Golfer's Elbow DEFEATED! Need a new racquet!

[tennis-galaxy]

Hello everyone!

I introduce myself. My name is Ariel, im an 4.5-5.0 level player, baseliner with heavy spin strokes, OHBH.


Last year, i had to stop because i was diagnose golfer's elbow and wrist tendonitis when i switch racquet and grip size.
After 6 months of rehab, now im ready to come back to the court. (I have the OK of my physiotherapist)

My last racket (with which I injured) was Babolat Pure Aero strung with Luxilon Alu Power at 55lb.
Before this stick, i used to use Babolat Racquets (Babolat Pure Storm, Pure Drive, APD GT and APD 2013, all of them with full bed of poly's at similar string tension) and never had any pain. All start with PURE AERO.

Now that i can return, i had many advice to switch to a flexible frame (less than 66 ra),more heavy weight (11.5oz onwards), more HL balance (6pts to 8pts) , an open string pattern and change strings to multifilament or a soft poly.

Here are a list with the rackets that i can get:

Prince Textreme Tour 100p
Prince Textreme Tour 95
Prince Phantom Pro 100p
Prince Textreme Warrior 100 (maybe adding some lead tape to get more mass)
Head Graphene Touch Speed Pro
Head Graphene Touch Prestige Pro


I see that much people recommend ProKennex or Volkl rackets but in my country i can't get any of them and it is very expensive to import them.


So which frames that i mentioned above you will recommend?

Please let me know of any other advice!



Thanks for your time

 

[Tommy Haas]

Don't forget the Prince Phantom Pro 100 which has the lowest RA of any frame available today and the Phantom Pro 93P, especially since you're a highly advanced player with a OHBH. Good to see no Babolat sticks are on your list. Anyone with arm problems or had arm problems should avoid them like the plague.

 

[Racer41c]

You will be able to pickup and play the Warrior and it will remind you of the babolats. Lots of spin but on the stiffer side. The Phantom Pro 100P and the Textreme 95 play very similiar solid and arm friendly. No problem at all generating spin. I would NOT recommend the Textreme Tour 100P for you because of the 18x20 pattern. Of all the raquets I've tried the TT 100P is not a good one for me.

I gave up on the Heads because the graphene is too stiff for me.

 

[Nick777]

My vote is the textreme tour 100p if you want easy power, control, feel, fast and phantom pro 100 if you want more flexible and more forgiving stick, better for your arm, tons of spin, nice control and very easy to swing also, if i were you i go with the phantom pro 100 because i know a lot of chronic shoulder injuries, believe me you can play as good tennis with this if not better than babolat, its all about technique and give some time to the new stick

 

[jonestim]

Textreme Warror 100 (or new Beast 100) will be the most natural transition after you get some weight on it. It is a thicker beamed 100 and has the most power of the Prince racquets you mentioned.

I also have suffered from GE in the past and have no issues playing with a Warrior strung with full poly at 54. Last Babolat I had was a Pure Drive Team Plus and after hitting with it for a week with full multi I had problems. I also had tried Pure Drive Tour Plus, Pure Aero and APD+. None worked for my elbow for more than a week or two.

For me, I just need to get over that line of "good enough" for the elbow to not hurt. The Warrior causes no pain for me. It may or may not be over your threshold. The Tour 100P, Phantom Pro 100P and Tour 95 are all going to be better on the elbow than the Warrior, and will all have less power.

Tour 100P is quite open for an 18x20, but still does hit a flatter ball. It is more precise than the Warrior and if you have good technique the topspin is adequate. Slice is very good with this racquet, but I like my OHBH with the Warrior better - it loops in better. I sold mine a year ago, and wish I still had one in the bag.

Phantom 100P plays a bit heavier than either of the above. I only hit with it for about 2 hrs, but the feel was great. It is lower powered and will be a bigger transition from your current setup, but it is very very comfortable.

I had a Textreme Tour 95, but that was about 3 years ago and I have hit so many racquets since then I can't recall it well.

