Racquet Shape Shifting

As I work through the rules of tennis, I have discovered that there are three basic categories of rules. There are some rules that are patently and obviously needed. Other rules are not as immediately obvious, but the need becomes clear after considering various scenarios. The third category are rules that don’t seem to have any practical reason to exist. This brings us to to the penultimate rule in the main body of “Player Loses Point.”

The point is lost if:

k. The player deliberately and materially changes the shape of the racket when the ball is in play.

USTA Friend at Court, ITF Rules of Tennis, Section 24

I can think of no practical scenario relating to this rule. I can imagine some “Looney Tune” scenarios where the player whips out some telescoping attachments to lengthen the racquet mid point as an alternative to touching a ball that was just out of reach.

In order to materially change the shape of the racquet, I would think that it would have to be some kind of technology that was build directly into the frame. As previously discussed in a series of posts in and around “The Tradition of Racquet Conformance,” there are already extensive rules in place on the specifications and legality of the tennis racquet. Racquets that could materially change shape due to technology would simply be banned in other sections of the rules.

I am at a loss as to what a player could do to change the shape of a racquet in a useful way.

1. United States Tennis Association (2020) Friend at Court. White Plains, NY