Arm friendly Rackets

[Maafcon]

I am a senior player (60s). Rated at the best a 3.0. I used play in USTA leagues and after multiple injuries including wrist problems, tennis elbow and rotator cuff injury gave up tennis for a few years and now trying to get back in to tennis. I am looking for a new racket that is arm friendly. I have a medium stroke and not a hard hitter (used to but can not anymore).

I have tried the following but did not find them comfortable.

ProKennex Ki 15 (260)
ProKennex Ki 5 (300)
Yonex EZONE DR 100 Blue
Yonex EZONE 98 (305g)


Now I am planning to demothe following Babolat lite rackets

Babolat Pure Drive Lite
Babolat Drive G Lite
Babolat Pure Aero Lite

I am looking for suggestions for any other rackets based on your personal experience that would allow me enjoy tennis again. Thank you.

 

[Sambuccashake]

I think you should check out Prince Textreme as well. Very comfy while retaining some level of "crisp".

I also think you are doing yourself a disservice by playing "lite" racquets. Mass can actually equal comfort in this case.

 

[kenyee]

Also try the original Prokennex 5G. IMHO, they made the Ki5/15 too stiff.

Would also help if you mentioned what parts of your body the demos aggravated....

 

[IowaGuy]

I am a senior player (60s). Rated at the best a 3.0. I used play in USTA leagues and after multiple injuries including wrist problems, tennis elbow and rotator cuff injury gave up tennis for a few years and now trying to get back in to tennis. I am looking for a new racket that is arm friendly. I have a medium stroke and not a hard hitter (used to but can not anymore).

I have tried the following but did not find them comfortable.

ProKennex Ki 15 (260)
ProKennex Ki 5 (300)
Yonex EZONE DR 100 Blue
Yonex EZONE 98 (305g)


Now I am planning to demothe following Babolat lite rackets

Babolat Pure Drive Lite
Babolat Drive G Lite
Babolat Pure Aero Lite

I am looking for suggestions for any other rackets based on your personal experience that would allow me enjoy tennis again. Thank you.

Full bed natural gut will help tremendously!

 

[fuzz nation]

I very much agree with post #2 above.

My story: now age 52, certified teaching pro, high school coach, rather experienced stringer (not certified), played with wood racquets as a kid, and never really got over that general racquet recipe of heavy, head-light in balance, and rather flexible.

I try to avoid the thinking that everyone should like what I like just because I like it. I coach lots of high school kids who really love their frames, but I would consider many of these to be stiff uncomfortable "middle-weights" compared to what I generally play. Personal preferences vary and I suppose that's fine.

But I've tried to get along with more than one or two of these lighter rigs and I find no upside to them at all. They're unstable against the ball, not especially powerful, typically have a feel that's just plain harsh, and many of them are actually difficult for me to maneuver because they are significantly less head-light than my players.

Because my racquets are heavy and stable (12.6-12.8 oz.), they command the ball just fine. Lighter frames can force me to over-swing to generate decent power - routinely stressful on my arm and shoulder. My racquets also have a balance of around 10 pts. head-light. I've let little 11-year-old kids (boys and girls) of average ability use these in the past and they enjoyed them for an hour or more. No, their arms didn't fall off.

I also let one of the beginner girls on my high school squad borrow my racquet when she was working on her serve this past week. After hitting only two or three balls, she said that my racquet was much easier to serve with compared to her lighter "beginner" frame. Even though lighter may be somehow "better", we're still trying to hit ball a ball that weighs two ounces. As racquets get lighter, they have less capacity to "win the collision", so I think there can be a certain point where less weight can be a liability.

As a very happy Volkl nerd, I encourage you to look over their current offerings. Even the not-so-heavy V1 line has earned a solid reputation for arm-friendliness. I keep both their C10 and older Organix 10 325g in my bag. Volkl offers a rather broad lineup, but these two models have given me an unbeatable combo of comfort and performance.

 

[grhcan99]

I very much agree with post #2 above.

As a very happy Volkl nerd, I encourage you to look over their current offerings. Even the not-so-heavy V1 line has earned a solid reputation for arm-friendliness. I keep both their C10 and older Organix 10 325g in my bag. Volkl offers a rather broad lineup, but these two models have given me an unbeatable combo of comfort and performance.

