-- 作者：欧少
-- 时间：2008/12/28 19:48:49
-- [原创网球拍的发展历史
An Evolutionary History of Tennis Racquets
网球拍的发展历史
Part I: From Hands to Wood
I:从手到木头
By most accounts, tennis was first played by French monks in the 11th or 12th century, and the first "racquets" were made of human flesh!
大部分说法是说网球是在11或12世纪最初由法国修道士开始玩的, 最早的"拍子"是由人肉做成.
No, this wasn't some medieval horror. It was more like handball, played first by hitting against a wall, then later over a crude net. While not gruesome, hitting a ball with one's hand proved a little too uncomfortable after a while, so players began using gloves. Some players then tried using webbing between the fingers of the glove, while others took to using a solid wooden paddle.
不, 这不是什么中世纪恐怖. 它那时更像是手球, 最初是对着墙打, 后来才用来打过简陋的网. 尽管不令人恐怖, 用一只手打球过一段时间总归是有点不舒服, 因此玩的人开始使用手套. 有些玩家试着在手套手指上拉上带子, 另一些人加上一根结实的木头柄.
By the 14th century, players had begun using what we could legitimately call a racquet, with strings made of gut bound in a wooden frame. The Italians are often credited with this invention. By the year 1500, racquets were in widespread use. The early racquets had a long handle and a small, teardrop-shaped head.
在14世纪以前, 玩家已经开始使用在我们看来可以称得上合格的球拍了, 拍线由肠子制成, 绑在木头框上. 意大利人被认为开创了这个发明. 在1500年以前, 球拍广泛得到使用. 早期的球拍有着长长的手柄和很小, 像泪珠形状的拍头.
With a more oval head, they would have looked much like a squash racquet. The game itself was somewhat like squash too, in that it was played indoors with a fairly dead ball. By this time, though, it was, unlike squash, always played across a net, not against a wall.
有着偏卵形的拍头, 它们看起来更像是壁球球拍. 这个运动本身也多少和壁球类似, 它在室内玩, 用一个比较实诚的球. 但在那时它还是有和壁球不一样的地方, 它总是用来打过网的, 而不是对墙打.
In 1874, Major Walter C. Wingfield registered his patent in London for the equipment and rules of an outdoor lawn tennis that is generally considered the first version of what we play today. Within a year, Wingfield's equipment sets had been sold for use in Russia, India, Canada, and China. The racquet head had grown by this time to roughly the size seen on wooden racquets into the 1970's, but the shape wasn't quite as oval, with the head usually wider and often flattened toward the top.
1874年, Walter C. Wingfield上校在伦敦注册了室外草场网球的设备和规则专利, 这被广泛认为是我们现在玩的网球的最初版本. 一年内, Wingfield的设备就在俄国, 印度, 加拿大和中国开卖. 这时的拍头大小和20世纪70年代看到的木拍大致相当, 但形状还不怎么椭圆, 拍头通常更宽, 拍头顶更扁.
Racquets saw only minor changes between 1874 and the end of the wooden racquet era more than 100 years later. Wooden racquets did get better during these 100 years, with improvements in laminating technology (using thin layers of wood glued together) and in strings, but they remained heavy (13-14 ounces), with small heads (around 65 square inches). Compared to the contemporary racquet, even the best wood racquets were cumbersome and lacking in power.
自从1874年到100年后的木拍结束时代, 球拍没有发生大的变化. 当然在这100年间, 木拍做得更好了, 改进了木头层压技术(用薄木层粘合在一起)和拍线, 但它们依然很重(13-14盎司), 小拍头(大约65平方英寸). 和现代的球拍相比, 即使是最好的木拍也显得笨重, 缺少力量.
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