Carpentry and Woodworking - Need pole with little deflection

My wife bought curtains for a room that I'm trying to hang. I need two ten foot rods with brackets at the ends. They will meet at brackets in the center of a 20' room. I need to bracket the two rods only at their ends so that the curtains can be pushed all the way open.

HERE'S THE ISSUE:

We bought rod kits and the rods themselves are very thin and come in three pieces so that their lengths are adjustable. They were made to be supported in multiple places, but I can't do that. Supporting it at only the ends causes it to sag badly in the middle, even before the weight of the curtains. I want to use the brackets that came with the original kit, but I was thinking I could replace the rod itself with something else with much less deflection.

Would a long hardwood be stiff enough or do I need to look for something metal? To use the same brackets, I will be restricted to something probably 1/2" in diameter? Any suggestions?

Hi
Check your big HD store and get 1/2 in electrical thinwall pipe.
there 10 ft long and used a connector to tie them together.
As for the ends you can find finnial to fit on the end.
For bracket get the the flat galvanize on that are bend 90 deg.
and drill small hole on the bottom of pipe and with a small screw secure it to the pipe



good luck

Ironically, someone just suggested some type of electrical pipe for me to look at. Maybe that's the way to go. I'll look today, but would appreciate any other opinions out there.