How To Pick The Right Stick
Jan 02 '05
The Bottom Line Read this before blowing $100+ on your next racquet that doesn't suit you!
So you walk into the tennis section of your store and you're stuck. There are all these tennis racquets all with pictures of professionals on them and technology claims to increase your power by 23.9235023% and control by 31.1087398%. So what do you do? Don't just pick the prettiest one or the one that your favorite pro endorses! This is how you should pick your stick.
How Good Are You?
Okay. This is where you have to be really honest with yourself. I also suggest going racquet shopping alone or with someone you don't need to impress because if you're a beginner, you need a beginner's racquet, not Pete Sampras's stick.
Beginner-You have just started the game and you can hit the ball over the net, but you're not very good at placement, power, spins, etc. You can rally back and forth...most of the time, anyways. Racquets that best suit you are called game-improvement racquets, because they help you improve and the goal is to grow out of these sticks.
Intermediate-You can rally and apply power and spin to your shots. You can put some power on your serves. Your strokes are reliable, but you hit your shots pretty much the same against any opponent. You need a 'tweener racquet, so called because you are be-tween the other two levels.
Advanced-Like intermediate, except you've can really use either your power, spin, or placement as a weapon. You can vary up the power, spin, and placement of your shots and you can vary your game against different opponents. You know who you are. You need a player's tennis stick. By the way, don't go around calling racquets "tennis sticks"...people tend to assume you know nothing about tennis.
This is in no way a comprehensive measure of what level you are at, just a quick guide. For a real evaluation of your game, check out your local USPTA liscensed coach who can give you a NTRP rating. In this scale, a 1.0 is a complete beginner, and a 7.0 is a professional.
So now that you know yourself, you can choose a good racquet for you. These are guidelines that narrow down the 141241 different racquets at your local shop or online into maybe 3 or 4 different racquets that fit your specific criteria. From then on, it's a good idea to either demo the racquets or try them out in some way. It's usually a bad idea to take the plunge without trying it out first.
Note...You Can Skip This If You Want
Power
It seems that everyone starting out in tennis is all about power. They want to hit the ball hard. They like Andy Roddick because he hits the ball hard. I admit power is a big part of the game, and I would have to categorize my own playing style as a power hitter. But when it comes to tennis racquets you don't want to just the most powerful racquet. If Pete Sampras used one of the really powerful racquets out on the market today, his first few shots would go flying. He'd be able to eventually control his shots, but he'd have to severely limit how hard he's hitting the ball. Power players need CONTROL racquets. Power players can already hit the ball hard enough through solid technique. They need a racquet that can control this power and keep it on the court. Beginners need power racquets to help them get that extra oomph, but even so I would discourage the purchase of one of those super-power racquets because they limit your growth as a player. If you find yourself hitting the ball hard enough with a "snowshoe" racquet, you might not improve and develop fuller strokes. Just a thought.
Technology
Technology may be good for computers and cameras and stuff, but I really doubt the value of "technology" in this field. I use a Pro Staff 6.0 made somwhere around 1986 or so and I think it plays better than any of those newfangled tennis sticks out there made of space age materials and what not. And all different manufacturers use basically the same technology. Take Prince's "Sweet Spot Suspension", Wilson's "Power Holes", and Volkl's "Catapult" for example. They are all basically the same thing...they give your string bed some give so you can spring the ball back with more zip. Take any technology claims with suspicion and disregard any ad that gives you an exact percentage of how much better you're going to be.
Endorsements
We cannot buy any of the racquets that the pros use. Nor would we want to, anyways. They are pros and their racquets are heavier and harder to use than we would like. Pros endorse racquets, and pose in ads with that racquet, then go and play tournaments with completely different racquets painted to look like the ones they are selling. It's misleading and a dirty practice, but most people just don't get it that we can't use pro racquets. Also, they would have to stop introducing all these "technologies" because the pros aren't using them. There are exceptions, but most pros use paintjobs.
Okay, I'm Done Ranting. Let's Talk About Head Size
This alone can limit your search into just a few racquets. Basically, the more advanced you are, the better you are at hitting the ball in the middle or sweet spot of your strings, and the smaller head size racquet you can use. Head size is measured in square inches and can vary from 85 to 135 sq inches. I believe 135 is the limit for USTA-sanctioned play. Head size is usually categorized thusly:
Mid-Size:85-95 sq inches These racquets are for really advanced players. Many professionals (but not all) use racquets that fall into this category. The advantages of this smallest head size is that these racquets offer the best control and are less unwieldly than those gargantuan sized tennis sticks. The cons of these racquets are that they are the hardest to use, offer the least power and spin. These are players racquets. Pete Sampras used a 85 sq inch and Roger Federer uses a 90 sq inch racquet, but it doesn't mean only pros can use these racquets.
Mid-Plus:95-100 sq inches These racquets still offer good control but are easier to use than the Mid-size's. Andy Roddick uses a 100 sq inch racquet.
Oversize:100-110 sq inches 110 sq inches is the most common head-size among beginner's racquets. Andre Agassi uses a 107.
Super-Oversize-110 sq inches These racquets offer the most power. No professionals use these racquets.
Basically, the bigger your head, the more room for error you have. Big head-sized racquets are also the most powerful and have the potential for more spin. The upside of using a smaller head size is that you get more control this way. Many people also find those really huge racquets unwieldy and clunky. So to sum it up, usually the bigger the head size of a racquet is, the more powerful it is. Intermediate and advanced players want to be using mid-size and mid-plus racquets because they can generate more power on their own and need a racquet that can control that power, not add even more ooomph to your shots.
