Can you hit well with ANY racket?

[ATXtennisaddict]

Are you good enough to pick up any racket and play well with it immediately? I don't know why but I feel that if my technique is "universally good", then I should be able to play well with any racket immediately right? (ok,some warm up)

Should I feel inadequate if I cannot do the above? (keep working on my form etc.)

[x Southpaw x]

Neh, I can't... give me a beginners power-generating racket... and I'll end up doing exactly what it's designed for: pushing and chopping.

[goober]

I am pretty sure if I picked up the Weed Z-ONE35 EXT or the Wilson Rak Attak 21" I would not play well after any length of warmup ;)

[Bungalo Bill]

Are you good enough to pick up any racket and play well with it immediately? I don't know why but I feel that if my technique is "universally good", then I should be able to play well with any racket immediately right? (ok,some warm up)

Should I feel inadequate if I cannot do the above? (keep working on my form etc.)

Nope, not me. I picked up a teaching pros Volkl V1 racquet (very nice classic racquet) and after the second shot I put it down. I have a fast swing speed and sometimes it is long, although I could hit the hell out of the ball, it landed in the state of Oregon.

I would have had to make too many adjustments in my swing to compensate. I went back to my comfortable Tour 10's.

I can however pick up a racquet within the "players" level of racquets and be able to make slight adjusments. But I can't go from a players "flex" racquet to a tweeners "stiff" racquet. Too big of a jump. At least for me.

[AngeloDS]

I can play with any racquet, as in get the balls in. The difference in racquets for me is how fast or how much topspin or how much control I can get on balls. Each racquet has its own characteristics.

I remember my friend she had a racquet ball racquet lol. We went to play some tennis after some Racquetball. Didn't have enough racquets at the time. So I let her use mine. I could still hit tennis balls mildly good with it. Even with the shortened handle, and the weird shaped head.

Most people get really bugged about racquets. I've played with a lot of really cheap brands, and a lot of good brands. It doesn't take me long to get use to it.

It didn't take me long to get use to my new Babolat Pure Drive Plus, or with a Wilson nSix-One 95, or any other racquet :\. Even with old old old old school racquets from like the early 70s and 80s lol. Made out of metal and had like a 60" head and etc.

I was use to that and still got a lot of topspin. Lacked depth though, but it was easy getting use to it. Doesn't take long for me.

[MTChong]

Are you good enough to pick up any racket and play well with it immediately? I don't know why but I feel that if my technique is "universally good", then I should be able to play well with any racket immediately right? (ok,some warm up)

Should I feel inadequate if I cannot do the above? (keep working on my form etc.)

I don't really think that it shows you are good; I can only play with certain racquets or I have to take a good amount of time to adjust to a different frame.

[joe sch]

Its not the racket but the player that matters ! Bobby Riggs proved this many times by beating good competition with all kinds of cheap racket and even other kinds hitting sticks. Ofcourse a good racket that the player is use to playing with, will help rather than hinder the performance but the player is what matters most. I could play anything from a 60 si head woodie to a super oversize 120+ si graphite club and still play a competitive game. I would just have to adjust my swings (windups & followthrus) BTW, strings also make a significant difference, tension and material, and by adjusting these string differences, many rackets can be much more playable.

[zAllianceBmx]

i can hit pretty well with any racquet. i even used my friends 1638 metal racquet with like a 20inch head and i was able to produce topspin and hit my shots alright. not that great cause it was a shitty racquet but not bad

[kevhen]

I drop about a half level when using a wooden racquet or anything else. I lose alot of power on the serve and can't hit with as much spin or power on groundstrokes. I lose alot of control when hitting with ultra light head heavy racquets. But I only drop about a half level and still can beat 3.5 players with any old racquet. It's more work though.

[fastdunn]

One of my tennis buddies play tennis without any intention to become
good. I mean he is still quite good at 3.5-4.0.
But he would often join us with
non-sport outfit and often use someone else's racquets and shoes
on the spot. He does not know much about professional tennis or history.
He played tennis just because his advisor in graduate school loved it.
he never got instruction but just ended up putting lots of
hours in tennis. He does not care much about the equipment.
He picked up this head titanium racquet in a clearance sale.


But most of other tennis buddies I know are pretty passionate
about tennis and very finicky about equipments. They watch
lots of tennis on TV and knows lots of things about pro's and
history. They also frequent message board like here.
Some of them string their own frame and have a great deal
of knowledge about equipments. They often tanks if they
do not have right racquet, string or even the brand of
tennis balls. Some of people in this group including me
are very good tennis players and some of them are not so
good. Getting finicky about equipment seems to help
improving tennis to a certain degree but too much
care seem to be counter-productive.

[peter]

Nope, not me. I picked up a teaching pros Volkl V1 racquet (very nice classic racquet) and after the second shot I put it down. I have a fast swing speed and sometimes it is long, although I could hit the hell out of the ball, it landed in the state of Oregon.

I would have had to make too many adjustments in my swing to compensate. I went back to my comfortable Tour 10's.

