How tennis rackets have changed

In 2016, the British professional tennis player Andy Murray was ranked as the world’s number one. It was an incredible achievement by any standard – made even more remarkable by the fact that he did this during a period considered to be one of the strongest in the sport’s history, competing against the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, to name just a few. Yet five years previously, he had been regarded as a talented outsider who entered but never won the major tournaments. (Q1)

Of the changes that account for this transformation, one was visible and widely publicised: in 2011, Murray invited former number one player Ivan Lendl onto his coaching team – a valuable addition that had a visible impact on the player’s playing style. Another change was so subtle as to pass more or less unnoticed. Like many players, Murray has long preferred a racket that consists of two types of string: one for the mains (verticals) and another for the crosses (horizontals). While he continued to use natural string in the crosses, in 2012 he switched to a synthetic string for the mains. A small change, perhaps, but its importance should not be underestimated. (Q2)

The modification that Murray made is just one of a number of options available to players looking to tweak their rackets in order to improve their games. ‘Touring professionals have their rackets customised to their specific needs,’ says Colin Triplow, a UK-based professional racket stringer. ‘It’s a highly important part of performance maximisation.’ Consequently, the specific rackets used by the world’s elite are not actually readily available to the public; rather, each racket is individually made to suit the player who uses it. Take the US professional tennis players Mike and Bob Bryan, for example: ‘We’re very particular with our racket specifications,’ they say. ‘All our rackets are sent from our manufacturer to Tampa, Florida, where our frames go through a . . . thorough customisation process.’ They explain how they have adjusted not only racket length, but even experimented with different kinds of paint. (Q8) The rackets they use now weigh more than the average model and also have a denser string pattern (i.e. more crosses and mains). (Q4)

The primary reason for these modifications is simple: as the line between winning and losing becomes thinner and thinner, even these slight changes become more and more important. As a result, players and their teams are becoming increasingly creative with the modifications to their rackets as they look to maximise their competitive advantage.

Racket modifications mainly date back to the 1970s, when the amateur German tennis player Werner Fischer started playing with the so-called spaghetti-strung racket. (Q5) It created a string bed that generated so much topspin that it was quickly banned by the International Tennis Federation. (Q9) However, within a decade or two, racket modification became a regularity. Today it is, in many ways, an aspect of the game that is equal in significance to nutrition or training. (Q10)

Modifications can be divided into two categories: those to the string bed and those to the racket frame. The former is far more common than the latter: the choice of the strings and the tension with which they are installed is something that nearly all professional players experiment with. They will continually change it depending on various factors including the court surface, climatic conditions, and game styles. (Q6) Some will even change it depending on how they feel at the time.

At one time, all tennis rackets were strung with natural gut made from the outer layer of sheep or cow intestines. (Q11) This all changed in the early 1990s with the development of synthetic strings that were cheaper and more durable. They are made from three materials: nylon (relatively durable and affordable), Kevlar (too stiff to be used alone) or co-polyester (polyester combined with additives that enhance its performance). Even so, many professional players continue to use a ‘hybrid set-up’, where a combination of both synthetic and natural strings are used.

Of the synthetics, co-polyester is by far the most widely used. It’s a perfect fit for the style of tennis now played, where players tend to battle it out from the back of the court rather than coming to the net. Studies indicate that the average spin from a co-polyester string is 25% greater than that from natural string or other synthetics. In a sense, the development of co-polyester strings has revolutionised the game.

However, many players go beyond these basic adjustments to the strings and make changes to the racket frame itself. For example, much of the serving power of US professional player Pete Sampras was attributed to the addition of four to five lead weights onto his rackets (Q12), and today many professionals have the weight adjusted during the manufacturing process. (Q7)

Other changes to the frame involve the handle. Players have individual preferences for the shape of the handle and some will have the handle of one racket moulded onto the frame of a different racket. Other players make different changes. The professional Portuguese player Gonçalo Oliveira replaced the original grips of his rackets with something thinner because they had previously felt uncomfortable to hold. (Q13)

Racket customisation and modification have pushed the standards of the game to greater levels that few could have anticipated in the days of natural strings and heavy, wooden frames, and it’s exciting to see what further developments there will be in the future.

