tennis racket 5 - clevelandmedia.cleveland.com/business_impact/other/26SGRACKET.pdf · racket might...
Transcript of tennis racket 5 - clevelandmedia.cleveland.com/business_impact/other/26SGRACKET.pdf · racket might...
A balanced attack
Used two-handed,
theracket
allows for an equal forehand
attack from either side.
Used one-handed, the racket gives extra reach and leverage on balls hit to a player’s side.
Two-handled racket
Whenserving,the racket can take some getting used to: beginners often hit the ball into the net until they get usedto thesharperangle ofattack.
A sharper angle
Two handsone
are better than
Invented by a ski instructor turned golf pro turned TV comedy writer (really), and embraced by two professional
tennis-playing brothers, the two-handled Natural Power-Grip racket might be the next big breakthrough in tennis equipment.
An unusual partnership for an unusual racketLionel Burt, a Montreal native with an interesting résumé (ski instructor, golf pro, writer on the old Red Skelton TV show) invented the racket as a way for players to play equally well from either side of their body. Brian and Dann Battistone, two struggling tennis
tournament pros from California, tried it and liked it so much they went into business with Burt, forming Natural Tennis Inc.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF NATURAL TENNIS
Rising through the ranksVirtual unknowns two years ago, the Battistone brothers have seen their Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings rise
dramatically since taking up the new racket: Dann is inside the top 300 players, and Brian has cracked the top 200.
Brian Battistone’s ranking
100200300400500600700800900
1,0001,1001,2001,300
200920082007
Oct. 15, 20071,213
Aug. 24, 2009189
Dann Battistone’s ranking
100200300400500600700800900
1,0001,1001,2001,300
200920082007
Oct. 15, 20071,213
Aug. 24, 2009276
Volleyball serveWhen the brothers play together in doubles matches, Brian is the server, and he uses a radical, leaping, volleyball-style serve that is unique to tennis. He began using it even before taking up the new racket, and it gives opponents one more variable to consider.
Holding the racket in his left hand, Brian throws the ball high into the air.
He then switches the racket to his right hand. He leaps up ... ... and forward ...
... before striking the ball and delivering a serve of nearly 140 mph.
SOURCES: naturaltennis.com; Association of Tennis Professionals GRAPHIC BY REID BROWN | THE PLAIN DEALER
Conventional racket