In tennis the differing tensions of the net cord has been a major talking point amongst all of the top players at al of the major tournaments, because it can have a bearing on a match.
If the ball strikes the top of the net and the cord is loose it will absorb the speed of the ball, and often means it will drop tamely on the other side of the net out of the reach of the receiving player. If it is tight it can effect the trajectory to cause it to fly high and out of court.
Yet an amateur player and engineer from Tennessee in the USA, David Knox, believes he has solved the problem. Known at the US open as the “TNT Gauge” and having been trialled on all of the outside courts in 2011 it was used on all courts at the US Open this year. It is placed on the net post and measures the tension of the net so that every court is the same.
Apparently Wimbledon is notorious for loose nets and the US Open for tight ones. As good as this devise may be we thought the object was to hit the ball over the net, and surely the differing effects on the ball is all part of the game?