Number	Phrase	Transcription	Meaning in Vietnamese
1	tennis racket	/ˈtɛnɪs ˈrækɪt/	vợt tennis
2	an incredible achievement	/ən ɪnˈkrɛdɪbəl əˈʧivmənt/	một thành tựu đáng kinh ngạc
3	to name just a few	/tu neɪm ʤʌst ə fju/	để nêu tên một vài
4	a talented outsider	/ə ˈtæləntɪd ˈaʊtˌsaɪdər/	một người ngoài tài năng
5	major tournament	/ˈmeɪʤər ˈtʊrnəmənt/	giải đấu lớn
6	to account for the transformation	/tu əˈkaʊnt fɔr ðə ˌtrænsfərˈmeɪʃən/	để giải thích cho sự thay đổi
7	visible	/ˈvɪzəbl/	có thể thấy được
8	widely publicised	/ˈwaɪdli ˈpʌblɪˌsaɪzd/	được công bố rộng rãi
9	former number one player	/ˈfɔrmər ˈnʌmbər wʌn ˈpleɪər/	cựu tay vợt số một
10	coaching team	/ˈkoʊʧɪŋ tim/	đội huấn luyện
11	a visible impact	/ə ˈvɪzəbl ˈɪmpækt/	một ảnh hưởng rõ rệt
12	playing style	/ˈpleɪɪŋ staɪl/	phong cách chơi
13	subtle	/ˈsʌtl/	tinh tế
14	unnoticed	/ʌnˈnoʊtɪst/	không được chú ý
15	string	/strɪŋ/	dây vợt
16	the mains	/ðə meɪnz/	dây dọc
17	verticals	/ˈvɜrtɪkəlz/	các dây dọc
18	the crosses	/ðə ˈkrɔsɪz/	dây ngang
19	horizontals	/ˌhɔrəˈzɑntəlz/	các dây ngang
20	natural string	/ˈnæʧərəl strɪŋ/	dây tự nhiên
21	a synthetic string	/ə sɪnˈθɛtɪk strɪŋ/	dây tổng hợp
22	underestimate	/ˌʌndərˈɛstəˌmeɪt/	đánh giá thấp
23	make a modification	/meɪk ə ˌmɑdɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/	thực hiện một sự điều chỉnh
24	to tweak the racket	/tu twik ðə ˈrækɪt/	để tinh chỉnh cây vợt
25	touring professionals	/ˈtʊrɪŋ prəˈfɛʃənəlz/	các chuyên gia đi du đấu
26	rackets customised to specific needs	/ˈrækɪts ˈkʌstəˌmaɪzd tu spəˈsɪfɪk nidz/	vợt được tùy chỉnh theo nhu cầu cụ thể
27	professional racket stringer	/prəˈfɛʃənəl ˈrækɪt ˈstrɪŋər/	người căng dây vợt chuyên nghiệp
28	performance maximisation	/pərˈfɔrməns ˌmæksɪˌmaɪˈzeɪʃən/	tối đa hóa hiệu suất
29	the world's elite	/ðə wɜrldz ɪˈlit/	những người ưu tú của thế giới
30	racket specification	/ˈrækɪt ˌspɛsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/	thông số kỹ thuật của vợt
31	customisation process	/ˌkʌstəˌmaɪˈzeɪʃən ˈprɑˌsɛs/	quy trình tùy chỉnh
32	racket length	/ˈrækɪt lɛŋkθ/	chiều dài vợt
33	a denser string pattern	/ə ˈdɛnsər strɪŋ ˈpætərn/	một mẫu dây dày đặc hơn
34	maximise competitive advantage	/ˈmæksɪˌmaɪz kəmˈpɛtɪtɪv ædˈvæntɪʤ/	tối đa hóa lợi thế cạnh tranh
