While the big guns and the underdogs muscle it out at this year's French Open, we look at a crucial key playeru00a0 the racket, which can go a long way into deciding the outcome of a point, a game and perhaps, the championship

While watching a tennis match, live or on television, have you ever wondered why the likes of Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal fidget with their racket strings, shuffle their grips or abruptly change rackets in between points? Well, it boils down to the racket being the most important and integral component to a player's performance, apart from his/her skill on court.

From being an aristocratic sport, played in the lawns and gardens of England during Queen Victoria's reign and earlier, tennis grew into being a sport for the middle-classes and eventually, one of the most popular spectator sports today.
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Early on, tennis rackets were crafted individually. With the passage of time, new ideas about its form, strength, weight and string arrangement evolved.

From wood to composite

The first rackets were made of wood and glued into a key-whole shape. Ash, maple, sycamore, beech, mahogany and hornbeam were some of the woods used. Wooden tennis rackets were in play till the 1980s, when metal became the favoured material.
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Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Goods marketed the first metal tennis racket, calling it the Wilson T2000. Tennis legend Jimmy Connors popularised its use for years. Later, Prince Sports Inc developed a metal racket with an oversized head.
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This encouraged the International Tennis Federation to impose a limit on tennis racket head size. The maximum is 29 inches in length, and the head frame cannot exceed 15.5 inches.
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Soon, other materials including glass and carbon fibre called graphite emerged.
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These rackets have larger head sizes, are lightweight and stiff. Increased stiffness helps reduce energy absorbed by the frame on ball contact.

String theory

The racket string is another key factor. The most durable string is made from a synthetic fibre called Kevlar. Strings are also made of natural gut from the intestines of a cow, synthetic gut, nylon fibre, and polyester. The more durable strings are extremely stiff.
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Highly resilient and/or thinner strings, which offer players a better feel, tend to break faster. Many strings have durability and resiliency ratings.

Finding strings requires some amount of research. No point falling in love with highly breakable strings if you're a big spin hitter (read: Serena Williams).
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Depending on if you prefer "too springy," "too soft," or "too stiff", your stringing specialist will select the best to suit your game.

Generally, tighter strings give more control, looser strings more comfort and power because they tend to hit farther.
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String tension has a tremendous effect on the way a racket performs and feels.

Most top-level players are choosy about these aspects and opt for their own stringing experts for customised support to suit their game plan, style and skill set.

Choosing a tennis racket

While Nadal is all power, Federer's game spells control. If you can generate your own power with your stroke, then you probably need a racket geared towards control.
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If you're looking for a high control rackets check for:
1) A small head size, usually below 98 square inches or below.
2) Weight is distributed so it is headlight, to allow for faster head speed.
3) Frame is thin, around 18-20 mm.

High power rackets will be almost opposite of this, with thick frames and big head sizes. Some of the leading tennis brands include Babolat, Yonex, Prince and Wilson.