Selecting the right racquet

     Have you found yourself wondering where to start when shopping for a racquet?  Asking questions such as, "What brand should I buy?" "What is the difference between these two?"  "Do I need a heavy or light racquet?"  "Do I need power or control?"  Sometimes it seems like the questions keep coming before any are answered.  In today's tennis world there are hundreds of racquets.  It is often overwhelming looking at all of the choices and trying to decide which is right for you.  Don't worry, we can help. 

Just about every racquet company makes racquets for three different groups of players---players with short/slow strokes, moderate/medium paced strokes, and long/fast strokes.  These categories are often called game improvement, tweener (for in between), and player's racquets.  Game Improvement racquets (for people with short/slow strokes) tend to be pretty stiff and pack a lot of power.  Player's racquets (for people with long/fast strokes) tend to be softer and less powerful.  Tweener racquets (for people with moderate/medium strokes) are somewhere between the other two.

     The first thing you should decide is whether you are looking for a racquet for the player you are now or the player you want to be.  That mind sound a bit silly, but often times people want is not right for them at this point or may not be right for them in the future.  The racquet you choose is going to have a large impact on how you play the game and improve as a player.  That said, be honest with yourself regarding what kind of player you are, where you want to be, and how you want to play.  This will help you to choose that racquet that will benefit you the most.

Beginners/First Time Buyers

     For beginners knowing exactly where you want to be is not as important in choosing a racquet as it would be for a more advanced player.  In all honesty, you may not know where you want to be or what style of tennis you will play in the future.  Instead of worrying too much about, choose a racquet based on your size and athletic ability.  If you are a young junior player or a player who does not have an abundance of athletic ability you may not have the power to play with a player's racquet.  Look for a stiffer more powerful game improvement/tweener racquet.  With time (growth) and practice you may develop and outrgrow what you purchae now.  However, choosing a racquet that is not right for you today, will, in all likelihood, make it much harder for you to improve. 

     If you are an adult or older junior and have the size and/or athletic ability necessary to generate power on your own look for a softer and less powerful tweener racquet.  With a bit of work, you will develop the power you need.  In time, and with practice you want a player's racquet, but as mentioned above, this may slow your improvement dramatically.  As a beginner I would stay away from the player's racquets.  They are not usually very forgiving and may be heavy and tough to learn on.

     As a beginner it is important to realize that the racquet you will most likely outgrow the racquet you choose now.  As you improve you will start to learn what kind of player you want to be and what type of characteristics you want in a racquet.  Your current racquet becomes your point of reference for the next racquet you purchase.

Intermediate/Advanced Players

     For you, your current racquet is your reference point for what type of racquet you want to buy.  In order to make an informed decision, it is important to understand the different racquet specs and how they translate onto the court.  There are four factors that most people consider the most important power, maneuverability, control/spin, and comfort/feel.  Each of the specs discussed below will influence these four categories.

     Headsize

Power--Most headsizes today range from 90-120 square inches.  Larger headsizes usually produce more power.  In a larger head, the strings are longer and stretch more upon impact.  This has a catapult effect on the ball.  The longer the strings, the more they stretch, the more elastic energy is released upon the ball.  Larger headsizes usually have a larger sweetspot.  A sweetspot is the area where the ball will leave the racquet with most amount of energy.  This means that the player has a larger margin for error.  If the sweetspot is larger, the player has a larger area with which to hit the ball and still produce a good result. 

Maneuverability--Larger headsizes tend to be less maneuverable.  The larger the area away from your body, the more work it is for you to move it around.  In today's racquets, some of that can be counter-acted by the weight of the racquets.  A light oversize racquet may be more maneuverable than a heavy mid size racquet.  That will up to you to decide as you demo.

Control/Spin--  In these racquets, as mentioned above the strings are longer and there is more open space (gaps between the strings)---meaning more room for movement and more friction.  These gaps between the strings are not all bad though.  Larger gaps can help to create more spin by allowing the strings to bite into the ball more at impact.  More spin often means more control.  Strings break because of friction.  Strings become hot when they move around the head.  This is usually more common in larger headsizes as the longer strings move around much more freely in the larger gaps.

