How long do you need to evaluate a racquet?

snoopy

snoopy

Professional
I demoed a Dunlop 500 tour and liked it. I want to work on my skills and stop worrying about the racquet. So I took the plunge and bought 2.

However, after about 15 hours of play I am still out of sync with this frame. One of the biggest problems appears to be the balance. I'm used to racquets with a more head light feel. I just can't bring the racquet around fast enough (i don't think it's all about the swing weight with this frame).

I think I'm done with this racquet. Am i leaving it too soon?

How long do you give yourself to adjust to a racquet before you call it quits and move on to a new one?
 
P

paulfreda

Hall of Fame
Wait ! !
Very small modificatons to a frame make all the difference.
My AG300 felt great at first but then I saw it was too light in the head at net. I added strips of duct tape along the sides and now it holds its own even with hard passing shots.
You have not tried many things yet.
First of course is tension, string type and gage.
And then there is weight additions like with lead or tape.

I am interested in that stick too.
I suggest you add weight to the handle.
It will add power but it will then feel more head light.
You can also drop tension as this will make a slower swing more viable.

Again ... very small mods to a frame can make a big difference.
 
CAM178

CAM178

Hall of Fame
30 minutes, but this one part is crucial: do NOT trust the strings that come in a demo. If you want to give a racquet a legitimate test, then test it with the strings and tension which you would normally use. For example, if you string your stick at 65 with a max tension of 65, then string a demo at 60 if its max tension is 60. But demo string jobs are notoriously bad. You never know where people have left these racquets (hot car, somewhere humid or damp, etc.), or for how long the strings have been on the demo. Also, take a good close look at the string job. Several times I have received a demo from TW that had missing loops, i.e. the stringer went over 2 crosses instead of over and under. I've also received some demos where the tension had to be 40-45 lbs. There's no way I can get a good feel for a racquet when the string bed is like playing with wet noodles.
 
ps60

ps60

Professional
it could take a yr, 'cos they are changing all the time, when u re-string, when u hit them on the ground a few times, when the grip gets thinner, or u need to put on an OG over the original, different strings (and their wt), chipping a bit on the tip .... they are living creatures. :D

i like Asian nCode T90 after heavy beating for a yr. (by someone else !) and when that guy graduated to AK90, i found his n90 surprisingly smooth.
 
Last edited:
bertrevert

bertrevert

Legend
Dunlops are usually easy to pop the buttcap and put a bit of lead in... for more HL balance.

However, I reckon 3 months (playing 3 times a week) is good for a subtle racquet change, IMO.

But sometimes you can be convinced pretty quick if it's a major racquet change. Depends what you had before.
 
CAM178

CAM178

Hall of Fame
Wow. I completely skimmed over this thread. I thought it was discussing demos, as the OP used 'evaluation'.

To get used to a racquet? Man, that takes a while. For me, as I play every day, I would guess it would take me a solid month of hitting. That means playing matches as often as possible, so that I can get used to the racquet in match conditions, i.e. how it hits on the run, how it feels at net, how it responds to off-center hits, etc.

Never buy a racquet on the spot like that. I know a racquet will be the one within 30 minutes or so, but it will take some time for me to tweak the weight, strings, etc. on the racquet until I get it to the specs that I like. I rarely go with factory specs.
 
T

tarheelbornjohn

Semi-Pro
I have been evaluating my LM Prestige MP for the past 4 + years. I think I have come to the conclusion that I like it, but I may try to evaluate the the MG Prestige. What I have found is that after 4-5 years of restringing and heavy play that they start to loss a little too much pop. I find the evaluations ususally are best after 2-3 years.
 
R

Ross K

Legend
There's obviously something wrong with me because I give my frames an average of 3 matches (and that's maximum.)
 
Deuce

Deuce

Banned
Regardless of the strings, tension, balance, etc., I know within the first 10 balls I hit with a racquet whether I will like it or not.
Ive put down several demos after hitting less than 10 balls with them.

With me, the most important element is the feel I get from the racquet. I know I can 'tweak' things like strings, tension, weight/balance, etc. at any point in the future - so what I'm looking for is a frame that feels the way I want it to feel.

Out of all the racquets I've bought over my 27 or so years of playing, I've regretted only one - the Prince Precision Comp (or some such) Oversize.
I hit with one of those that someone had at our local courts, and hit great with it that night. Even though I despised the idea of an Oversize racquet, I ordered two of them within days of trying that one.
Fortunately, I came to my senses and returned them before any permanent 'damage' was done.
I must say, in my own defence, though, that this occurred when I was relatively young and naive. I was about 17 or 18 years old at the time.

All other racquets I've bought, I've loved, and have held onto for a long time. And I knew I'd love them within the first 10 balls I hit with them.
 
KOtennis

KOtennis

Semi-Pro
for me to get a good evaluation of a racquet.
i have to play at least 3 sets with my regular hitting partner.

just hitting around is not enough.
i need to find out how i do in a match situation with variety of shots.
 
