My _____ racquet hurts my arm.

[Johnny-Cage]

String stiff rackets with soft multifilaments. Technifibre biphase is good. Feels soft.

[grolson1993]

Head YTPMP, strung it around 48-50 lbs with a hybrid of blackwidow and a syn gut, hurts my shoulder after hitting just over an hour. Switching to a mantis tour 315, hopefully its a little better

[DevilDog]

Originally Posted by Muppet

Hey! You have the same stringer as I do. I think there are still models of racquet out there that have been hurting people's arms, but have not been identified as such. This may take a while. Just consider it pre-emptive quality control, or the design room floor.

Have you considered your stringer could be causing the problem?

[NE1for10is?]

Actually, I think most arm problems these days have more to do with the use of polyester strings than the racquets. People get arm problems, but like the power and spin and ignore the obvious fact that poly is really stiff and jarring.

[Funbun]

Originally Posted by NE1for10is?

Actually, I think most arm problems these days have more to do with the use of polyester strings than the racquets. People get arm problems, but like the power and spin and ignore the obvious fact that poly is really stiff and jarring.

Please, what about the entire ATP tour? In fact, quite a number of them use full poly, and most of their injuries, if any, have nothing to do with the arm.

It's all about technique. A decently heavy racquet will absorb most of the shock coming from the ball anyway. It doesn't matter how stiff the racquet is; if your wrist and arm is loose enough, you'll let whatever racquet take the impact with its weight. The strings are a part of the racquet; the string doesn't matter much, unless it's like kevlar or completely unmalleable. As long as the string is flexible enough to transmit the shock to the racquet, there should be no harm done to any part of your body.

Of course, there's the exception of lightweight and stiff racquets, but I'm certain nobody is dumb enough to try to hurt themselves.

[Muppet]

Originally Posted by DevilDog

Have you considered your stringer could be causing the problem?

You're joking, right? My stringer and my arm are fine. Thanks for your concern.

[Muppet]

Originally Posted by grolson1993

Head YTPMP, strung it around 48-50 lbs with a hybrid of blackwidow and a syn gut, hurts my shoulder after hitting just over an hour. Switching to a mantis tour 315, hopefully its a little better

The Youteks have a bad name for shock. If the Mantis doesn't work out, consider not using poly.

What bothers me about the new IG design is that instead of removing the offending design (d30), they masked the shock problem with IG (whatever that turns out to be). It's like taking a pill that has a side effect and rather than replacing it with a more tolerable pill, a second pill is added to the first to treat the side effect.

[Power Player]

The youteks do not all have a shock problem. This is ridiculous..lol.

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by Funbun

I understand that some sticks are just manufactured with hurting specifications, but please guys. Many of these racquets are made for players with good technique. If you're hurting yourself, it's mostly because you're swinging incorrectly.

If otherwise, do yourself a favor, spend an extra 6 bucks and lead up your racquet.

Huh? Then why do some racquets hurt you more than others even though you're using the exact same technique? If you have poor technique, shouldn't ALL racquets hurt you, and if you have good technique, shouldn't NO racquets hurt you? But that's clearly not the case. Therefore, some racquets can clearly hurt you regardless of now good your technique is.

[BlueB]

Originally Posted by Funbun

The strings are a part of the racquet; the string doesn't matter much, unless it's like kevlar or completely unmalleable. As long as the string is flexible enough to transmit the shock to the racquet, there should be no harm done to any part of your body.

These are some of the most contradictory sentences I heard on these boards, recently. Especialy the second one...

[DevilDog]

Originally Posted by Muppet

You're joking, right? My stringer and my arm are fine. Thanks for your concern.

No, I am trying to open your eyes.

The frame is sold as just that, a frame. Once you put strings in it, the problem is now yours. You have made the decision on whether the racquet will play soft on your arm or hard on your arm.

[Muppet]

Originally Posted by DevilDog

No, I am trying to open your eyes.

The frame is sold as just that, a frame. Once you put strings in it, the problem is now yours. You have made the decision on whether the racquet will play soft on your arm or hard on your arm.

