For a quarter century, the University of Kentucky has hosted a professional tennis tournament. Competitors in this week’s Kentucky Bank tourney are seemingly always testing out new equipment.
The men’s and women’s championships attract about 170 professionals from around the world. English tennis player Emily Webley-Smith says she uses natural gut strings in her racket, something she terms “old school a little bit.” But Webley-Smith says rackets are always being improved. She admits more technologically advanced rackets may come with a price. “That as the rackets become lighter, you see more wrist injuries and as the string become harder to create more power, you will see more shoulder, elbow, and wrist injuries. I think that’s something that players are going to have to watch, particularly with how much we play now,” said Webley-Smith.
Greenville South Carolina competitor Rob Galloway says rackets are continually being updated. He recently started playing with a Dunlop-Srixon racket. “It has kind of the Japanese precision, a little bit, where all the rackets are very consistent. They are all pretty similar. Sometimes you buy rackets off the shelf and there are little variables that are different. Different ways different balance by a little bit. But, these Dunlop ones are pretty accurate all the way through, which is good,” explained Galloway.
Players in the 25th tennis championships in Lexington range in age from 15 to 38. Finals are Sunday afternoon.
