Best serve-and-volley racket
- Thread starter aj_m2009
- Start date
ferrari_827
Professional
Best one I've played with. Yonex RD Ti70 long.
Cobra Tennis
Professional
College tennis player, serve and volley 70% in singles 100% doubles and the Fischer Pro No. One is my weapon. It does everything, and great.
I'm an ex-college player, ex-ranked junior, and presently still playing men's open tournaments with the USTA. I'm been a serve and vollyerer my entire tennis lifetime. As a junior I played with the Prince CTS approach midplus and while I was in college I was playing with the Wilson PS 6.1 95. But just over the past 6 months, i've been playing with the Wilson Ncode nsix-one 95. If i had to compare the 3, my favorite has to be the Prince CTS approach midplus. I wish they were still available. :-(
NsixoneTour 90. Love this racquet. Heavy-ish, manueverable, solid at net.
You know though - an interesting derail to this thread would/could be "What are the best characteristics of an S/V stick," vs. another "Best S/V racquet" and all those variations. This way readers would sort of see the man behind the curtain and then be able to compare qualities of racquets. My .02.
Qualities I like are: Heavy, headlight, solid feel, decent flex (this is always the missing ingredient for me though), smaller head size.
Jet
You know though - an interesting derail to this thread would/could be "What are the best characteristics of an S/V stick," vs. another "Best S/V racquet" and all those variations. This way readers would sort of see the man behind the curtain and then be able to compare qualities of racquets. My .02.
Qualities I like are: Heavy, headlight, solid feel, decent flex (this is always the missing ingredient for me though), smaller head size.
Jet
OldSchooLTennis
Rookie
I think the Estusa Power beam braided was a great serve and volley stick.
schaefferm46
Rookie
I was wondering what type of strings are good for serve and vollying I.E high tension or low, soft or stiff ect
need2paint
Rookie
i would guess softer strings for more touch, but tension varies by player. sampras used high tension; mcenroe used low.
LickyMYwalker
New User
i can get a lot of spin on my RDX500 so then it gives me time to get to the net faster and the serve will kick higher too
louis netman
Hall of Fame
Prince Precision Response Ti, Precision Response 660, Slaz X-1, Wilson PS 6.0 85 & 95, Wilson 6.1 95. The Wilson PS 6.1 will kill your arm, however...
characteristics: hefty, headlight, open patterned...
characteristics: hefty, headlight, open patterned...
Exile
Professional
I honestly think it would depend on your level of power that you'd like.
For the weaker players I'd say the Htour
For the stronger players I'd say the PS 6.0 85/tour 90
LM/i.Prestige Mid
Never believed to go to a MP for a racket. Call me stupid/crazy/old fashioned but I think the traditional style(mid) is still the way to go when looking at a stick in general.
I use the tour 90 using Head Rip control strung at 70 lbs.
For the weaker players I'd say the Htour
For the stronger players I'd say the PS 6.0 85/tour 90
LM/i.Prestige Mid
Never believed to go to a MP for a racket. Call me stupid/crazy/old fashioned but I think the traditional style(mid) is still the way to go when looking at a stick in general.
I use the tour 90 using Head Rip control strung at 70 lbs.
THE ANIMAL
Rookie
Easily by a long way the Pro Staff classic 6.1 euro 18x20 pattern.
louis netman
Hall of Fame
aj_m2009 said:
I think many can attest that the 6.1 is way stiff (RDC 72?). The vibe dampener is not a shock reducer. It merely eliminates the annoying "pinging" sound, that's all it does. The 93 Rok is great for a flat-ball hitter. The stock warrior is too light for me, but many like it cause it slices and volleys like the PRTi...I tried weighting the warrior to the prti specs, but it becomes way too powerful.
Steve F.
Professional
rubber bands, string patterns and the PSC 6.1
aj -
a rubber band or vibration damper doesn't reduce the stiffness of a frame, just the vibration of the strings. If you've got a small headed frame, a thick vibration stopper can make a huge impact, just stick one of those sampras washers on a Prestige Mid. But for the other frames, it gets rid of that annoying ping and that's it.
The 6.1 classic is very stiff - I played with it for years and used to get dead arm (biceps) from it, because all that shock has to go somewhere. The ncode six-one is similarly stiff but whatever they've done to it, the feel is much more muted now. Though I had to ice my arm, I prefer the feel of the PSC6.1.
