Making the decision to start your tennis journey is the most exciting time. Perhaps you are looking to join a league or tournament and meet new friends. Maybe you have friends already playing and you want to join them. Maybe you want to start a health and fitness regimen and have decided tennis is a great sport to begin. And you would be right! I can’t think of a better sport that offers great cardio, some muscular tone, balance, problem solving and fresh air. But a pretty important item to consider when starting your tennis game, is of course the tennis racquet. I have coached many children, juniors, and adults and I am often surprised when a student shows up at the first practice with an old racquet they found in the garage, or something haphazardly purchased with no real thought or idea about what they just bought. “Aren’t all racquets the same” they ask. I usually carry extra racquets with me at my practices and many times I will have new students try one of my racquets after hitting with theirs. They are usually amazed at the difference they feel with a players racquet. After a couple of practices they usually go out and purchase one. I am not hyping one racquet over the next, or one price over another, but if you are looking for an optimal experience spend some time with your coach, local pro, or visit amazon, tennis warehouse and check the racquets for the style and level you are at. The websites have great descriptions and I spend a lot of time reading reviews.
My Racquet of choice is the Babolat Pure Aero Drive. Rafa Nadal’s Racquet. This racquet combines power, control and crazy access to spin. It is slightly head heavy but is almost a perfectly balanced racquet. The top spin is very noticeable on both backhand and forehand and on the serve, you can hit a big flat serve and of course spin and kick serves are very easy. The racquet also plays amazing at the net.
Another great racquet choice is the babolat pure drive. The racquet has access to good spin and power. This racquet has tremendous feel and precision and an ability to “drive” the ball on both the forehand and backhand shots. The racquet is suited for popping a big flat first serve and a nice slice second serve.
The Head 360 + Radical is a players racquet. A smaller sweet spot means you need to be an intermediate to advanced player to unlock this racquets true ability. Good for flat and spin shots, good maneuverability at the net.
The Yonex e-zone 98 or the octagonal shaped head blue racquet. Not necessarily a power racquet but a good tweener racquet with good control and solid play at the net.
It is a fun and exciting time learning to play tennis, or to start playing again after some time away. The racquets today are so well engineered and designed, it will be hard to not find a racquet designed just for you. Take your time and enjoy the process. A good racquet if taken care of can last easily up to 5 years. It’s worth spending a little extra time and money to pick a great racquet to assist you on your tennis journey.
Still confused, drop me an email with your question and I will get right back to you.
email: s.kahm@yahoo.com
See you on the courts.
