2012 年 6 巻 2 号 p. 213-226
While some tennis racket strings have more grip than others do, this does not guarantee that they will impart more spin to a tennis ball. Experiments with hand-held rackets are required to determine the longstanding question of how players can discern that different strings behave differently when laboratory tests indicate that they should play the same. In a previous study, we clarified the top-spin mechanism of a tennis racket by using high-speed video analysis on a tennis court for the first time. Furthermore, we improved it by using lubricated notched nylon strings. These experiments revealed that the more the main strings stretch and bend laterally, the more spin is imparted to the ball. This is due to the restoring force being parallel to the string face when the main strings spring back and the ball is released from the strings. Notched strings reduce the spin rate, but this can be effectively counteracted by employing lubricants. Furthermore, we found that imparting more spin reduces shock vibrations on the wrist during impact. The present study revealed that a ball has a 40% lower spin rate when hit with a racket with notched strings than with one with unnotched strings in the case of nylon (it had to be determined whether new strings or lubricated used strings give more spin). The experiments also showed that 30% more spin is imparted to a ball when the string intersections are lubricated by oil than when notched used nylon strings are used. Furthermore, we found that used natural gut notched strings reduced the spin rate by 70% compared to when new natural gut unnotched strings are used. We also investigated different top-spin behaviors obtained when professional and amateur tennis players hit a ball.
