This week the USTA National Tennis Center is hosting the annual Wood Racquet “Turn Back The Clock” Tournament.  Ironically, you can actually play in the “Turn Back the Clock: tournament with the old Wilson T-2000 aluminum racquet that Jimmy Connors used back in the 70s and 80s.  This seems kind of surprising for a “wood racquet” tournament… There has been some debate recently about the safety of aluminum bats in baseball, but it seems that metal/graphite/composition tennis rackets are here to stay.  So have the “metal” rackets improved play?  On the pro tour, service speeds have clearly increased over the past two or three decades by at least 10% and if you saw any of Fernando Gonzalez’s laser forehands against Andre Agassi in LA last week then you’d probably agree that some players’ groundies are also a lot harder.  However, the player at the top of the ATP Tour for the past few years, Roger Federer, is known more for his variety and touch than for his power.  So (how) have metal rackets really impacted the game of tennis?  It’s on the courts at the local tennis club or public park.  Recreational players are the ones who have really benefited from the advances in tennis racket technology because they can hit the ball harder with less effort and make better contact because of larger sweetspots.