H

HAWKEYE

New User
Deuce said:
With me, the most important element is the feel I get from the racquet. I know I can 'tweak' things like strings, tension, weight/balance, etc. at any point in the future - so what I'm looking for is a frame that feels the way I want it to feel.

I agree. But still, if the swingweight is too high all you can do is shaving off the bumperguard. And if the swingweight is still too high you have to lay the racquet down no matter how much you like the feel. Like I did with my Head TXE.
Click to expand...
 
H

HAWKEYE

New User
Deuce said:
With me, the most important element is the feel I get from the racquet. I know I can 'tweak' things like strings, tension, weight/balance, etc. at any point in the future - so what I'm looking for is a frame that feels the way I want it to feel.


I agree. But still, if the swingweight is too high all you can do is shaving off the bumperguard. And if the swingweight is still too high you have to lay the racquet down no matter how much you like the feel. Like I did with my Head TXE.
Click to expand...
 
K

keithchircop

Professional
To know if I like it?
Usually if it's stiff, 2 minutes are enough for me.
If it's flexy, with a thin beam and stable, a couple of sets.
To know if I like it enough to switch? A looong time.
 
H

HAWKEYE

New User
Deuce said:
Fortunately, I don't have that problem - because I like heavy frames.
Heavy is good.
Click to expand...

I like heavy frames too. I was not talking about sheer weight but how that weight is distributed through the frame indicated by it's swingweight. I play with PS mid Saint Vincent which is of the same weight as Head TXE. But still PS is much more stable and manouverable due to it's more even weight distribution. TXE seems to have too much weight around 12 o'clock position making it less stable and manouverable and more powerful which could be fine only for baseline bangers. Still TXE match Saint Vincent in feel. But I can't 'tweak' much.
 
Speedygonzalez

Speedygonzalez

Rookie
It will take half an hour....If I am not convinced by then the racquet is not good enough. I have never tweaked a raquet, I just want to know how it feels and swings in stock form.
 
Aeropro master

Aeropro master

Professional
It takes me about 1-2 weeks to get used to a new racket. There is a huge differece between a demo and a ew racket stung at your comfortable tension.
 
C

Curious Yellow

New User
It was pretty tricky for me. I've only used 3 types of racquets in the last 11 years. The 1st one, the Pro Staff 6.0 95 was a brilliant racquet but it took me months to grow into it. I still liked it through all that time and it was very rewarding when I finally got in tune with it because I played some of my best tennis with that racquet.

It wasn't available any longer when I broke my last 2 frames so I had to switch to the closest thing my rep had because he claimed Wilson wouldn't provide 6.0s anymore. This was the HyperCarbon 6.5 as he didn't have the RS Tour 95 then either.

The 6.5 was much lighter, a bit more powerful and easy to get used to but not too great for hitting against players with bigger serves or for volleying with. Baselining was great.

Eventually I switched to the Pro Staff Tour RS95 which is holding its own so far, but it did take a while to get used to the comparatively heavier weight. After nearly a year I don't think I've completely got the hang of it because I don't play competitively anymore and play on a different surface to what I've been playing on growing up.

I'm tempted to switch to the one of the K Tour series racquets or back to the 6.0 but with the K factors the wider beam puts me off and with the Pro Staff 6.0s the heavier weight puts me off. Plus not playing competitive tennis and having to pay for them puts me off more than both those factors!

In the end all I can say is it's a tough choice. This is an area where having a good coach really helps but you need to know your game well enough too. You're in a country where you can pick up pretty much any racket you want and then some so selection and availability wont be a problem for you. Good luck!
 
Deuce

Deuce

Banned
HAWKEYE said:
I like heavy frames too. I was not talking about sheer weight but how that weight is distributed through the frame indicated by it's swingweight. I play with PS mid Saint Vincent which is of the same weight as Head TXE. But still PS is much more stable and manouverable due to it's more even weight distribution. TXE seems to have too much weight around 12 o'clock position making it less stable and manouverable and more powerful which could be fine only for baseline bangers. Still TXE match Saint Vincent in feel. But I can't 'tweak' much.
Click to expand...
You seem to be referring more to basic balance than to swingweight.
 
drakulie

drakulie

Talk Tennis Guru
Deuce said:
Regardless of the strings, tension, balance, etc., I know within the first 10 balls I hit with a racquet whether I will like it or not.
Ive put down several demos after hitting less than 10 balls with them.

With me, the most important element is the feel I get from the racquet. I know I can 'tweak' things like strings, tension, weight/balance, etc. at any point in the future - so what I'm looking for is a frame that feels the way I want it to feel.

All other racquets I've bought, I've loved, and have held onto for a long time. And I knew I'd love them within the first 10 balls I hit with them.
Click to expand...

Completely agree.

I hit with the head flexpoint prestige mid plus about two weeks ago. I hit with it less than a minute. Didn't like the feel at contact, because of all the flex.
 
drakulie

drakulie

Talk Tennis Guru
^^^ Keith, I don't know what the flex on that thing is, but it felt like I was hitting with a wet noodle. I demoed it out of curiosity because of some of the good things posters here said about it.

On the flip side, I loved the mid version. Thing is solid as a rock, and had great pop.
 
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