The Racket
A racket is a kind of bat used to hit a ball or a shuttle across to the other side of the playing court. It consists of a hoop attached to a frame. A network of cords spans the hoop and acts as the rebounding surface for the ball or shuttle. Rackets are usually used in games such as tennis, badminton, squash and racquetball. These games are together known as racket sports. While “racket” is the British and Australian spelling for the word, the American spelling used is “racquets”.
The racket frames were originally made of laminated wood, while the strings were made of animal intestines. The strings are known as the gut. To improve the stiffness of the racket, manufacturers started to introduce artificial, composite material to reinforce the wood. The materials added were steel and aluminium during the early stages. Carbon fibre composites were later used, as they possess a higher weight to strength ratio. While wood is still used for tennis rackets, composite materials including titanium alloys and ceramics are used of late for other rackets.
The strings are now made of nylon and other synthetic polymers. While novices seldom make changes to their rackets, professional players have their rackets restrung often, sometimes even after every professional match.
Racket Sports
A wide variety of indoor as well as outdoor sports make use of the racket. All of them come under the racket sports category. The most popular among racket sports is tennis, badminton and squash. Most of the racket sports can be played in singles or doubles mode and either indoors or outdoors. Tennis is probably the most popular racket sport. It has major championships in all the major countries of the Western Hemisphere.
Racket Sports in Australia
Australians have taken to racket sports in a big way. There are a number of clubs catering to different levels of players. There are also a number of coaching centres providing training for those wishing to learn the sport. Folks wanting to buy rackets and accessories would find a wide variety of them in different price ranges. These sports equipment are also available online.