match it.Bottom line is…you can't lose with. We are the largest supplier of Racquetball Equipment in the World with the largest in stock selection available at all times. Including over 35 Exclusive Racquetball Racquets that can't be found anywhere else. We have the Largest Selection of Racquetball Equipment Online.