There's a world of difference between 16x18 and 18x20, from string life (shorter life in more open pattern), to power (more in open), and spin (again, typically more in open). 18x20 gets the nod for control. Of course, ymmv and plenty here may disagree.
That said, technique is infinitely more important than what racquet you've got in your hand when SnVing, cause there's more than one way to rush the net, and you'll need them all as you play better and better players.
By definition, to snv, you need a strong serve. In my case, that means a stiffer frame with an open pattern so I can mix up my serve, and get plenty of kick, esp. on seconds.
You also need to volley well - and there's the rub. Flexy sticks usually volley better. But if the stick has feel, that helps a ton.
Best SnV racq for me: PSC 6.1
aj -
a rubber band or vibration damper doesn't reduce the stiffness of a frame, just the vibration of the strings. If you've got a small headed frame, a thick vibration stopper can make a huge impact, just stick one of those sampras washers on a Prestige Mid. But for the other frames, it gets rid of that annoying ping and that's it.
The 6.1 classic is very stiff - I played with it for years and used to get dead arm (biceps) from it, because all that shock has to go somewhere. The ncode six-one is similarly stiff but whatever they've done to it, the feel is much more muted now. Though I had to ice my arm, I prefer the feel of the PSC6.1.
There's a world of difference between 16x18 and 18x20, from string life (shorter life in more open pattern), to power (more in open), and spin (again, typically more in open). 18x20 gets the nod for control. Of course, ymmv and plenty here may disagree.
That said, technique is infinitely more important than what racquet you've got in your hand when SnVing, cause there's more than one way to rush the net, and you'll need them all as you play better and better players.
By definition, to snv, you need a strong serve. In my case, that means a stiffer frame with an open pattern so I can mix up my serve, and get plenty of kick, esp. on seconds.
You also need to volley well - and there's the rub. Flexy sticks usually volley better. But if the stick has feel, that helps a ton.
Best SnV racq for me: PSC 6.1
aj_m2009
Professional
This is a little off topic but oh well, I'll get back on later. I think a rubberband and vibration dampeners reduce shock on any racket(the ones I play with anyway). Last fall I was using a HH 6.2 OS and without a vibe. damp. I had arm problems like mad but once I put one back on my arm wouldn't hurt anymore.
Ok, back on topic. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you guys rate the PS Rok, PS 6.1, PS Tour 95, and PS 6.0 MP?
Ok, back on topic. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you guys rate the PS Rok, PS 6.1, PS Tour 95, and PS 6.0 MP?
Best serve/volley racquet I ever used would be a toss up between the Prince Magnesium Pro and the Prince Precision Mono. The Magnesium was a better all-around racquet but the Mono was unbelievably good to volley with, despite the fact it had less flex than Id like. Cant prove it but I feel that the closed throat has a lot to do with its playability on the serve, volley and slice approach shot.
Still, Id like to know what is the best serve/volley frame currently available.
Sorry to dissapoint the faithful but the POG OS definately isnt it, although it is a winner in other areas. So what do I replace those two old Prince frames with (and that isn't sub 90sq) ?
Still, Id like to know what is the best serve/volley frame currently available.
Sorry to dissapoint the faithful but the POG OS definately isnt it, although it is a winner in other areas. So what do I replace those two old Prince frames with (and that isn't sub 90sq) ?
aj_m2009
Professional
Rabbit said:
The thing is I don't S&V a lot but I am really considering going to pure S&V 'cause my ground game isn't exactly the best so I don't really know which racket is best to S&V with for me, that is why I asked. And isn't the Jack Kramer Prostaff a wood racket or is that a different Jack Kramer racket?
equinox
Hall of Fame
I'd choose Prestige Classic (great control but i've found quite demanding) or
ProStaff 6.0 95 (good solid all court racquet) or
Volkl C10Pro (excellent allround racquet, its noodley flexibility is an acquired taste, some players love this racquet. others don't)
for serve and volley play.
I'd string it with a decent natural gut between 57-64 lbs.
ProStaff 6.0 95 (good solid all court racquet) or
Volkl C10Pro (excellent allround racquet, its noodley flexibility is an acquired taste, some players love this racquet. others don't)
for serve and volley play.
I'd string it with a decent natural gut between 57-64 lbs.
johnmcc516
Semi-Pro
volleyman said:
Don't hate on the 4.0
Thats what I am.
