Wide bodied racquets started to gain popularity in the late 80’s with brands like Wilson, adidas, prince, head, coming out with wide bodied models, revolutionizing the way tennis is played.
Wide bodied racquets are usually 18mm to 30 mm in width. Different brands have different wide body construction. For example Prince has models which are wide at the top and Head has racquets which are wide at the bottom.
These wide bodied racquets have contributed in a big way to making tennis a power sport. Most of the present day players use wide bodied racquets and can hit shots with incredible power. One can notice the power in their shots, particularly while serving. The speed of shots often reaches 140mph.
Generally speaking, the wider a Racquet is the more powerful and stiffer it will be. Not to say the more expensive also. The accepted rule is that the quicker and longer a stroke motion you have, the narrower a racquet you will require. In other words, if you have a fantastic swing, then a narrower racquet will do. If your hand speed is less than you will require a wide bodied racquet.
In today’s modern tennis world, almost all the racquets are wide-bodied, with the emphasis being on power and less on finesse. It is for this reason that you won’t find many non-wide-bodied racquets in use. Wide bodied racquets have one problem though. Whenever you try to slice or hit top spin shots, the ball tends to hit the side of the racquet. This can be avoided with gradual practice.
Tennis is a sport which requires alot of rallying. Constant rallying requires you to have an entire repertoire of shots. You should be able to hit shots with consistent power. Increased power need not necessarily mean better control, although you can get better gradually. Wide bodied racquets allow you to hit deeper groundstrokes, with greater power.