I see what you're saying now. But at medium tension, with the same strings, in different racquets, some designs are less comfortable to play with than others. Some frames will still not play well after you've set up the racquet with the best string setup you can play comfortably with. For some racquets and the given player, this balance cannot be struck.

edit: made it more readable

[Funbun]

Originally Posted by BreakPoint

Huh? Then why do some racquets hurt you more than others even though you're using the exact same technique? If you have poor technique, shouldn't ALL racquets hurt you, and if you have good technique, shouldn't NO racquets hurt you? But that's clearly not the case. Therefore, some racquets can clearly hurt you regardless of now good your technique is.

Duh, I just stated there's the exception of stiff and light racquets...

And no, some racquets, like grannie sticks, and absorb a lot of the shock regardless of how tight one grips the handle.

If a decently well-designed retail racquet is hurting you more than another, then your technique is poor in general.

A lot of people's technique adapts to their racquet over time. I've seen some people arming the ball slightly in attempt to get more force on the ball. Then, they play with my racquet, and they simply can't hit at all, let alone hold my racquet for more than 5 minutes.


My intended point is: if your technique is optimal, then virtually no decently-made racquet should hurt you. Superior technique = superior racquet adaptation.

[NE1for10is?]

Originally Posted by Funbun

Please, what about the entire ATP tour? In fact, quite a number of them use full poly, and most of their injuries, if any, have nothing to do with the arm.

It's all about technique. A decently heavy racquet will absorb most of the shock coming from the ball anyway. It doesn't matter how stiff the racquet is; if your wrist and arm is loose enough, you'll let whatever racquet take the impact with its weight. The strings are a part of the racquet; the string doesn't matter much, unless it's like kevlar or completely unmalleable. As long as the string is flexible enough to transmit the shock to the racquet, there should be no harm done to any part of your body.

Of course, there's the exception of lightweight and stiff racquets, but I'm certain nobody is dumb enough to try to hurt themselves.

Because:

1. They're mostly in their teens and twenties and not as prone to injury as older players, not to mention that they have better technique.

2. Poly gets stiff and boardy after a few hours of play and most non-pros don't have the money or recources to replace it very often, whereas the pros replace their poly every couple games so it remains relatively soft.

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by Funbun

Duh, I just stated there's the exception of stiff and light racquets...

And no, some racquets, like grannie sticks, and absorb a lot of the shock regardless of how tight one grips the handle.

If a decently well-designed retail racquet is hurting you more than another, then your technique is poor in general.

A lot of people's technique adapts to their racquet over time. I've seen some people arming the ball slightly in attempt to get more force on the ball. Then, they play with my racquet, and they simply can't hit at all, let alone hold my racquet for more than 5 minutes.


My intended point is: if your technique is optimal, then virtually no decently-made racquet should hurt you. Superior technique = superior racquet adaptation.

Totally false. Even pros with optimal technique get tennis elbow and they have racquets that are precisely customized to their exact liking.

I have excellent technique. I used racquets for decades that never gave me a hint of tennis elbow. I switched to another racquet and it quickly gave me tennis elbow. Same technique, no changes. Went to a different racquet and the tennis elbow went away. Same technique, no changes.

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by Funbun

Please, what about the entire ATP tour? In fact, quite a number of them use full poly, and most of their injuries, if any, have nothing to do with the arm.

It's all about technique. A decently heavy racquet will absorb most of the shock coming from the ball anyway. It doesn't matter how stiff the racquet is; if your wrist and arm is loose enough, you'll let whatever racquet take the impact with its weight. The strings are a part of the racquet; the string doesn't matter much, unless it's like kevlar or completely unmalleable. As long as the string is flexible enough to transmit the shock to the racquet, there should be no harm done to any part of your body.

Of course, there's the exception of lightweight and stiff racquets, but I'm certain nobody is dumb enough to try to hurt themselves.

It would be easier to name pros who have never had arm injuries than name ones who have.

Querry, Nishikori, Roddick, Sampras, Krajicek, Gasquet, Baker, etc. have all had elbow injuries.

Del Potro, Murray, Agassi, Fish, Monfils, and many, many others have all had wrist injuries.

