Wright & Ditson

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X-Pert

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1928

 

The company was founded in 1871. "Since tennis was first introduced into this country, Spalding bought Wright & Ditson in 1891. However, the name "Wright & Ditson" well into the late 1940s. The open throat was applied on several rackets. It was very popular.  The earliest US patent for an open-throat design was issued in 1891.

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This simple and intuitive layout lives on to this day; the only thing that has changed is the frame material. Early open-throat wooden frames were plagued by delamination problems in the throat, because the torque in the area was more than the glue used could sustainably handle. Later designs like those of the "Tilden Cannon Ball" and "Speedshaft" sought to overcome this problem through reinforcements, but the much simpler solution was to just close that space with a wedge, until metal and composite overtook wood as the default construction material.