Control Racket With Power String or Power Racket With Control String?

Hello all, I am new to tennis. Can you guys give me the knowledge of this topic. Do you prefer a control racket with power string or a power racket with control string? and why? Should one play better than the other?

Thank you!
 

gonzalocatalino

Hall of Fame
Depends on what you like to use. I normally use control racquets (prestiges mid, pogs, donnay platinums and some others) with soft polys at low tensions. Or, sometimes, hybrids (soft poly/multi).
Tried the head extreme pro last year, but to to get decent control i´ve to put polys at higher tensions, and my arm did not liked this combo, at all!
 

Dennison

New User
Depends on how you play.

If you rely on spin for additional control you will like powerful racket with control string, preferably a poly. Such rackets have larger sweet spot and more forgiving and you get more power and spin potential. The downside is that combination can be too stiff for some and may cause injuries in some cases.
Such rackets are aero pro drives, pure drives, head extremes, wilson blx pro open, prince exo black.

More advanced players like to play with control oriented frames and have enough skill to generate decent power and spin from a players racket.
I'm not that good myself, so i find it is easier to play with pure drive, then with rebel 95.

So demo demo demo.

I think Prince Exo Tour is a bit different, it has a softer frame, yet still has high potential power and spin
 

Rjtennis

Hall of Fame
If you are new to tennis I can almost guarantee that you wont like a control racket with little power. You need solid form and a large amount of racquet head speed to get the most out frame like that.

With that said, once you become an experienced player ts just a matter of preference. You have players on tour hitting with sticks ranging from very powerful to extremely control oriented. I enjoy a heavy, powerful frame and use a full poly string bed to get spin and control.
 

Steve Huff

G.O.A.T.
You don't state your age, but I can tell you, a control frame with power strings (multi, etc) is a lot easier on your arm than a power frame (think stiff, widebody) with a control string (also stiff). If you're young, your arm will probably survive (at least short term), but I'd go with the more flexible (control) frame, then string to suit your preference.
 
Thanks for all the replies! these are very helpful to me. I am 44, 5' 10. i stared playing tennis 2 1/2 yrs ago. I am a solid 3.5. I currently play with a head youtek prestige MP. I am thinking of switching to the PD Roddick 2012 to get a bit more power.
 
I'm playing with a Prestige Pro, and if you basically like your MP but want a little more pop, it might be the ticket. I also just strung mine with Nat Gut mains/Poly crosses for the first time (never used gut before) and I'm very pleased with the power I've picked up. I'm very impressed because it is the most controllable power I've ever experienced in a tennis racket.
 

Robbnc

Rookie
Thanks for all the replies! these are very helpful to me. I am 44, 5' 10. i stared playing tennis 2 1/2 yrs ago. I am a solid 3.5. I currently play with a head youtek prestige MP. I am thinking of switching to the PD Roddick 2012 to get a bit more power.

If you're 44 and switching to the PD do yourself a favor and get a Flexbar now.
 

movdqa

Talk Tennis Guru
Another option is to get a control frame and add lead to turn it into a power frame.
 

Steve Huff

G.O.A.T.
I know a lot of guys your age (I'm 54) who use Babolats. They're fine rackets, but I'd still use a softer string. I use a Pro Kennex ki 5, and still use gut or a gut hybrid. I tried some other strings, including some polys. Most were just too hard on the arm unless strung really low. At low tensions, I just couldn't feel the ball as well.
 

Teski

Rookie
Is it that bad? the reviews sound ok.

No it's not. I've been demoing it and while it is a stiff racket, it has not been impacting the arm. I'm 38 so I'm no spring chicken either. :) People love to throw generalizations and stereotypes around here.
 

Robbnc

Rookie
No it's not. I've been demoing it and while it is a stiff racket, it has not been impacting the arm. I'm 38 so I'm no spring chicken either. :) People love to throw generalizations and stereotypes around here.

Yes it is. And that's no generalization. If you cared to look at the facts you'd see it has stiffness rating of 71.... 71 !!!!!! for God's sake ! I'm not knocking Bab's , I still have 2 in my bag although I probably won't use them again. But anyone who doesn't believe this racquet has more potential to cause arm problems than most is nuts ! Does that mean everyone who picks one up is going to get TE ...... no. And does that mean if it didn't hurt when you demo'ed it then it won't ever hurt.......no.

All I'm saying is, if you're no "spring chicken" and you're going to a racquet that stiff it would probably be wise to MAKE SURE your arm is up to the task. You don't have to wait until you get TE to use a flexbar.
 
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Robbnc

Rookie
And for the record I know a 78 year old with titanium knees who uses one and he is never going to get TE because he never takes a full swing at the ball !
 
I am going to demo the PDR 2012, the donnay pro one 97 and the yonex ezone xi98 in the next few month to see how they play. The problem with demo is they don't have good string.
 

tlm

G.O.A.T.
I use an asian blx 90 with 18 gauge blue gear at 65 lbs. This is a great control set up but still can generate big power if hit correctly.
 

Ramon

Legend
Thanks for all the replies! these are very helpful to me. I am 44, 5' 10. i stared playing tennis 2 1/2 yrs ago. I am a solid 3.5. I currently play with a head youtek prestige MP. I am thinking of switching to the PD Roddick 2012 to get a bit more power.

At your age, you really need to pay attention to how your arm reacts to the racquet.

