Switching from Pro Kennex Ceramic Ace, Help!

[wt888usa]

Hi, I'm 5'10", 160 lbs., and 21 years old. I started learning tennis in high school with a Prince Triple Threat Ring, which was nice at the time since it gave me extra length, extra power, and extra head size. However, after awhile, my swing developed and I had to find more control, so I switched to my dad's old Pro Kennex Ceramic Ace, 90 sq. in. It's been fine for me, however, I do have some problems with it. Sometimes it seems a bit heavy at the net and I can't get the racket in position fast enough, and sometimes, when I'm rallying from the baseline, I hit the ball a little late.

My strengths are my forehand, and my serve when it gets in, so I can generate a lot of power myself. My backhand is kind of weak, and my serve percentage is kind of low. I also don't have a lot of control, I always seem to hit the ball just outside the baseline, or right at the top of the net. I also am not hitting much spin with the Ceramic Ace.

The only stats I know for the Ceramic Ace are 16x19, 90 sq. in.. Maybe someone else knows other info like weight, swingweight, stiffness, balance, etc.? It currently has Gamma Stinger hybrid strings on it.

I'm looking for a replacement, that can give me the control of the Ceramic Ace, but that's a lot lighter, and comfortable, and probably a little bit more power? Maybe you guys can give me suggestions. I'm looking to spend no more than $180 I think. The rackets I'm looking into are:

Prince TT Graphite - OS, MP, MID
Prince Tour NXG - OS, MP, MID
Prince TT Hornet - OS, MP
Prince Tungsten Hornet - OS, MP
Prince TT Rebel
Prince TT Warrior - OS, MP
Prince Tour Diablo - MP, MID
Head i.Prestige - MP, MID
Head LM Prestige - MP, MID
Head Ti Radical - OS, MP
Head i.Radical - OS, MP
Head LM Radical - OS, MP
Wilson ProStaff Tour - MP
Wilson ProStaff ROK - MP, MID

In summary, the Pro Kennex seems a little heavy/late, and therefore sometimes lacks power on late hits. However, I can no longer use those power rackets cause I have absolutely no control when using those.

Thanks

[mctennis]

I would suggest a Volkl racquet instead of the ones you've listed. I've demoed over a 150+ racquets before picking the Volkl racquet as a replacement. I use to use a PK Bronze Dominator for 12+ years before deciding to switch since the racquet was no longer made.

[Steve H.]

Compared with racquets made these days, that Ceramic Ace is quite small, flexible, high swingweight, and heavy, so it's not surprising that you find it hard to play with. The Ring was at the opposite extreme, so there are a lot of racquets in the middle.

To start with I would say get something that's a good design, at least 98 square inches, in the middle of the weight and flexibility range, and not too expensive so you can change later if you decide you want something different. There are a number of good 11 ounce frames available at TW for less than $100, previous year's models, but still fine. Check out the Volkl Catapult 10, Ti.Radical, Warrior MP, Head i.Tour, Yonex MP 2i.

Any of those should get you going in the right direction -- hope this helps.

[dozu]

I have never played with the Ceramic Ace but I do have a Yamaha Ceramic... these things have a nice flexible feel, the problem, compared to a modern racket, is that usually the sweet spot is very small and the upper hoop is usually quite dead... I heavily modified my Yamaha by adding lots of lead on the 2,3,9,10 o'clock, and double that weight in the handle to counter.... you can make a heavy racket feel lighter by adding lots of lead to the buttcap. After all these mods the racket is actually marginally useable in a match I care about, but during practice it's a lot of fun feel like I am hitting with a towel.