I have your exact combo of racquets. But I just added another, Prince Tour 100 18x20 (weighted to 12+ oz) which I love. I doubt anything could get as comfy as this. So when I start a hitting session I get the Prince Tour 1st, hit with it for 20 minutes or so, switch to the Organix 10 325, another 20+ minutes and then my primary weapon the C10 Pro at which point my arm is all warmed up and ready to do some heavy hitting

 

[Ronaldo]

TW has the Prince Tour 100T ESP racquet used. Never found a racquet easier on my arm.
Believe there is a 30 day trial. Can return if you do not like it.

 

[Maafcon]

Also try the original Prokennex 5G. IMHO, they made the Ki5/15 too stiff.

Would also help if you mentioned what parts of your body the demos aggravated....

Thank you.
The demos have caused wrist pain and tennis elbow.

 

[chikoo]

I am a senior player (60s). Rated at the best a 3.0. I used play in USTA leagues and after multiple injuries including wrist problems, tennis elbow and rotator cuff injury gave up tennis for a few years and now trying to get back in to tennis. I am looking for a new racket that is arm friendly. I have a medium stroke and not a hard hitter (used to but can not anymore).

I have tried the following but did not find them comfortable.

ProKennex Ki 15 (260)
ProKennex Ki 5 (300)
Yonex EZONE DR 100 Blue
Yonex EZONE 98 (305g)


Now I am planning to demothe following Babolat lite rackets

Babolat Pure Drive Lite
Babolat Drive G Lite
Babolat Pure Aero Lite

I am looking for suggestions for any other rackets based on your personal experience that would allow me enjoy tennis again. Thank you.

Don't forget the Wilson Ultra 100 Countervail.

 

[kenyee]

demos have caused wrist pain and tennis elbow.

In general:
Serving w/ too heavy racquets ("heavy" depends on the person) causes shoulder issues.
Wrist issues are from vibration or light racquets or stiff strings/racquets.
Tennis elbow from lighter racquets or bad technique or stiff strings/racquets.

If none of the ones you tried are aggravating your shoulder, you might want to look at slightly heavier racquets.
The PK5G would be something to try. The Volkl C10 Pro as well (though I found it a bit heavy feeling when swinging).
Once you find something decently comfortable, put in natural gut for strings to minimize vibration from impact.

Can't say I'd recommend any Babolat racquets if you have wrist/arm issues...they're fairly stiff...

 

[WestboroChe]

Don't forget the Wilson Ultra 100 Countervail.

The Ultra CV is crazy stiff. I think you mean the Ultra Tour.

 

[WestboroChe]

I developed TE recently and for some reason decided to buy an old PK Silver Ace. Very arm friendly. Soft and flexible and a foam core. Can be had for less than $30 on the bay.

I would look for any racquet that has a foam core and more than 11 oz.

I also have to second the look at the Prince frames. The Phantom and the Tour lines are both very flexible and arm friendly but you might need to add some weight. I don't think you will like the Babolat frames if you are looking for comfort.

 

[chikoo]

The Ultra CV is crazy stiff. I think you mean the Ultra Tour.

Stiff but CV dampens the harshness. Overall, easier to handle.
It is like driving a sports car. Stiffer than a Camry, yet does not give you backache.

 

[chikoo]

In general:
Serving w/ too heavy racquets ("heavy" depends on the person) causes shoulder issues.
Wrist issues are from vibration or light racquets or stiff strings/racquets.
Tennis elbow from lighter racquets or bad technique or stiff strings/racquets.

If none of the ones you tried are aggravating your shoulder, you might want to look at slightly heavier racquets.
The PK5G would be something to try. The Volkl C10 Pro as well (though I found it a bit heavy feeling when swinging).
Once you find something decently comfortable, put in natural gut for strings to minimize vibration from impact.

Can't say I'd recommend any Babolat racquets if you have wrist/arm issues...they're fairly stiff...

In general, with a good top of the line racquet, if you still having problems, you need to revisit your technique.
I use the RF97 and there was a time I had TE, but I adjusted my technique and the problem went away.

 

[chikoo]

Even though lighter may be somehow "better", we're still trying to hit ball a ball that weighs two ounces. As racquets get lighter, they have less capacity to "win the collision", so I think there can be a certain point where less weight can be a liability.

and that is why I use the RF97A strung just like RF, but 4lbs less tension than RF.

 

[ludde]

Prince Phantom Pro 100

 

[Dartagnan64]

Prince Phantom Pro 100

Pretty much all the Phantom series are arm friendly. As are the Prince Tours.

