Racquet configured with increased flexibility in multiple directions with respect to a longitudinal axis

A tennis racquet comprising:

• a frame extending along a longitudinal axis and including a head portion, a handle portion, and a throat portion positioned between the head portion and the handle portion, the head portion forming a hoop that defines a string bed plane, the throat portion including a pair of throat elements, at least the head portion and the throat portion of the racquet being formed at least in part of a fiber composite material, the fiber composite material including a plurality of ply arrangements, each of the ply arrangements including a pair of plies with one ply having a first plurality of fibers defining a first angle with respect to a composite axis and the other ply having a second plurality of fibers defining a second angle with respect to the composite axis, the pair of plies including at least one resin formed of a thermoset material, the first and second angles being substantially the same except the first and second angles have opposite angular polarities with respect to the composite axis, the head portion including at least three ply arrangements overlaying each other, and the first and second angles of at least two of the at least three ply arrangements are at least 35 degrees, wherein the racquet is capable of being tested under a racquet forward/rearward bending test, wherein the forward/rearward bending test includes mounting the racquet in a second orientation to a first test fixture at a first longitudinal location, operably engaging a deflection indicator to the racquet at a fifth location, applying a second predetermined weight to the racquet at a fourth location, and removing the second predetermined weight to obtain a forward/rearward deflection measurement with respect to the longitudinal axis, and wherein, when the racquet is tested under the racquet forward/rearward bending test, the racquet has a forward/rearward deflection with respect to the longitudinal axis of at least 9.0 mm when measured in a direction that is perpendicular to the string bed plane and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.

A tennis racquet comprising:

• a frame extending along a longitudinal axis and including a head portion, a handle portion, and a throat portion positioned between the head portion and the handle portion, the head portion forming a hoop that defines a string bed plane, the throat portion including a pair of throat elements, at least the head portion and the throat portion of the racquet being formed at least in part of a fiber composite material, the fiber composite material including a plurality of ply arrangements, each of the ply arrangements including a pair of plies with one ply having a first plurality of fibers defining a first angle with respect to a composite axis and the other ply having a second plurality of fibers defining a second angle with respect to the composite axis, the pair of plies including at least one resin formed of a thermoset material, the first and second angles being substantially the same except the first and second angles have opposite angular polarities with respect to the composite axis, the head portion including at least three ply arrangements overlaying each other, and the first and second angles of at least two of the at least three ply arrangements are at least 35 degrees, wherein the racquet is capable of being tested under a racquet torsional stability test, wherein the torsional stability test includes mounting the racquet to second and third test fixtures at sixth and seventh locations of the racquet, respectively, placing a third predetermined weight on an arm extending from the second test fixture to place a torsional load on to the racquet, removing the third predetermined weight to obtain an angular deflection about the longitudinal axis, and wherein, when the racquet is tested under the racquet torsional stability test, the racquet has an angular deflection of less than 5.5 degrees about the longitudinal axis.