Since the sport's inception, the design and manufacture of tennis equipment has been affected by technological advances and regulations.
Billie Jean King won the first Grand Slam title ever in 1967 using a racket made out of steel.
Each material had its own desirable qualities but ceramics and graphite were the best picks for being stiff as well as being good with vibration reduction.
With time and improved technology manufacturers have been trying to duplicate the natural gut feel with synthetic materials.
The prevailing standards are as much due to advancements in musical string technology as to the social construction of the racket by the tennis playing public and the manufacturers who furnish the sporting goods.
[5] Originally the tennis ball consisted of rough cloth strips tightly bound together.