Double Fault
Semi-Pro
It is just so hard to find your soulmate...
I've been searching for a racquet that I feel completely comfortable with but I just can't seem to click with one.
I've had several great experiences, but none of them would make me buy 12 racquets, use 3 and keep the rest in storage for years to come.
The RDS001 MP has its days, but generally I feel like it is too stiff and too unforgiving. However, volleys and the 2hbh are just phenomenal with it. The problem is that everything else is just average. I bought 3, just in case. The first one I bought new. Later, I picked up 2 more here on TW.
The RDX500 MP was a very close holy grail. I started using it after I tried the RDS001 MP since I was told that it was softer. There was this one week where I just felt like I could bang at everything, pin-point ball placement, great serving, nice volleying, but lately we haven't been getting along pretty well with her. I bought one on TW and after trying it I bought 3 more for a grand total of 4. This one is the lightest one in my collection and I could really use just a little more weight on the 2hbh.
I happened to stumble accross the Aero Storm and took her for a spin. Once again, it was honeymoon all over. The 320 grams really gave me a lot of pop and the thin beam helped control it. Serves are amazing with this racquet as is the forehand, but it is too heavy at the net for me. I only bought one because a month into using it, my arm was really struggling and I'd have to alternate with the RDX500 MP.
I went to my stringer to pick up one racquet I had left stringing but it turned out that it wasn't done. I had only one racquet in my car, so I asked him to lend me another racquet in case I broke the strings or whatever. I didn't want to leave my hitting partner just standing there, so he lent me an Aero Pro Drive non-Cortex and this is the point where I discovered true spin capability. I learned to play tennis in clay and was taught from day 1 to add spin to the ball, which I've done and keep doing. However, I've never been able to spin the ball like I do with the APD. Serves with effects were also great for obvious reasons, yet my flat first serve lacks a lot of pop. The huge head size doesn't help at the net either. Nonetheless, I had made up my mind to go back to the distributor and get me a brand new APD after using the demo for a little over a week.
When I got there with the money, the guys says: "Oh hi. We just got these. Want to try them?" He pulled two racquets which turned out to be the Pure Storm Limited and the Pure Storm Limited +. I said to myself: "Here we go again...". I rejected the extended version because I used to own and APDC+ and it played nothing like the APD. I blame it on the extra length since the Aero Storm has the Cortex System and works fine.
So I go to the wall to practice my groundies with the Pure Storm Limited and the racquet just feels great. It has the thinnest beam I've ever tried and I thought that this level of control was never possible. I've only tried it against a wall, but I can pick a spot on the wall and place the ball relatively close to it. However, I can already tell that the racquet is not nearly as spinny as the APD, but it does have an unusually large sweet spot for such a small head size. I'm also expecting to like it in the volley department since it is so maneuverable and I think my poor backhand slice will enjoy it as well. I find that it lacks power in the 2hbh, but if I really shift my weight during the shot, which is something I should do anyway, I can fix the problem.
I will try it tomorrow in a match and if I like it I might keep it for another week or so and I might end up purchasing it when they are available.
I know what most of you are going to say: I spend to much time trying out racquets and too little time fixing my game. You are both right and wrong. I do try out too many racquets, but I also practice a lot with them. I really want to find ONE frame and feel comfortable enough with it so that I never have to try another frame, but so far I have been unsuccessful.
I have found my string holy grail though, or thought I had. The Pro Hurricane Tour / Xcel Premium was my all time favorite, until I tried natural gut (VS) and Pro Hurricane (strung on the Pure Storm Limited). I feel like it is a lot more comfortable and precise, but at this point it is hard to know if it is the string or the racquet that I like.
Anyway, I guess I'm just frustrated that I can't settle down on one racquet. I don't even search for a better game when I'm demoing them because at my level most of these changes are insignificant, I just want to like them.
Up until now, I know only three things for sure:
Ok, I've vented.