 

[Ronaldo]

Head MicroGel Radicals worth demoing. Can add CAP grommets but maybe no leather, too firm.

 

[ludde]

Pretty much all the Phantom series are arm friendly. As are the Prince Tours.

Yes, they all arm friendly.I tested all of this frames, but for me is the Pro 100 by far the most comfortable of them all.

Pro100>P100P>TT100P/TT100T

with gut/poly

 

[nvr2old]

Pretty much all the Phantom series are arm friendly. As are the Prince Tours.

My phantom pro 100p is my comfiest racquet. Also had the PK 5 and 7G which were soft but lower powered. Also PK Redondo is very soft. Actually too soft for me so much so that mine is for sale on TW for sale section.

 

[Ronaldo]

My phantom pro 100p is my comfiest racquet. Also had the PK 5 and 7G which were soft but lower powered. Also PK Redondo is very soft. Actually too soft for me so much so that mine is for sale on TW for sale section.

Does your Redondo have a 93 or 98" head?

 

[BlueB]

Wrist issues are from vibration or light racquets or stiff strings/racquets.

Wrist problems can be from both too light or too HEAVY racquets. From my personal experience too heavy is more dangerous.

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk

 

[Dartagnan64]

Wrist problems can be from both too light or too HEAVY racquets. From my personal experience too heavy is more dangerous.

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk

Wrist problems probably mostly come from technical flaws in the swing. Light and heavy can accentuate flaws.

 

[nvr2old]

Does your Redondo have a 93 or 98" head?

98

 

[Ronaldo]

98

Ty

 

[nvr2old]

Ty

YW

 

[BlueB]

Wrist problems probably mostly come from technical flaws in the swing. Light and heavy can accentuate flaws.

I tend to agree with this.
However, a too heavy will "pull" too much, while the too light will "give in" too much.

Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk

 

[Ronaldo]

Still own the Wilson ROK, 93" head. Great control racquet Prince NXG Tour mid too

 

[WestboroChe]

and that is why I use the RF97A strung just like RF, but 4lbs less tension than RF.

Do you work for Wilson?

All kidding aside I totally disagree about the countervail and the Ultra. I hit with it for about a minute and knew I could never play with it. Very harsh. I know countervail is used in a lot of high tech applications but Wilson is gravely misinformed if they think it will make a racquet with a 74 RA arm friendly.

 

[chikoo]

Do you work for Wilson?

All kidding aside I totally disagree about the countervail and the Ultra. I hit with it for about a minute and knew I could never play with it. Very harsh. I know countervail is used in a lot of high tech applications but Wilson is gravely misinformed if they think it will make a racquet with a 74 RA arm friendly.

I will find out as I have ordered one to try out

 

[Crocodile]

My favourite list of arm friendly racquets are:

1. Prince Phantom 100 P
2. Prince Textreme Tour 95 and 100
3. Pro Kennex Q Tour Plus 325 and 2013 Q Tour 325
4. Yonex V Core 95 - new one
5. Volkl C 10 Pro and all other 10mp series in a 325 wright. The SG 10 mid 330 is ok but not the 320.
6. Pro Kennex Core 1 no 6
7. Donnay X Duel Gold and Platinum 99's
8. Volkl V 1 Pro and V Sense V 1
9. Volkl V feel 4
10. Angell K red
11. Wilson Ultra Tour
12. Pacific X Force Pro
13. Pro Kennex Redondo, 5G & 7G
14. Head Radical Oversize anniversary
15. Yonex V Pro 97 330
At the end of the day you have to try them out to see which one fits your strength profile and game style and don't forget to use natural gut or multi filament like Biohase.
Also don't be afraid to go something older line new old stock on for sale sites and finally I don't recommend any of the Babolat racquets you want to try.
An extra note, going light is worse for arm safety than heavy, but you need to get the formula right and some of the racquets I have listed may not be right for you but if I had to list a formula it would be:
1. Over 11 ounces
2. Preferably headlight and moderate swingweight say above 315 up to about 328. Some I have listed are higher but it's something you need to try.
3. Open string pattern
4. Low to medium RA 50 - 67
5. Handle dampening system
6. Larger grip
7. Thinner beam

 

[fuzz nation]

Still own the Wilson ROK, 93" head. Great control racquet Prince NXG Tour mid too

I still have three NXG mids myself. WONderful racquets!! I scored the third one only maybe a year or two ago from the classifieds here - great find in better than 9/10 condition.

