What we now call Tennis ultimately emerged as the great victor among a wide variety of games played in different parts of the world, all involving the act of projecting an 

object (ball, feather, etc.) to be returned by the opponent. Originating as a simple hand game, here are some examples of rackets, gloves, and other devices that coexisted with the birth of Lawn Tennis. 

When Major Winfield patented his “invention” back in 1874, he named it Sphairistiké, a complicated term. It consisted of a pine wooden box containing all the materials to set up the court on a meadow, along with a booklet with instructions and rules, balls, and four rackets. These early rackets had small heads, long handles, and were symmetrical. However, the cumbersome name did not last long, and under the commercial name “Lawn Tennis,” the new sets contained lopsided rackets, which were in demand by numerous players who came from Real Tennis. The drooping head facilitated hitting low and close-to-the-wall shots on the enclosed court but lost its efficiency with the high bounce of the new rubber balls on an open court. Nevertheless, lopsided and symmetrical rackets coexisted until the 1880s.