I've been searching for a racquet that I feel completely comfortable with but I just can't seem to click with one.
I've had several great experiences, but none of them would make me buy 12 racquets, use 3 and keep the rest in storage for years to come.
The RDS001 MP has its days, but generally I feel like it is too stiff and too unforgiving. However, volleys and the 2hbh are just phenomenal with it. The problem is that everything else is just average. I bought 3, just in case. The first one I bought new. Later, I picked up 2 more here on TW.
The RDX500 MP was a very close holy grail. I started using it after I tried the RDS001 MP since I was told that it was softer. There was this one week where I just felt like I could bang at everything, pin-point ball placement, great serving, nice volleying, but lately we haven't been getting along pretty well with her. I bought one on TW and after trying it I bought 3 more for a grand total of 4. This one is the lightest one in my collection and I could really use just a little more weight on the 2hbh.
I happened to stumble accross the Aero Storm and took her for a spin. Once again, it was honeymoon all over. The 320 grams really gave me a lot of pop and the thin beam helped control it. Serves are amazing with this racquet as is the forehand, but it is too heavy at the net for me. I only bought one because a month into using it, my arm was really struggling and I'd have to alternate with the RDX500 MP.
I went to my stringer to pick up one racquet I had left stringing but it turned out that it wasn't done. I had only one racquet in my car, so I asked him to lend me another racquet in case I broke the strings or whatever. I didn't want to leave my hitting partner just standing there, so he lent me an Aero Pro Drive non-Cortex and this is the point where I discovered true spin capability. I learned to play tennis in clay and was taught from day 1 to add spin to the ball, which I've done and keep doing. However, I've never been able to spin the ball like I do with the APD. Serves with effects were also great for obvious reasons, yet my flat first serve lacks a lot of pop. The huge head size doesn't help at the net either. Nonetheless, I had made up my mind to go back to the distributor and get me a brand new APD after using the demo for a little over a week.
When I got there with the money, the guys says: "Oh hi. We just got these. Want to try them?" He pulled two racquets which turned out to be the Pure Storm Limited and the Pure Storm Limited +. I said to myself: "Here we go again...". I rejected the extended version because I used to own and APDC+ and it played nothing like the APD. I blame it on the extra length since the Aero Storm has the Cortex System and works fine.
So I go to the wall to practice my groundies with the Pure Storm Limited and the racquet just feels great. It has the thinnest beam I've ever tried and I thought that this level of control was never possible. I've only tried it against a wall, but I can pick a spot on the wall and place the ball relatively close to it. However, I can already tell that the racquet is not nearly as spinny as the APD, but it does have an unusually large sweet spot for such a small head size. I'm also expecting to like it in the volley department since it is so maneuverable and I think my poor backhand slice will enjoy it as well. I find that it lacks power in the 2hbh, but if I really shift my weight during the shot, which is something I should do anyway, I can fix the problem.
I will try it tomorrow in a match and if I like it I might keep it for another week or so and I might end up purchasing it when they are available.
I know what most of you are going to say: I spend to much time trying out racquets and too little time fixing my game. You are both right and wrong. I do try out too many racquets, but I also practice a lot with them. I really want to find ONE frame and feel comfortable enough with it so that I never have to try another frame, but so far I have been unsuccessful.
I have found my string holy grail though, or thought I had. The Pro Hurricane Tour / Xcel Premium was my all time favorite, until I tried natural gut (VS) and Pro Hurricane (strung on the Pure Storm Limited). I feel like it is a lot more comfortable and precise, but at this point it is hard to know if it is the string or the racquet that I like.
Anyway, I guess I'm just frustrated that I can't settle down on one racquet. I don't even search for a better game when I'm demoing them because at my level most of these changes are insignificant, I just want to like them.
Up until now, I know only three things for sure:
- No extended racquets
- Nothing over 100 sq in
- Nothing head heavy
Ok, I've vented.
