Tennis racquet
A strung frame with a handle, used to hit the ball in tennis. Head size, weight and balance vary to suit different playing styles.
Overview
A tennis racquet is made up of a head with a strung hitting surface, a throat, a shaft and a grip. The strings form the surface that makes contact with the ball, while the grip and frame give the player control over power and direction.
Racquets vary in head size, weight and balance to suit different playing styles, but they all share the same basic job: transferring the player’s swing into the ball cleanly and consistently.
Good to know
- Strings can be restrung when they lose tension or break.
- Grip size and overgrips let players fine-tune how the handle feels.
- Head size affects the trade-off between control and a larger hitting area.
Where it’s used
Sports that use tennis racquet:
Related equipment
Tennis ball
A hollow rubber ball covered in felt used in tennis and related racquet sports.
Sports bag
A roomy bag for carrying kit, footwear and gear to and from training, usually with a separate compartment for wet or muddy items.
The tennis net, posts and singles sticks
The net's two heights and the hardware that holds them — post height and position, the singles sticks that convert a doubles net, and the strap and band that finish it.
How it connects
The meaning-bearing relationships that place Tennis racquet in the wider knowledge graph — each one with the reason it exists.
Broader than
A wider grouping that contains these.
Frequently learned together
Taught side by side in the same stage of a learning path.
- Tennis ballBoth are taught in the “What you’ll need” stage of the Tennis learning path.
- Sports bagBoth are taught in the “What you’ll need” stage of the Tennis learning path.
- The tennis net, posts and singles sticksBoth are taught in the “What you’ll need” stage of the Tennis learning path.
- Tennis ball types and specificationsBoth are taught in the “What you’ll need” stage of the Tennis learning path.
- What the Rules regulate about a tennis racketBoth are taught in the “What you’ll need” stage of the Tennis learning path.
Explore across the knowledge base
Follow the threads that connect Tennis racquet to the rest of SocialSportHub.
Playing surfaces
- ClayA soft, granular racquet-sport surface of crushed brick, stone or shale that slows the ball, gives a high bounce and lets players slide into shots.
- SandLoose beach sand: a soft, shifting, energy-sapping surface with no true bounce that rewards balance and footwork, used for beach sports and conditioning.
Techniques
- Topspin ForehandA forehand groundstroke hit with a low-to-high swing that puts forward spin on the ball so it dips and kicks up on landing.
- One-Handed BackhandA backhand groundstroke struck with a single hand on the grip, driving through the ball with a full extension of the hitting arm.
- Tennis ServeThe overhead stroke that starts every point, hit from behind the baseline into the diagonally opposite service box.
- VolleyA shot played near the net by blocking the ball out of the air before it bounces, using a short, firm punch rather than a full swing.
- The slice in tennisThe underspin stroke that changes a rally's height and pace — how slice keeps the ball low, when it is defensive and when it is an attack, and what it does on different surfaces.
Learning paths
Knowledge Atlas
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How this page is maintained
- Content type
- Equipment
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
- Verified external sources
- 0
- Content updated
- 2026-09-12
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