Make an informed decisionFeb 03 '01 (Updated Feb 08 '01) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line There are many factors involved when choosing a tennis racquet, take your time, do some research, gather objective information, tryout if possible and decide.
The aim of this essay is to provide you with objective information that will help you make a good decision when choosing a tennis racquet. Choosing the right racquet for you is not an easy task. There are many aspects to be considered, there are many brands and different models, and there is advertising which most of the time leads to wrong choices. Besides there is also "emotional" input, because people tend to think the best players play with the best racquets (maybe for them but not necessarily for you). Weight Light is Bad Light weight racquets are bad, light weight with heavy head worse and light weight with heavy head and stiff are the worst. They have the worse performance and are bad for your elbow. Stay away from them. Less than 250g is pretty light. Heavier is Good Overall a heavier racquet with a light head is the best. That’s because it will be easier to swing, and still gives you good momentum on impact, because it has good momentum it will transfer less stress to your arm and elbow and more to the ball. A truck crashes with a car, which one you rather be driving? Heavier racquets have more mass, that helps on impact and on vibration damping, the racquet vibrates less, and more power is transfered to the ball. Good weight is around 3o0g to 320g. The pros use even heavier racquets made specifically for them (different from what you get at the shop). Most of them use head-light racquets specially serve and volley hitters like Mark Philippoussis! Pete Sampras uses the original Wilson ProStaff 6.0 (small face 85 sq inches) , the weight according to Wilson's site is 12.1 oz (350g) with string. But what counts is not sheer weight/mass, but how it is distributed, this will determine the racquet’s moment, and that influences on both performance and tennis elbow prevention. Stiffness Stiff is Bad People say stiff racquets gives more control, but maybe that isn't completely true because the ball stays shorter in contact with the racquet and that is known to be bad for control. Stiff racquets may give more control combined with shape, weight balance and strings. What everybody knows is that stiff racquets are bad for your elbow. Flex is Good Flexible racquets dissipate better the force generated at impact being easier on your elbow and shoulder, the ball stays in contact longer and that is good for control, and it still gives you power with a kind of catapult effect. Personaly I like a more flexible racquet with a tighter string. Off course extremes are bad, too flexible loses control, too stiff feels terrible. Shape Oversize is Bad Apparently oversized racquets can be an advantage, the longer strings might give you more power and it might have a better forgiveness area, but the truth is the accuracy on off- center shots is terrible and because of it’s larger shape the twist, vibration and force produced and transferred to your arm will be bigger. So if you will hit a bad ball anyway why suffer this extra stress. Oversize is higher than 110 sq inches Smaller is Good Midsizes and smaller sizes are better, Pete Sampras uses a small face and many other players use medium shapes. They give you more control and are easier on your arm if you hit a bad ball. Consider getting a more flexible racquet or a different string tension if you want more power. Very small are for the pro, midsize for the rest of us. Midsize is around 95 to 105 sq inches Small size is 85 to 95 sq inches Sweet Spot THE SWEET SPOT IS NOT AN AREA! AS THE NAME IMPLIES, IT IS A SPOT! Manufacturers says racquets have a larger sweet spot area, that is a mistake, you might have an area that "forgives" better when the ball hits off the sweet spot. The Sweet Spot is the point of best response of the racquet. It is related to the center of mass of the racquet. The location of the Sweet Spot is what matters, the higher it’s located the better, because you will have a longer "arm" from hand to ball and that increases moment. String The effect of string tension have to be considered in relation to the racquet size and stiffness, and wether you hit the ball with more or less spin. Because the length of the strings are longer on oversized racquets these have to be strung with a higher tension than smaller racquets. An oversized racquet strung with a lower tension will give you no accuracy at all. High tension is better for top spin, giving you more control, many top players use high tension (they bring in their own arm power). Others like John McEnroe use a low tension string making its flat strokes really powerful (and controled by his mind and incredible feeling). So if you want power and speed I recommend a 60-65 pound tension on a midsize racquet, If you want more control use a tight tension and/or a smaller head. If you have two racquets put two different tensions and try out for yourself because it is very relative to person and racquet model. Grip Small is Bad Smaller grips are harder to hold, although they might feel a bit better for the serve and volley maneuverability, but you have put in extra force to hold it firmly and your hand gets tired really fast and you begin to "let go" when you hit the ball a little bit off the center. Small is 4 3/4 or 4 3/8 (for small kids) Bigger is Good Bigger is better because there is more area in contact with your palm and fingers so the stress is more evenly distributed. It also has more friction which means that it makes it easier to hold control of off-center shots that produce a lot of torsion. Medium is 4 1/2 (very common) Big hands is 4 5/8 Usually the size of the grip is measured by the distance from the center of your palm to the tip of your middle finger. Don’t forget the size will increase if you are going to use some kind of overgrip. How do You Play? Swing If you have a long and fast swing you will generate a lot of power on your own so you might want a racquet that gives you a lot of control like a not-too-flexible mid or small head with a light head and tight string. If you have a short swing you might need a more flexible frame with an even weight balance and a larger head with medium string tension. Beginners Beginners are better off with a midsize, fairly flexible racquet that is heavy overall but has a light head. That is the easiest way to begin. Don’t think oversized racquets would be better, as you improve your game you might want an even smaller head. Ladies Get a relatively heavy midsize racquet with a "towards" light head. Even the heaviest racquets from good brands are not that heavy. They have mass so you will get a powerful shot without having to put a lot of effort. Heavier is also better for ground strokes and short swing style. Net Players Heavy midsize racquet with (again) a light head balance are the best for net maneuverability. If you are a more advanced player try a model that has an extra length, that is better for serve and for reaching on volleys. Two-handers Extra long racquets helps the two-hander because it increases reach. Kids The height of the person should be proportional to the length of the racquet. Racquet length can be as small as 20 inches while adult length are around 28 or longer. Wilson has come up with a "sizing system" that can be helpful. http://www.wilsonsports.com/tennis/ People prone to have tennis elbow Stay away from light weight and heavy head combination. Damping gadgets are of little effect and they affect the overall weight balance. What really matters when it comes to damping vibration is mass (weight). Heavier racquets with well balanced "mass" prevents from vibration in the first place and are better in damping them when they are produced. Where to get more info: Most main manufacturers have web sites with a "How to choose your racquet" feature but you have to be careful because they are full of misleading information. If you want to get precise and reliable in-depth information take a look at Racquet Research http://www.racquetresearch.com/. These guys are serious they have done all the physics and come out with objective results. They have proven what most experienced players knew from empirical observation (and practice) . They developed a well defined criteria and scientifically measured around 200 racquets and came out with a definitive ranking, according to their criteria (they give full description of the criteria used). What brand the pros use? I almost did a research to tell you not only the brand but the model as well but the fact is the pros have customized racquets so this shouldn'd be used as a guide for choosing yours. Pete Sampras uses the Wilson ProStaff 6.0 Original 85. At Wilson's website the marketed model weights 12.1 oz but Pete's weights 14 oz! So just for curiosity sake here are some of the pro’s brands: Head Gustavo Kuerten Andre Agassi Thomas Enquivist Marat Safin Wilson Pete Sampras Tod Martin Lindsay Davenport Venus and Serena Williams Conchita Martinez ....and Tom Hanks Prince Patrick Rafter Jennifer Capriati Slazenger Tim Henman Yonex Anna Kournikova Martina Hingis Fischer Yevygeni Kafelnikov Dunlop Mark Philippoussis  |
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