Final answer:
The difficulty London faces in playing tennis after learning racquetball is due to the sweet spot concept on tennis racquets, which minimizes vibrations to the arm when the ball is hit correctly. Racquetball racquets have different sweet spots, potentially causing London to hit outside this optimal zone in tennis, resulting in a jarring sensation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The difficulty in transition from racquetball to tennis can partly be attributed to the mechanics of each sport's racquet design and the concept of the sweet spot. A sweet spot on a tennis racquet is an area where a player can hit the ball with maximum efficiency, resulting in the least amount of vibration transferred to the arm. This optimally located spot on the string bed provides the best combination of feel and power, which occurs due to the balanced interaction of the forces on the strings and the frame when the ball makes contact. If a ball is hit outside this sweet spot, increased vibrations and torque can lead to a jarring sensation in the player's arm. This is often described using the principles of physics, focusing on vectors, momentum, and impulse.
By understanding that tennis racquets have specific sweet spots, we can infer why players who start with racquetball may struggle. Racquetball racquets tend to be smaller and have different sweet spots, which can cause players to develop a swing that does not adapt well to tennis. The muscle memory and swing patterns learned in racquetball could potentially lead to consistently hitting the ball outside the sweet spot on a tennis racquet, thus not utilizing the racquet's design to its full potential and causing unnecessary strain on the arm.