I can however pick up a racquet within the "players" level of racquets and be able to make slight adjusments. But I can't go from a players "flex" racquet to a tweeners "stiff" racquet. Too big of a jump. At least for me.

I personally have big problems even going between two players rackets - my timing goes totally off and I'll spread the balls all over the place.

I used to play with a Wilson Avenger and a Prince Precision Graphite - it was hell switching between those two rackets even though they aren't that much different regarding weight or balance.

I now normally play with two Wilson PS 6.0-85 and occasionally with a Wilson Hyper ProStaff 6.1-95 and/or the Wilson Avenger - and even though I can serve really nice with the 6.1, I'm having big problems with the rest of my game with that racket... So I normally nowadays stick with the 6.0-85 and use the old Avenger as a third spare racket since it's weight and balance is 100% compatible with the 6.0 (only problem there is that the Avenger generates much less power so all my shots feels powerless, but atleast the will land inside the court).

[Kobble]

After a good warm-up I can play with just about anything. It is all about finding the sweet spot for your strokes. One thing is for sure, I would much rather go to a less powerful racquet like wood than a 120 inch monster. It is so much easier to hit out with a wood racquet than one which hits the fence on the fly.

[FedererUberAlles]

Probably, I can't wait to try out the 6.0 85s.

[SageOfDeath]

Nope..... I mean if the racquet not very different than my own then its ok. But if its a large head size racquet with a low string tension you will see many long balls. If you give me a really small head racquet size then you'll see shots land on the service line or service boxes.

I like mid-size racquets but if I were to choose a larger racquet between a smaller racquet. I'd choose a smaller one.

I don't believe that a person that can hit well with all racquets is a necessarily a player with universal "good technique." A racquet affects your swing speed and the recomended string tension and spin depending string pattern. I mean pros have racquet COSTUMIZED for them, I'm sure they can play well with any racquet but there are racquet that are better for them.

That's why there recreational racquets, competion, and I forgot the other one.....

Anyways point is a racquet affects someone's game but not more than technique. Suppose you are hitting 10 feet long, you can't really blame it on the racquet. But if you usually hit inside the court and you switch to a different racquet and you hit 2-3 feet long then you know its the racquet difference and not your technique.

I think I can hit with any racquet but not well .

[MegacedU]

Yeahhh I can't. There are some racquets that are just impossible to hit with when you've been accustomed to your own specs for so long.

[Andres]

Every modern racquet is a good racquet. But the racquet must fit your style.
I like to train with an 70's racquet (Head Vilas), with a 70 sq. inches headsize, and almost a pound heavy, and still feels comfourtable...

[papa]

Yeah, with some exceptions, I think I can hit with just about any racquet. Some of the big ones, like the Weed take some getting used too. I can also play with most of the cheap (like Wal-Mart jobs - not as bad as you might think) racquets. Can I play as well, no, but that wasn't the question. Some of the racquets are very light and throw you off a little but after a few hits you can rally fairly consistently. Different racquets effect me more on the serve and volley but I can still hit the ball.

People always think that your playing with something "special" and so if you switch for a few minutes they realize its not the racquet.

[Indiantwist]

I have been demo'ing racquets for so long now. So i got used to playing matches with different sticks. In fact i have played lots of matches where i used a different racquet for each set in the match.

Depending on which stick, my timing is definitely off with a few sticks, but thats why i hit around a lot before matches and hence iam all set by match time.

One thing that doesnt alter much is my First serve. I can pick up any stick and hit a decent first serve. 2 serve is where things differ as i try to put more spin and kick on it , the racquet, weight, tension etc matter to an extent.

[Silver]

Changing to a better racket greatly improves ones game after you get used to it which takes around 2 days, if it is the right racket for your style of play. I have seen a marked difference in my daughters playing.

[Robert Jones]

Well I did not want to admit it but the raquet does matter. I play in 2 leagues and I pretty much know all the guys games. I know how I usually play vs all of them. I usually fight for 1st-3rd with two other guys.

I switched raquets to help with my net game and serve. The new raquet had much more power and felt head light. This did help with volleys and some pop on first serves. The problem was I could not keep the ball in play like my old stick. I would hit balls just long all the time, just wide miss easy shots that I never did before. I tried the raquet for an entire league (2 leagues) All of a sudden I'm getting beat by guys that never beat me in the past. If I was out free hitting at least in my mind I felt I was just as good. But in reality I was not. I tried different strings different tensions, lead tape etc. I could not control the new stick as well. I finally gave up and sold it and went back to my old stick. The next league I was back where I use to be. The guys that never beat could not beat me. I was not hitting long and not missing down the line shots etc.

The raquet was a Prince Diablo mid. That stick is not suppose to have much power but it did vs my old one. If I went up to a real power stick my game would go to hell from the baseline.

There is a guy in our league that can play with just about any raquet. But he is a pusher, human backboard type. He never really hits hard, just gets them all back deep.

So I suppose it depends on your style. For me the raquet did make a difference.