[Power Player]

Originally Posted by BreakPoint

I have excellent technique. I used racquets for decades that never gave me a hint of tennis elbow. I switched to another racquet and it quickly gave me tennis elbow. Same technique, no changes. Went to a different racquet and the tennis elbow went away. Same technique, no changes.

Video please. Or testimony from anyone here who has hit with you.

I bet there is none. You are just a super anonymous person on here who talks like he is great, when you could easily be absolutely terrible. To self diagnose and say you have "excellent" technique just shows the ego we are dealing with.

[BreakPoint]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Video please. Or testimony from anyone here who has hit with you.

I bet there is none. You are just a super anonymous person on here who talks like he is great, when you could easily be absolutely terrible. To self diagnose and say you have "excellent" technique just shows the ego we are dealing with.

If I didn't have good technique, I would have gotten tennis elbow with EVERY racquet, wouldn't I? Yet, only certain racquets have.

Oh, and people are always asking me to teach them how to hit my strokes.

[Power Player]

Lets see them then..or why have you never hit with anyone from this site after 30,000 posts?

[Funbun]

Originally Posted by BreakPoint

It would be easier to name pros who have never had arm injuries than name ones who have.

Querry, Nishikori, Roddick, Sampras, Krajicek, Gasquet, Baker, etc. have all had elbow injuries.

Del Potro, Murray, Agassi, Fish, Monfils, and many, many others have all had wrist injuries.

I can certainly confirm that some of these were not exclusively due to racquet or technique problems.

Either way, they've recovered and fixed up. Big deal. Murray lowered his swingweight significantly, but he still retains his backhand technique.

Roddick had a grand number of injuries; hamstring pulls, knee problems. The only one that is technique related is probably the shoulder injury; and that was a minor setback. His neck injury had nothing to do with tennis.

Leander Paes had only one wrist injury his entire career. Yet he's been using a racquet with a recorded RDC flex of 70 his entire career. Wuhhh?


Funny, because many of these guys are doing just fine now on the tour. I'm sure even pros might aggravate their bodies sometimes; arming the ball a bit too much, etc. None of these are lasting injuries. They fixed up and they are playing fine now.

Originally Posted by BreakPoint

Totally false. Even pros with optimal technique get tennis elbow and they have racquets that are precisely customized to their exact liking.

I have excellent technique. I used racquets for decades that never gave me a hint of tennis elbow. I switched to another racquet and it quickly gave me tennis elbow. Same technique, no changes. Went to a different racquet and the tennis elbow went away. Same technique, no changes.

Of course, even pros can get tennis elbow. But it's not lasting. They just fix up a bit of their technique and they're back to playing the greatest tennis ever. I'm sure not even the pros' technique is absolutely, 100% perfect. Of course their racquets are adapted for them.

Even so, they're playing a whole lot more than we do, and that naturally opens up to more possibilities for injury. Considering how often and intense they play compared to us, it's surprising that they're not whining and crying from weekly arm/wrist/shoulder injuries.

And please, no self-bias unless you have proof. If you're going to make that argument, I could do the same thing: I'm Funbun, I'm a singles player going into college, I regularly play against 5.0's and 5.5's, I teach kids, I hit heavy forehands, backhands, serves, etc. I've also used a variety of racquets, with full poly, yet I haven't gotten hurt, ever, since the 4 years I've been playing. Maybe if I play daily, about 4 hours a day, including workouts, I'd probably bound to get hurt sometime, but wait, I'm not a pro!

Originally Posted by NE1for10is?

Because:

1. They're mostly in their teens and twenties and not as prone to injury as older players, not to mention that they have better technique.

2. Poly gets stiff and boardy after a few hours of play and most non-pros don't have the money or recources to replace it very often, whereas the pros replace their poly every couple games so it remains relatively soft.

I completely agree with 1. I would personally attest that number 2 has not occurred to me. I've been playing full poly all during this summer, with only about 3 stringjobs, and I don't feel boardiness or stiffness. It remains pretty normal and springy as far as I can feel during practice. Maybe it depends on the poly? Maybe it's the technique? I have no clue.