The PDR is a power racquet, but if you use poly strings for control you'll have an extremely unfriendly combination for your arm. So that would rule out the power racquet control string combo.

So, to answer your question, I think a control racquet with power strings is a better combo because at least they are friendlier to the arm. Today's control racquets tend to be player's racquets that are relatively heavy and more flexible. Power strings are usually multifilament or gut. You just have to be careful that when you have a combination of a flexible racquet with resilient strings, certain combinations could result in an unstable response that results in loss of control.
 

Steve Huff

G.O.A.T.
The Babolat is only a "power" racket to the many very good players here. Yes, it is stiff, and a power frame for good players. But, it's not what I'd call a "power" frame. A "power" frame is something like a Wilson k3, Prince O3 Silver, or Head LM 8. True power frames are 110+ sq in., or at least a "tweener" frame (I guess some call the Babolats tweener frames). I think you'd do fine with it as long as you use a soft string. Forego the poly's.
 

Hi I'm Ray

Professional
posting on these boards is becoming a pain in the *** - keeps asking me to log in over and over then dumps my msg away. POS.

I've got both control frame and power frames, both set up for power. You'll have a wider choice of strings if you go with a control frame. I prefer my power frame but my string choices are limited to soft polys with softer crosses.

Keep in mind there are also a few arm friendly power frames, and also control frames that are in the 11oz range.
 

Ramon

Legend
The Babolat is only a "power" racket to the many very good players here. Yes, it is stiff, and a power frame for good players. But, it's not what I'd call a "power" frame. A "power" frame is something like a Wilson k3, Prince O3 Silver, or Head LM 8. True power frames are 110+ sq in., or at least a "tweener" frame (I guess some call the Babolats tweener frames). I think you'd do fine with it as long as you use a soft string. Forego the poly's.

Yes, that's very true. His point of view is as a solid 3.5 with a Head Youtek Prestige MP, so I was assuming he prefers more of a player's type stick and not a GI racquet. I know some 3.5's that would fit that description.

I agree with foregoing poly's as well. I think Head RIP Control is a good control string that plays somewhat like poly but will be easier on the arm. Soft multifilaments like Wilson NXT and any of the Prince Premieres will be easier on the arm than RIP Control and have a litte more pop.
 

Robbnc

Rookie
At your age, you really need to pay attention to how your arm reacts to the racquet.

The PDR is a power racquet, but if you use poly strings for control you'll have an extremely unfriendly combination for your arm. So that would rule out the power racquet control string combo.

So, to answer your question, I think a control racquet with power strings is a better combo because at least they are friendlier to the arm. Today's control racquets tend to be player's racquets that are relatively heavy and more flexible. Power strings are usually multifilament or gut. You just have to be careful that when you have a combination of a flexible racquet with resilient strings, certain combinations could result in an unstable response that results in loss of control.

My thoughts exactly. I switched from APD with RPM to a Rebel 95 with gut. Plenty of power and smooth as butter. But hey , I know that's not for everyone, nothing is.
 

richsox

Rookie
Although it's generally accepted that stiff rackets = arm pain, I don't buy into it completely. In my experience I have only ever experienced arm pain when using a flexy racket (Storm series, nBlades, PK Ki5, and demo-ed many, many oether so called arm freindly rackets). I know this bucks the belief trend, but I have always been comfortable using the pure drive standard (over the past 10 years). Me-I'm 48, and play 4 times a week.

It really comes down to a personal preference, and what feels right, is usually right......sure I do occasionally get the odd shoulder twimge, but thankfully it's on rare occasions, and probably from over use, cramming in too many sets, in a short period of time, and perhaps trying to "heave" ace's too much for free points.

I've sold my so called arm freindly rackets, which I really felt played havoc with my arm, especially when you keep mixing up the rackets you play with. All that to-ing and Fro-ing is recipe for arm trouble.
 
Thanks so much! it is interesting and beneficial. Is it right for me to say a lot of replies pointing toward individual references??? regarding racket and string choices.
 

corners

Legend
Female pros like the Williams sisters, Clijsters and Henin go power racquet with power string. Serena, Venus and Justine use/used racquets with very high swingweights (therefore very powerful) and natural gut. Henin's frame was also very stiff. Clijsters uses a stiff Pure Drive with moderate swingweight and natural gut. Do us rec players swing faster than they do? Do we need stiff "control" strings to control our super-powerful shots?
 
Control racquet with control string. I mean, heavy control racquets have more potential power than so called "power racquets".

I think this is sort of putting racquets into categories they don't belong.
 

sansaephanh

Professional
I like a control racket with control strings, this way i can grip and rip.

I'm 21 and i don't even have the energy to pull off such a feat for 3 hours lol.

posting on these boards is becoming a pain in the *** - keeps asking me to log in over and over then dumps my msg away. POS.

I've got both control frame and power frames, both set up for power. You'll have a wider choice of strings if you go with a control frame. I prefer my power frame but my string choices are limited to soft polys with softer crosses.

Keep in mind there are also a few arm friendly power frames, and also control frames that are in the 11oz range.



Agreed, but my starting headsize for "tweener is 103+
 

tlm

G.O.A.T.
I'm 21 and i don't even have the energy to pull off such a feat for 3 hours lol.





Agreed, but my starting headsize for "tweener is 103+



I have done it for 3 hours but that is very rare, most matches i play are 2 hours long.
 
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