Volta
Title: Volta Tennis Prosthetic
Date: July 1st, 2020Featured.
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→ In collaboration with Power2Inspire and Alex Lewis Trust.A MORE HUMANE GAMEPLAY
Although tennis is one of the most inclusive sports for disabilities, players seem nevertheless to be more limited by the tools they use rather than their physical limitations. Current prosthetics for arm amputees tend to have two recurring issues: a fixed grip and a wrong directional angle to support the racket. Not being able to rotate the grip and hitting the ball at the correct angle favours injury development and consequently reduces comfort, control and power over the ball, as well as rendering the entire experience unpleasant. Hence, players struggle to compensate for the lack of freedom of racket movement with current designs. There is not any other alternative but to learn and play all over again with the non-dominant arm. Going through this process can result in frustration and a lower self-esteem, specifically for more advanced players. Volta is a tennis prosthetic designed for transradial amputees who lost their limb as a result of trauma or disease. The first in its kind to address this issue, Volta is a versatile prosthetic for tennis with the potential to create a new category of high-level tennis gameplay for arm amputees by allowing them to rotate the grip of their racket. Volta seeks to challenge the negative perception of prosthetics by providing a sense of identity through tennis culture association to its wearer.FRAMING THE CHALLENGE
MECHANICS
PROTOTYPES
TENNIS IDENTITY
VALUES
Although initially an exclusive game for the elite (making its debut with the “Jeu de Paume” during Louis X’s reign in France, in the 14th century), tennis has recently transformed into a more inclusive sport. Specifically, it is regarded as one of the most inclusive sports for disabilities25, promoting values of team-work. Tennis is often associated with sportsmanship, elegance, honesty, respect and quality. The same principles that rule on court are reflected in its culture. FASHION
Tennis is one of the first sports that has transcended from being strictly a physical activity to being associated with a particular lifestyle. Modern tennis has had a consistent image since the 1890’s: the iconic white dress fashion culture derived from Wimbledon that society has adopted outside the courts to the nostalgic “retro- look” of the Open Era (1968) with distinctive patterns and colours such as the ones adopted by Björn Borg and John McEnroe (provided by Fila). Iconic players have extrapolated tennis values and its culture into fashion brands such as Lacoste (Réné), Fred Perry and Adidas with its Stan Smith collaboration for the iconic tennis shoe. ICONS
Since the begining of the Modern Era in the mid 1870’s, tennis has consistently seen the rise of iconic players throughout the decades. People identified with a specific player due to their gameplay style or the values they represent (e.g. Federer’s followers often mention the elegance of his style, whereas Nadal’s followers admire his mental strength and dedication). Some of the most influential players in the history of tennis: Andre Agassi (1986-2006) – Arthur Ashe (1969-1980) – Björn Borg (1973-1983) – Bill Tilden (1931-1946) – Billie Jean King (1959-1983) – Boris Becker (1984-1999) – Chris Evert (1972-1989) – Fred Perry (1936-1956) – Guillermo Vilas (1969-1992) – Gustavo Kuerten (1995-2008) – Henri Cochet (1933-1958) – Jimmy Connors (1972-1996) – John McEnroe (1978-1994) – Margaret Court (1960-1977) – Maria Sharapova (2001-2020) – Martina Navratilova (1975-2006) – Monica Seles (1989-2008) – Novak Djokovic (2003 - ) – Oliver Campbell (1886-1892) – Pete Sampras (1988-2003) – Rafael Nadal (2001 – ) – René Lacoste (1922-1932) – Rod Laver (1963-1979) – Roger Federer (1998 - 2022) – Serena Williams (1995 - 2022) – Stan Smith (1969-1985) – Stefan Edberg (1983-1996) – Steffi Graf (1982-1999).
