Hmmmmm, so many options! (Tennis Racquets - General Tips & Comments)

Member Name: theanarchistkid

Product:	Tennis Racquets - General Tips & Comments
Date:	24/02/01 (4129 review reads)
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When it comes to buying tennis racquets, there are many options that you have to consider. The main governing feature when choosing a tennis racquet for most people is the price. It is possible to get a tennis racquet for £10, but obviously they're not very good. I would never suggest paying more than about £180 for any tennis racquet because it's just not worth it. You get to a certain point in the tennis racquet range where you are paying just for novelty features and massive power. I don't honestly believe that there are any tennis players in this world that need the power that something like the Head TiS6 has to offer. I had a go with one of these racquets once and I couldn't control where the ball was going at all. It's not like I'm a beginner either, so as far as I see it, there's very few people that are going to benefit from having such immense power.

For a beginner there is no point in spending above £50 on a tennis racquet. Even this is quite a large amount of money for a student like me, so it's vital to make the right choice when buying your tennis racquets. For a decent club player I would suggest spending maybe £100 and then for a high standard county player maybe £150. Obviously this is a lot of money so you have to make sure that you are certain that you want the racquet that you are getting. It is possible to get demonstration racquets from most companies and they are always willing to advise you on which racquet to purchase.

Nobody is their right mind should consider buying a child's racquet if they're an adult because they are small, cheap and underpowered. In other words don't buy a racquet with the words 'Jr', '26' or anything like that in their name because they are junior racquets designed for children.

When buying racquets an important consideration that most people seem to neglect is the size of the grip. The grip is the bit of the racquet that you actuall
y hold so it is vital that it fits in your hand nicely. If a grip is too big you'll find it cumbersome to control the racquet. Conversely if it is too small you are more likely to get tennis elbow or wrist damage. The size that I would suggest for most people would be 4 3/8 because this is what most racquets come with as standard. It is possible to get bigger and smaller ones though so make sure you pick up the racquet before you buy it.

Weight is another important aspect of tennis racquet buying. If you buy a light racquet you will find it easier to control and move the racquet into the ideal position to hit the ball. If it is too light though you will find it almost impossible to control in wind and it can also make you look silly. I remember when I was playing a doubles match last year I was playing with someone who had a really light racquet on a windy day. We were losing heavily and unfortunately this guy through his racquet about a bit. As he through the racquet forwards, the wind caught it and blew it right back at him. Red faces all round. If a racquet is too heavy it is difficult to control and position but you may find yourself hitting the ball a bit harder. Overall weight isn't the only consideration to make, you also have to consider the balance of the racquet. Very head-heavy racquets can cause severe wrist injuries if your wrist isn't strong enough to deal with it. This is because as the head follows through, it's very difficult to stop it so it puts a lot of strain on your wrist and elbow. Even playing with a head-heavy racquet for a few minutes can cause serious damage.

Power ratings of racquets normally give an accurate representation of whether the racquet is right for you. If you have a short compact swing on your groundstrokes, get a powerful racquet. If you have a big loopy technique, get a racquet designed more for control. Wilson racquets have power ratings going from 7.3 to about 2.3 with 2.3 being the most
powerful. Quite misleadingly though other manufacturers such as Head have their power rating going the other way so that 6 is more powerful than 2. This is important to bear in mind because once you have a racquet, it is nigh on impossible to change how powerful it is.

A lot of racquets now come with over-size heads to produce more power and a bigger sweet spot. The sweet spot is that part of the racquet where you get optimum power from. It is normally in the middle of the strings and as you start to hit the ball on this area you can soon feel the difference. I wouldn't recommend opting for an oversize head unless you are quite uncoordinating because they are very clumsy. Also, they are a pain to restring because most restringing machines don't have a clamp big enough. Don't go for a racquet which has an abnormally shaped head either because they just look silly and they quickly go out of fashion.

The main brands when it comes to tennis racquets are Wilson, Head, Prince, Dunlop and Fischer. There are others and I've undoubtedly missed a few major ones but I wouldn't suggest that you stray from the main brands. Racquets from smaller companies don't have the same feel as racquets from large companies and although build quality is high, they do tend to play quite badly.

Some people would suggest that if your racquet has been sitting on the shelves in a shop for a few months that you should get it restrung. If you do choose to do this, make sure you get it done by someone who knows what they're doing because if they do it wrong the frame can quite easily become damaged if they do it wrong.

If it is at all possible make sure you try before you buy. Most companies are very good at providing demonstration racquets and it makes a good idea to utilise the option of one. There is no way to tell what a tennis racquet is like just by looking at it so make sure you pick it up, have a good look at it and at the ver
y least have a few practise swings with it. Preferably you should take it away for a couple of days and play with it and see if it is as good as you think.

Ultimately the racquet you choose is up to you, but once you've bought one and played with it, most shops won't accept it back so make sure it's a good choice.

P.S. Wilson Hyper Hammer 6.3s are the best racquets around at the moment. :)

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