35	racket modification	/ˈrækɪt ˌmɑdɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/	điều chỉnh vợt
36	spaghetti-strung racket	/spəˈɡɛti strʌŋ ˈrækɪt/	vợt dây kiểu spaghetti
37	topspin	/ˈtɑpˌspɪn/	cú xoáy lên
38	a regularity	/ə ˌrɛɡjəˈlɛrɪti/	một sự đều đặn
39	the string bed	/ðə strɪŋ bɛd/	mặt dây vợt
40	the racket frame	/ðə ˈrækɪt freɪm/	khung vợt
41	court surface	/kɔrt ˈsɜrfɪs/	bề mặt sân
42	climatic condition	/klaɪˈmætɪk kənˈdɪʃən/	điều kiện khí hậu
43	game style	/ɡeɪm staɪl/	phong cách chơi
44	natural gut	/ˈnæʧərəl ɡʌt/	dây ruột tự nhiên
45	sheep or cow intestines	/ʃip ɔr kaʊ ɪnˈtɛstɪnz/	ruột cừu hoặc bò
46	more durable	/mɔr ˈdʊrəbl/	bền hơn
47	nylon	/ˈnaɪˌlɑn/	sợi nylon
48	stiff	/stɪf/	cứng
49	co-polyester	/koʊ ˈpɑliˌɛstər/	sợi đồng polyester
50	hybrid set-up	/ˈhaɪbrɪd ˈsɛtʌp/	bố trí kết hợp
51	the average spin	/ði ˈævərɪʤ spɪn/	vòng xoáy trung bình
52	in a sense	/ɪn ə sɛns/	theo một nghĩa
53	revolutionise the game	/ˌrɛvəˈluʃəˌnaɪz ðə ɡeɪm/	cách mạng hóa trò chơi
54	the serving power	/ðə ˈsɜrvɪŋ ˈpaʊər/	sức mạnh giao bóng
55	to be attributed to	/tu bi əˈtrɪbjətɪd tu/	được gán cho
56	lead weights	/lid weɪts/	tạ chì
57	the original grips of rackets	/ði əˈrɪʤənəl ɡrɪps əv ˈrækɪts/	cán gốc của vợt
58	agriculture and mining industries	/ˈæɡrəˌkʌlʧər ənd ˈmaɪnɪŋ ˈɪndəstriz/	ngành nông nghiệp và khai thác
59	grain ships	/ɡreɪn ʃɪps/	tàu chở ngũ cốc
60	demanding punishment of the culprits	/dɪˈmændɪŋ ˈpʌnɪʃmənt əv ðə ˈkʌlprɪts/	yêu cầu trừng phạt các thủ phạm
61	emboldened pirates	/ɛmˈboʊldənd ˈpaɪrəts/	những tên cướp biển được khuyến khích
62	kidnap	/ˈkɪdnæp/	bắt cóc
63	prominent Roman dignitaries	/ˈprɑmənənt ˈroʊmən ˈdɪɡnɪˌtɛriz/	các chức sắc La Mã nổi bật
64	a large ransom	/ə lɑrʤ ˈrænsəm/	một khoản tiền chuộc lớn
65	the most famous hostage	/ðə moʊst ˈfeɪməs ˈhɑstɪʤ/	con tin nổi tiếng nhất
66	pirates had outlived their usefulness	/ˈpaɪrəts hæd aʊtˌlɪvd ðɛr ˈjusfʊlnɪs/	cướp biển đã qua thời kỳ hữu ích của họ
67	concerted action	/kənˈsɜrtɪd ˈækʃən/	hành động phối hợp
68	the Mediterranean menace	/ðə ˌmɛdɪtəˈreɪniən ˈmɛnɪs/	mối đe dọa Địa Trung Hải
69	commander	/kəˈmændər/	chỉ huy

TÀI LIỆU LUYỆN THI TOEFL PRIMARY STEP 2