# Law 4: The Racket (ITF Rules of Tennis)

Tennis · Law 4: The Racket · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/tennis/laws/law-4-the-racket/)

The racket: who approves it, what its frame and hitting surface must be, how big it may be, which attachments and devices are allowed, and how many rackets a player may use.

## 4.41 The Racket

The frame and the hitting surface, the size limits, attachments and energy sources, and using rackets during play.

### Test 1: The frame and the hitting surface

- The throat is optional: the frame may also include one between the handle and the head. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- The head is wherever the strings attach; the handle is where it is held. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- The strings run in two directions and are woven over and under one another, or fixed to each other at every crossing, so the hitting surface is a single flat lattice. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- The Rule speaks of a pattern, not patterns, of crossed strings. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Rule 4, Case 1)
- Strings on different planes break the requirement for a flat hitting surface. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Rule 4, Case 2)
- The pattern must be generally uniform and no less dense in the centre than anywhere else. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- A racket is designed and strung to play the same on both sides. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- Rulings follow the ITF's review and hearing procedures before a racket is approved or not. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Rule 4)
- Flat, crossed, joined at each crossing and uniform, with no thin centre. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- Only an even, single, crossed pattern on one plane meets Appendix II. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)

### Test 2: Size limits

- No racket may be longer than 73.7 cm overall. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- The frame may be at most 31.7 cm wide. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- Measured along the line of the handle, the strung area may be at most 39.4 cm long. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- The strings may span at most 29.2 cm from side to side. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- Length runs along the handle's axis; width is taken at right angles to it. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- Where the two systems differ, the SI figure counts. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- The 73.7 cm limit applies to every racket. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- 29.2 cm, 31.7 cm, 39.4 cm and 73.7 cm. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- Hitting-surface width, overall width, hitting-surface length, overall length. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- A is the overall length, limited to 73.7 cm. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)

### Test 3: Attachments, devices and rackets in play

- Devices for wear, vibration, frame weight or approved analysis are allowed if reasonable in size. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- Weight may be distributed in the frame only, and in a reasonable way. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- Batteries, solar cells and similar energy sources are prohibited. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Rule 4, Case 6)
- Dampers are allowed, but not inside the crossed-string area. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Rule 4, Case 3)
- Play may continue with broken strings, except where event organisers prohibit it. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Rule 4, Case 4)
- A player plays with one racket at a time. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Rule 4, Case 5)
- As with balls, the ITF rules on rackets, on its own initiative or on application. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Rule 4)
- The first is allowed; the second breaks the damper case; the third is an energy source. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Appendix II)
- Broken strings do not stop the point, and the racket may stay in use unless the event says no. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Rule 4, Case 4)
- A damper must sit outside the pattern of crossed strings, as at B. (Source: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Rule 4, Case 3)

Sources: ITF Rules of Tennis 2026, Rule 4 with Appendix II (paraphrased in original wording; original questions authored from the Rules, not reproduced)

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