While the newer Prince Phantom Pro 93 looks interesting, I already have my NXG mids, which look like they're softer and heavier than the Phantom mids based on the specs. Hard to believe that the lighter Phantom 93 would offer any advantage over the NXG, so I'm not in a rush to try the Phantom. If one comes my way though, I'll definitely enjoy a go with it.

 

[fuzz nation]

I have your exact combo of racquets. But I just added another, Prince Tour 100 18x20 (weighted to 12+ oz) which I love. I doubt anything could get as comfy as this. So when I start a hitting session I get the Prince Tour 1st, hit with it for 20 minutes or so, switch to the Organix 10 325, another 20+ minutes and then my primary weapon the C10 Pro at which point my arm is all warmed up and ready to do some heavy hitting

That Prince is a nice addition for sure - I was just mentioning my NXG mids above. Hard to imagine and arm getting too grumpy with Volkl and Prince gear on hand!!... as long as they're not strung with rock-hard poly...

My O10's were a disappointment for me until I added lead tape to both the hoops and handles. Now these are easily my most useful racquets.

My C10's also have lead on the handles (but not their hoops). Slightly less cumbersome for me with the bump in head-light balance - these are around 10 pts. HL. If you've never tried your C10 with some added weight to the handle and it sometimes feels like a bit much for you, this could be worth a pack of 1/2" lead tape to experiment.

 

[Voytek Bunia]

I play with TE. I tried a lot of racquets but my two favorites are

Prince tt100p and head touchspeed pro. With multi/poly hybrids. I do break the multis within 10 hours but it just plays so nice I deal with it.

 

[Tommy Haas]

@Crocodile is your list in order of most to least friendly from your experience? Have you played with the PP100? I'm wondering if the PP100 or PP100P is more arm friendly. The PP100 has a 54RA while the PP100P has a 59RA, but the PP100 may be so under powered that you end up trying to overhit and it being too flexible without enough weight and get pushed around in your arm on hard hit shots. I really hate using lead tape, so the most I'd change is using a leather grip to add weight.

 

[ludde]

I'm wondering if the PP100 or PP100P is more arm friendly.

The Phantom Pro 100 is more arm friendly.

 

[weelie]

At the end of the day you have to try them out to see which one fits your strength profile and game style and don't forget to use natural gut or multi filament like Biohase.
Also don't be afraid to go something older line new old stock on for sale sites and finally I don't recommend any of the Babolat racquets you want to try.
An extra note, going light is worse for arm safety than heavy, but you need to get the formula right and some of the racquets I have listed may not be right for you but if I had to list a formula it would be:
1. Over 11 ounces
2. Preferably headlight and moderate swingweight say above 315 up to about 328. Some I have listed are higher but it's something you need to try.
3. Open string pattern
4. Low to medium RA 50 - 67
5. Handle dampening system
6. Larger grip
7. Thinner beam

I like this list. In my quest for comfort, I've ticked off all but 7. A friend happened to have an extra Graphene Radical S (RA is 62-63), so I took it (a year ago). It is only 290g, so I added a Sorbothane grip and an overgrip and a little lead at the throat. So it is now 350g and very headlight, grip is probably 4.5 now instead of the original 3. Works for me. I still play the soft poly strings, that's the next step to fix for comfort. Kevlar/Zyex or Head Velocity strings might be something I'll try.

I recently bought a 2nd Graph Rad S another friend wanted to part with (did not have sorbothane grip for it, so used lead, a Head gel grip and two overgrips and blu tack). So now I am able to try out a few things. I play 2HBH, and a racket this head light sucks for 1HBH (for me, YMMV), I would need more heft for onehander. I know my slice and backhand volley have suffered from the light stick. So maybe I will try a gram of lead at 3&9, to see if it made a (positive) difference.

 

[Crocodile]

@Crocodile is your list in order of most to least friendly from your experience? Have you played with the PP100? I'm wondering if the PP100 or PP100P is more arm friendly. The PP100 has a 54RA while the PP100P has a 59RA, but the PP100 may be so under powered that you end up trying to overhit and it being too flexible without enough weight and get pushed around in your arm on hard hit shots. I really hate using lead tape, so the most I'd change is using a leather grip to add weight.

No it's not in order. What is most comfortable for each individual will depend on your own situation, for me it's the heaviest racquet I can use with the lowest flex, open string pattern, handle system. For me the C10 and Q Tour are comfortable, the phantoms are extremely comfortable but needs a lot of lead.