Racquet design is all about adding, subtracting and moving weight around the racquet while maintaining stability. For the most part, racquetball racquet design has evolved toward lighter weights and increased manueverability simultaneous with increasing power.

Early wooden racquets, or even metal racquets for the most part, did not offer the luxury of moving weight around. It wasn't until graphite was used as a building material that shifting weights around the racquet became a reality because you could now build the same racquet with greater stiffness and strength while using less material (and less weight).

As racquet length increased from 17 inches of the early wooden racquets to the 22 inches allowed today, the longer strings meant more power in the middle of the sweet spot. Furthermore, during the widebody revolution, a racquet with a wide head also generates more power (particularly on off-center hits) because the stabilizing weight is at a greater distance from the center. The Wilson Hammer system basically moved the weight from the handle into the head resulting in a very head heavy racquet. Even the Titanium revolution was about weight...or perhaps the elimination of weight as is the current Hyper Carbon technology. Even Ektelon's Triple Threat technology is about polarizing the at 2 and 10 o'clock and in the butt...therefore stabilizing the racquet weight along the width and length of the racquet.

Why is Stabilization so important today?

Basically because today's racquets are much lighter than even a few years ago. They generate less momentum and absorb more shock and vibration. When a racquet impacts a ball, it's motion is altered in 2 directions: