Demos for my wife - Suggestions?

[Lindros13]

She currently uses a Prince Thunder Extender 970 (9.2 oz weight, 124 headsize and 28.5 length)! Out of the racquets in our basement, she likes it the best. She's only about a 2.5 player but continually getting much better through group lessons. (playing for about a year or two).

Last year she tested the Prince O3 Blue and it didn't fit her well (I think she said it hit the ball too hard). She also tested the Wilson nPro Surge (her instructors racquet) and the Babolat PD (which she liked it a little, but not a whole lot).

I looked at the specs on the Wilson W-line and they're mostly Head Heavy and about 8.5 to 9 oz. Perhaps one of those or perhaps the Prince Shark or Hornet? She doesn't necessarily need a current O3 model, but I'm not sure what older models I could find. I don't care about the price - I'd just love to find one that she likes and that can potentially help her game further develop.

Please post any suggestions. And/or please post the popular women's racquets these days.

 

[python]

My suggestions for a demo:

Volkl V1 Classic
Head LM 4
Dunlop M-Fil 400

Many women I see on the court these days use a Babolat Pure Drive.

 

[shavenstringer]

Wilson N3 or any racquet fron the wilson w line

 

[jdeloach]

My wife has been using a RDX500, but recently demoed a O3 Hybrid Hornet and probably will end up getting one. (which is dumb, because I just got through selling one a few months back) She likes the RDX, but it is a tad too demanding. The Hornet is great for her.

 

[hoosierbr]

Has she tried the Prince O3 White?

 

[robkat]

Volkl DNX 3

 

[jamumafa]

K90. WHIP HER INTO SHAPE!!!

Joking.

Maybe something like a Dunlop 400/500? Or a Prince white?

 

[fielders_80]

I would say 03 White. My wife likes it a lot. Good combination of power and comfort.

 

[iksmols]

My wife feels comfortable with Dunlop Maxply McEnroe.

 

[bruce nissenbaum]

I'm not inclined to recommend any specific racquet but would offer some suggestions FWIW as if I did this for my wife a couple of years ago.

1. Go heavier static weight to increase mass striking the ball, but don't increase too much. (we went from 8.7 to 9.8 oz)

2. Go shorter length to decrease linear torque on wrist, elbow, shoulder. (we went from 28 to 27.5 in)

3. Go smaller head size to decrease rotational torque on off-center mishits, especially framed balls; might also help with control. But don't do drastic change. (we went from 120 to 110 si)

4. Go to near 'neutral' balance point, maybe between -2 to +2. Above +2 I think produces too much elbow stress especially with light racquets and below -2 weakens shots for those with slow swing speed. (we went from +8 to even balance)

5. Go with modest swingweight, maybe between 300 to 325 (if you can find 325 in a modern light racquet) so it feels like racquet is playing the ball, not ball playing the racquet. (we went from 286 to 305)

6. Go with a bit of stiffness, maybe 65-68; avoid anything excessive that will produce wrist, elbow shoulder problems. (we went from 75 to 65)

7. Go with a wide enough beam, maybe 25-28 to provide rotational stability. (we went from 30 straight beam to 28/24 taper beam)

8. Demo. Regardless the specs you settle on, I believe you can only find what you like by playing the racquet. The difficulty with demo is grip size and string type/guage/newness will impact play, but you can still get a decent idea of comfort and 'swing feel' to make decisions.

8. Finally, go with a reasonably soft multifilament string strung at mid tension; play for awhile to determine the playability and comfort and to determine whether or not to adjust tension or try another string to find a better compliment to the racquet.

Having offered the above, my wife (NTRP 3.0, if it helps) currently uses a Prince Thundercloud (not the triple threat!!) strung with Head Rip Control 17 at +2. The main thing is that she is very comfortable with this set-up, it apparently works very well for her style of play and, therefore, her confidence level is high when she gets on the court.

Hope there is something in here useful for you.

 

[Steve Huff]

My wife is a 3.0, and has very little power. She just switched to a Prince Hybrid Shark OS. However, i've been trying to get her to try the Wilson N 4. I've hit with it, and although it's too powerful for me, it did feel very solid. I think either of these would be nice.