 Comfort/Feel--Larger headsizes are often very comfortable upon impact.  The longer strings and more stretching take away much of energy that would otherwise be transferred to your arm.  They also tend to twist and flex less when you hit a ball off-center.  This is due to the fact that the ball is still further from the frame on a large head than on a smaller one.

     Length

Power--Longer length can add power to a stroke as long as the length does not slow down your swing.  This is because a longer racquet acts as a lever where the head of the racquet is traveling faster upon impact. 

Maneuverability--A longer racquet can be less maneuverable as there is more mass away from your body which can take more force/energy to move around.

Control/Spin--Longer length can add more spin (assuming you are hitting topspin and slice anyway) for the same reason as it can add power---the racquet head is moving faster.  The inverse is also true once again.  If the longer length slows down your swing it probably does not help you much.

Comfort/Feel--A longer racquet does not really affect the comfort or feel at impact.  It can, however, affect your overall comfort.  A longer racquet may translate into less stretching for balls as you do not need to be as close to make good contact.  Perhaps you may take comfort in that.

Strung Weight

Power--If a racquet is really light or heavy, that will influence how fast you can swing it.  If you can swing it harder, you will get more power.  That said, heavier racquets have more power than lighter ones, assuming you can still swing it at the same speed or faster.  Think of it this way, would you rather be hit by a tennis ball at 40mph or a bowling ball at 40mph?  The heavier mass has much more force behind it at impact leading to more power.

Maneuverability--Before you run out and buy the heaviest racquet you can find, here is the flip side to the power equation.  A heavier racquet is going to be far less maneuverable than a light one.  If it so heavy that you are late for balls or swing slower you will not reap the benefits that added mass can bring.  In fact, you will experience the negatives of too heavy a frame:  balls landing short in the court, being late on the ball, and the potential for things like a sore wrist or elbow.

Control/Spin--Heavier racquets tend to flex less on impact.  This causes better directional control and more spin. 

Comfort/Feel--A heavier frame will absorb more of the shock at impact than a lighter frame.  This causes less shock to the arm which generally translates into a nice soft and smooth stroke.

There are many benefits to a heavier frame.  However, realize that most racquets on the market are pretty light.  Lighter racquets tend to sell a bit better.  Remember also that in today's world you can add weight to just about any racquet at certain locations to acheive the goal you were hoping for.

Balance

    The balace of a racquet tells us if there is more weight towards the head (head heavy) of the racquet or more weight towards the bottom of the handle (head light).  This is done by placing the racquet on a balance board.  On the board we can learn how far from the bottom of the handle the racquet is evenly balanced.   This is accomplished by measuring up from the handle in inches.  The amount of head-lightness or head-heaviness is measured in points.  Each point is equal to 1/8 of an inch.  So if a 27 inch racquet has a balance point of 13 inches it would be 4 points head light.  (The point where the racquet is evenly balanced is one half inch from the midpoint of the racquet towards the handle.)

Power--A head-heavy racquet will have more power because there is more mass at the point of impact. 

Maneuverability--A head-heavy racquet is less maneuverable because there is more weight out far from your body.  This can make the racquet harder to swing.  Head heavy racquets also feel heavier in your hand than head light racquets.

Control/Spin--The balance of a racquet does not really affect control or spin unless it slows or shortens your swing.

Comfort/Feel--Head-heavy racquets tend to feel more comfortable.  They have more torsional stability so there is less of a twisting feeling in your hand.  Also, because of the extra weight around the strings, they tend to absorb more of the shock on impact.

All of the above statements hold true assuming that the head-heavy racquet is not slowing down your swing.  If your swing is slowed down and shortened you may not reap the benefits of a head-heavy racquet.  That is why many "player's" racquets are head-light.  They still allow you to swing long and fast to maintain good power.  The overall weight and swingweight of the racquet may in fact be  far more important things to consider when purchasing a racquet.

