Wednesday, August 29, 2012

  Biggest tennis racket: New York team sets world record (VIDEO)

NEW YORK, NY, USA -- A group of New York students, led by multiple Guinness world record holder Ashrita Furman, built a 50 foot high tennis racket (the size of a bus), dedicated to Indian-origin spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy - setting the new world record for the Biggest tennis racket, according to the World Record Academy: www.worldrecordacademy.com/.

  Photo: Eleven-year-old Pasha Royden plays on the giant racket built by Ashrita Furman in New York. Ashrita Furman built the biggest tennis racket in the world. The wooden racket is a scale replica of the one used by Billie Jean King and is 50 feet (15.2m) long. Photo: AFP ( enlarge photo )

The Guinness world record for the most tennis hits between two people in one hour is 5,279 and was achieved by Isidro Martinez and Paul Coorssen (both United States), at the Milford Indoor Tennis Club, Connecticut, United States.

Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the most people bouncing tennis balls on tennis rackets: 658, achieved by Wilson Racquet Sports (USA) in advance of the US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, New York, USA.

  Students in Queens, New York have created a giant replica of Billie Jean King's tennis racket in an attempt to set a World Record.

  The world's biggest tennis racket is 50-feet long, and is an exact replica of the old-school wooden rackets with plastic tube strings.

  It took ten days to build, and 30 to 35 people to build it.

  Assembled on the corner of 85th and 164th in Queens, the giant wooden structure was built by Ashrita Furman, his spiritual group, and several students, and resembles an enormous replica of Billie Jean King's tennis racket.

  The meditation class funded the project in order to honor their spiritual teacher, Sri Chimnoy. The late leader shares a birthday with the opening date of the US Open, and once played tennis with Billie Jean King.

  Ashrita said:"People basically don't use wood rackets anymore but they said as long as it's actually exactly to scale and is used with the same exact materials, then we could use an old fashioned wood racket."

  He added: "We're glad we could offer some joy to people around us. You can't help but smile when you see a large tennis racket like that."

  The World's Biggest Tennis Racket was only on display for a day despite taking days to build, assemble and string.

  It is hoped it will find a home in a children's museum.