The New York Times has an article, Rackets Provide Window Into Tennis’s Top Three Men, discussing the tennis racquets used by Nadal, Djokovic and Federer. I haven't paid much attention to racquets since 2001, but I used to obsess over them.

Rafael Nadal uses an Aeropro Drive GT made by Babolat, a French company. His rackets are designed to generate his signature topspin.

Roger Federer uses Wilson rackets with a 90-square-inch head — small for a top player. ...

Federer’s racket is the heaviest of the three, a little more than 12 ounces, and it has the thinnest beam, the sharpest edges and the smallest head, which is a source of growing debate within the sport.

Nadal’s racket is the lightest and has the smallest grip, along with a wide, rounded throat designed with the aerodynamics of his whipping forehand in mind.

Djokovic’s racket has the densest string pattern to suit his counterpunching, flatter-hitting style, and Djokovic also has his rackets strung the tightest.

“I think for professional-level players, Nadal’s racket probably represents one end of a spectrum and maybe Roger’s is the other end, and I would say Novak’s racket is sort of in the middle there somewhere,” said Cory Springer, the global business director for rackets at Wilson.

Wilson, whose long-running relationship with Federer dates to his junior days, makes Federer’s Six.One Tour BLX.

Head lured Djokovic from Wilson with a major deal in 2009 and now makes his YouTek Speed MP. Such racket switches often backfire, but Djokovic, after some early concerns, has clearly adjusted. His record in 2011 is 42-1.

I don't recognize any of those models, but Federer's Six-One reminds me of the old Pro Staff 6.1 racquet.

Last week, a small group of play testers of varying skill levels used rackets provided by the manufacturers that were strung relatively close to the players’ general specifications. Among the conclusions arrived at by consensus:

¶ Nadal’s racket seemed the easiest to generate topspin with from the baseline, but was more challenging to master on touch shots closer to the net.

¶ Djokovic’s racket felt quickest through the air, particularly on the serve.

¶ Federer’s racket seemed the least forgiving on off-center hits but provided exceptional feel when contact was made with the sweet spot.

In the industry, Federer’s racket is generally considered the most challenging to handle, above all for the recreational set.

My first tennis racquet was a plate. We were supposed to go on a picnic, and we kids were waiting outside by the garage. We had a soft ball, it might have been a tennis ball, I don't recall. For some reason my brother and I started hitting it back and forth with the heavy wooden plates that were in our picnic set. First we used two hands and just bunted at the ball, but eventually I used one hand and found that I could brush the ball as I hit it, adding spin and making the ball do things. I loved that. Mom wasn't too thrilled that I was dirtying the plate.

At some point, Dad realized I was interested in tennis. I never knew my Dad to play tennis, but growing up there was always this Spalding Pancho Gonzales racquet in the garage or in his closet, or somewhere. It was a skinny wood racquet with white plastic on the throat, it had a vinyl cover, and was squeezed in a racquet press. So I guess he had at least played a few times.

One day he came home with two racquets, an aluminum Spalding Smasher III and a wood Wilson Stan Smith. How he picked these two, I have no idea. I tried both. The Smasher must have been intended to compete with Jimmy Connors Wilson T-2000 tubular steel racquet, but it felt dead on the arm. I preferred the Smith, which was basically a stiffer-throated version of the immensely popular Jack Kramer Autograph.

There's a story that both Kramer and another pro were endorsing racquets, and that Kramer accepted a half-percent less than the other guy, so Wilson pushed his racquet harder. Another story quotes Kramer, " When I turned pro in 1947, I played with a Don Budge model. I signed the deal (with Wilson) to have my own racket, they sent me some, I played with it, hated it ... I called Wilson up, told them to shove it, that I was going back to my Budge racket. And so they just changed the color of the lamination of the Budge racket, put my name on it ... "

At high school, most players had the Kramer, or the Dunlop Maxply Fort. They had small heads compared to today. The racquets, I mean. Racquet heads were about 65 to 70 square inches. I never played anyone at high school - they were all very experienced and must have taken lessons, or something. In college I took a Tennis and Badminton course, though, and learned enough to get killed by real players. After I wore out the Smith, I got a Kramer.

But the world of racquets kept changing. John McEnroe burst on the scene with his Wilson Pro Staff, so I had to have one of those. Actually two of those. For a few years.

Pam Shriver had also burst on the scene with her big green-throated Prince. I didn't like metal racquets but I loved her serve-and-volley game, so I was torn. Prince was eventually kind enough to make the Woodie, an oversized racquet of wood and graphite. The result was heavy, but heavy was good for me. I don't think I ever played as well as I did with the Woodie.

My friend Carl used to play with an assortment of racquets, as he called it, "trying to find Excalibur." The one he had that I really liked was the graphite Pro Staff. He had one in mid-size, 95 square inches, and one oversize, 110 square inches. I liked the solid feel of the midsize, but they were expensive and I had no reason to change. Later Pete Sampras used the 85 square inch Pro Staff 6.0 to rewrite the record books. The stiffer model - the ones that Sampras preferred - was manufactured in St Vincent and the Grenadines, and is much sought after even today.

Some years later around the late 80s, the industry introduced wide body racquets, which were very, very stiff. My girlfriend, the same one with the stone, gave me a very expensive Wilson Profile. A later version was named the Wilson Hammer. I was very grateful, but the damn thing ruined my game. I could serve a ton with it, but I couldn't rally or volley worth a damn. After I broke up with her, I gave it to a slightly-built family friend, who loved it.

I tried the Prince Blast for a few years, which was a good racquet, and the Pro Staff Stretch, which was a bit longer. My backhand always seemed late with the Stretch. Eventually I settled on the Pro Staff 6.1, which was very similar to the Pro Staff I had borrowed from my friend years before.

Some tennis players pine for the days when racquets were ash and beech. John McEnroe occasionally claims that returning to wood would make the game more interesting to watch. But not all of the big changes in tennis over the last few years had to do with racquet and string technology. Bigger players, better fitness training, social changes, and way more prize money had a lot to do with it, too. And starting players on court at younger and younger ages has led to more and more western grips, which led to more and more topspin.