A tennis racquet can be a multi-purpose tool—and an expression of a player's personality.

Racquets can be precision instruments or get smashed to smithereens by frustrated players, sometimes in the course of a single match.

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Now, the tennis racquet is the subject of a new study.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame has launched a new digital exhibit devoted to the evolution of the racquet.

Smash Hit: The Evolution of the Tennis Racquet chronicles the history of the racquet.

From the original court tennis frames to the early wood racquets to early metal frames to wood laminate racquets to metal and composite racquets to oversized sticks, many of the most classic and unusual frames in the sport's history are here.

Big Bill Tilden's armful of wood racquets, Jimmy Connors' Wilson T-2000 and Steffi Graf's classic Dunlop stick are among the many superstar racquets featured in the exhibit. 

Photo credit: International Tennis Hall of Fame