Swingweight

     Swingweight is a barometer of hard it is to swing a racquet through a full stroke.  Overall weight and balance are factored into this equation.  This is the spec that players will feel the most when they hit a ball.  So much so, that many players may not be able to tell apart two racquets with different weights but possessing the same swingweight. 

Power--The higher the swingweight, the more power a racquet will have.  (Assuming, once again, that the weight does not slow or shorten your swing).

Maneuverability--The higher the swingweight, the less maneuverable a racquet will feel.

Control/Spin--Swingweight does not really affect control or spin unless it slows or shortens your swing.

Comfort/Feel--The higher the swingweight, the more comfortable a racquet will feel.

Stiffness

     All racquets will bend or flex backward to a certain degree at point of impact.  The level to which this occurs is called stiffness.

Power--The more a frame flexes, the lower the energy that is returned to ball because the ball is gone before the racquet returns to its normal shape.  The lost energy translates into lower power.  So a racquet with a higher stiffness rating will more power.

Maneuverability--Stiffness does not affect manueverability.  However, if you choose a racquet with a lower stiffness rating, keep in mind that it should be pretty maneuverable because you will need to swing harder to achieve the same power.

Control/Spin--Here it depends on your definition of control.  A softer frame will not hit the ball as hard, perhaps keeing the ball from sailing long.  A stiffer frame will twist/flex less upon impact making it easier to hit in the direction of your target.  All in all, it depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

Comfort/Feel--Softer frames are certainly more comfortable.  With a stiff frame, you will feel much of the impact shock on your arm.

String Pattern

    This refers to how many main strings and cross strings there are in a racquet.  When listed, such as 16x20, the number of mains is always listed before the crosses.  String patterns are often referred to as being open or dense.  A more open pattern means that there are fewer strings and larger gaps between them in a given amount of space.  A dense string pattern has more strings, thus smaller gaps in the same amount of space.  Headsize is important here.  While and 18x20 string pattern in a racquet with a 115 sq.in head may be pretty open, it would be very dense in a racquet with a 95 sq.in head.  String pattern is an important aspect to think about when buying a racquet as it can have one of the largest influences on the playing characteristics.

Power--A more open pattern means more stretching of the strings on impact.  They also "hold" the ball longer on the racquet face, and often cause the ball to leave on a higher trajectory.  All of this translates into more power and deeper shots.

Maneuverabitlity--String pattern does not affect maneuverability.

Control/Spin--A more open pattern will "bite" the ball better resulting in more spin than a dense pattern with the same string.  It is important to note that an open string pattern will not create spin.  You have to do that, it can only enhance your stroke. 

Comfort/Feel--An open pattern will feel more comfortable on your arm because the strings have that little bit of extra give which aborbs some of the shock at impact.

One of the negatives to an open string pattern is durability.  Open patterns allow the strings to move around much more causing friction.  This friction is what leads to strings breaking.  If you are a chronic stringbreaker, an open pattern may not be for you.

Price

    Do not run out and buy the most expensive you can find.  More expensive does not necessarily mean one racquet is better than another.  Many things go into determining the price of a racquet.  Most significant is the cost of the materials used to make the racquet.  Just because a racquet is very expensive and is made of expensive materials does not mean that it is the right racquet for your game now, or for your game in the future.  What is important, regardless of price, is that the specs described above are the ones that will most help you to play tennis the way you want to.  The key here is to DEMO, DEMO, DEMO.  Take your time.  Try a bunch of racquets.  Continually narrow it down until you have a few left that you really like.  Then make your decision.  At this point, it is safe to let price play a role.  If you like two raquets pretty equally,one may be much more expensive than the other.  Spend what you are comfortable spending to buy the right racquet for you.  Not for your hitting partners.  Not because someone said "it is the best".  But because it is the best for you.

Let us at Twin Ports Tennis be a part of the process with you.  Our job is to help you find a racquet that you truly love and are comfortable with.  Feel free to call us and ask any questions you have.  Together, we can find the right racquet for your game.