Big Head
Power +
Spin +
Control -
Maneuverability -
Stability -
Small Head
Power -
Spin -
Control +
Maneuverability +
Stability +
Weight
Simple physics says that the heavier a racquet is, the harder you should be able to hit the ball, due to that simple F=M x A equation thing. And indeed, the heavier a racquet is, you should be able to hit it harder, since you are not going to swing twice as hard with a twice as light racquet. However, in most cases, lighter racquets have more power. Why?
Generally, lighter racquets are marketed to the beginners crowd because they are nice and easy to swing. Therefore, since they are lowering the power of a racquet by making it lighter, manufacturers do other things to compensate...like make those light racquets have big heads, making them ultra-stiff, and making them out of space-age materials like carbon fiber, etc. Heavier racquets tend to be free of all those technology things and are marketed towards the more advanced crowd, and thus tend to have less power. So generally, heavier racquets are for more advanced players, since they tend to have less power and advanced players also need a more stable stick. Super-light racquets are one less than 10 ounces are so, and 12 ounces is too heavy to all except the most advanced players
Light
Power +
Control -
Maneuverability +
Stability -
Heavy
Power -
Control +
Manueverability -
Stability +
Balance
A racquet is either head-heavy or head-light. Head-heavy means that there is more weight in the head than in the handle and head-light means the opposite. Head-heavy racquets have more power because of something my physics teacher calls torque, even though I still doubt it's existence. These racquets are also less manuevarble because of that "torque" thing. Therefore, head-heavy racquets are better for beginners who need more power and for baseliners because they don't need to react as fast as volleyers or more advanced baseliners that do experience rapid fire shootouts. Head-light provides more control and maneuverability...but you need to take a bigger cut to get more power. Balanced racquets are those whose head and handle weigh the same. Head-light or heaviness is measured in points. Basically, something 6 points head-heavy is head-heavier than something 2 points head-heavy. Most, but not all, advanced players use head-light sticks.
Head-Heavy
Power +
Baseline +
Volleys-
Manueverability-
Head-Light
Power-
Baseline-
Volleys +
Maneverability +
Wilson's very popular "Hammer" line is based on creating an extremely head-heavy racquet. While they do make some advanced players' racquets, for this reason I would advise any advanced players to not use a Hammer.
String Pattern
String pattern is measured by how many strings go up and down (called mains) and how many go side to side (crosses) when your stick is fully strung. An "open" string pattern is one where there is a lot of empty space in the string bed because there are less strings. A 16 x 19 is a common open string pattern. A closed string pattern is something like a 18 x 20, where there is very little open space. An open string pattern leads to easier spin, while a closed string pattern leads to better control. Of course, if you really heavily on spin, spin is your control, so you might want to keep that in mind. A closed string pattern can also be neutralized by a bigger head, since the same pattern across more space will lead to more open space, but keeping the head sizes the same...
Open String Pattern
Spin +
Control -
Closed
Spin -
Control +
Open string patterns are also more prone to strings breaking.
Flex
Flex is a measure of how much a racquet will actually bend or flex when you are hitting the ball. All game-improvement racquets are stiff because more stiff means more power, but for advanced players, it's a matter of personal preference. Many advanced players will find that more flexible racquets feel too "mushy" for their liking which is why someone like Sampras uses a very stiff racquet to get a more "solid" feel. Flexible racquets offer more control, but this is often a matter of personal preference. Ultra-stiff and light racquets often tend to give people tennis elbow, so if you have problems, you want a more flexible stick.
Stiff
Power +
Control-
Solid Feel
Flexible
Power -
Control +
Soft Feel
Length
Most tennis racquets are the standard 27 inches, but lately there's "stretch" racquets that are 27.5 or 28 or even longer. Stretch racquets increase the length in that torque equation thing meaning you get more power. However, you may have to adjust if switching from a standard stick, plus a longer racquet is less manueverable. Michael Chang used a stretch racquet to increase his power, particularly on the serve, because a longer racquet allows you to contact the ball at a higher point. For beginners and shorter players looking to improve power particularly on the serve, one of these racquets are worth a shot. For advanced players, particularly those who volley a lot, stay away.
Standard 27
Control +
Power -
Maneuverability +
Serve -
Stretch
Control -
Power +
Maneuverability -
Serve +
Player Molds
Beginner (Power racquet)
-110 head size
-Light
-Stiff
-Open string pattern
-Head-heavy
-Stretch
Player's (Control Racquet)
-90-95 head size
-Heavy (12 oz)
-Flexible
-Head-light
-Closed string pattern
-Standard length
If you rely on spin, make sure you get an open string pattern racquet. If you volley a lot, get a head-light, standard length racquet. These are musts!
Odds N Ends
Don't let anyone tell you what grip size to get. Just get whatever feels the most comfortable to you. If you are stuck between two sizes, get the smaller one, because it's easy to build up grip size but almost impossible to break it down.
Don't just pick a racquet that is nice and easy to swing. A heavier racquet may be harder to use, but will give you room to grow and wil reward you with a more solid feel.
Don't believe technology claims.
End
Well, this is the end of that. But even if your racquet doesn't seem to suit you well, there ARE ways to customize it so it is more to your liking. I'll get around to writing that...someday. My fingers hurt.
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