 

[esgee48]

Can you use other types of string other than polyester? If you decide to continue to use polyester strings, would you be play with thicker gauges AND lower tension? I have clients in your rating range and they use 16 Ga polyesters strings in the 46-52# range in 95-100 in^2. The frames range from Prestiges, Radicals, Steams and Blades.

 

[Nick777]

Be aware, whatever racket or string you choose you sould come back playing progressively, doesn't matter if you are not in pain

 

[Doc Hollidae]

The Warrior 100 or Beast 100 would be the most similar to your Babolats, but with more comfort.

 

[markus666]

My vote for Prince Beast 100, as it is 16*19 (warrior is 16*18). In case you need to avoid polys for a while, will be easier to hibrid (gut/poly maybe for some weeks to recover) without breaking strings every few hours.

 

[JoshTheLMT]

I had to take off for a few months when my APD 2013 with RPM Team at 57lbs, finally bit back. Searched many racquets and landed on the Prince TT 100P, strung with Hyper G 17 at 48lbs in the mains, and Prince Tour XR 16L at 50lbs in the crosses. Love the set up, and zero arm issues at this point.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tennis-galaxy]

Don't forget the Prince Phantom Pro 100 which has the lowest RA of any frame available today and the Phantom Pro 93P, especially since you're a highly advanced player with a OHBH. Good to see no Babolat sticks are on your list. Anyone with arm problems or had arm problems should avoid them like the plague.

OH! i forgot about Phantom Pro 100. I want to avoid prince o ports rackets, i dont like it

You will be able to pickup and play the Warrior and it will remind you of the babolats. Lots of spin but on the stiffer side. The Phantom Pro 100P and the Textreme 95 play very similiar solid and arm friendly. No problem at all generating spin. I would NOT recommend the Textreme Tour 100P for you because of the 18x20 pattern. Of all the raquets I've tried the TT 100P is not a good one for me.

I gave up on the Heads because the graphene is too stiff for me.

Thats the only thing that i doubt it, the tight string pattern of Tour 100p. But the rest of the specs seems to be nice. Its a shame that i can't test rackets here in my country

I like Textreme 95 specs a lot but im not sure about head size. 100 sq. in seems to have an larger sweet spot to avoid vibration's that can hurt on my wrist or elbow.

My vote is the textreme tour 100p if you want easy power, control, feel, fast and phantom pro 100 if you want more flexible and more forgiving stick, better for your arm, tons of spin, nice control and very easy to swing also, if i were you i go with the phantom pro 100 because i know a lot of chronic shoulder injuries, believe me you can play as good tennis with this if not better than babolat, its all about technique and give some time to the new stick

I'll keep it in mind. I like a lot the spec's of Phantom Pro 100 as much as Tour 100p. But Phantom Pro 100 has one more point because of the open string pattern.

Textreme Warror 100 (or new Beast 100) will be the most natural transition after you get some weight on it. It is a thicker beamed 100 and has the most power of the Prince racquets you mentioned.

I also have suffered from GE in the past and have no issues playing with a Warrior strung with full poly at 54. Last Babolat I had was a Pure Drive Team Plus and after hitting with it for a week with full multi I had problems. I also had tried Pure Drive Tour Plus, Pure Aero and APD+. None worked for my elbow for more than a week or two.

For me, I just need to get over that line of "good enough" for the elbow to not hurt. The Warrior causes no pain for me. It may or may not be over your threshold. The Tour 100P, Phantom Pro 100P and Tour 95 are all going to be better on the elbow than the Warrior, and will all have less power.

Tour 100P is quite open for an 18x20, but still does hit a flatter ball. It is more precise than the Warrior and if you have good technique the topspin is adequate. Slice is very good with this racquet, but I like my OHBH with the Warrior better - it loops in better. I sold mine a year ago, and wish I still had one in the bag.

Phantom 100P plays a bit heavier than either of the above. I only hit with it for about 2 hrs, but the feel was great. It is lower powered and will be a bigger transition from your current setup, but it is very very comfortable.

I had a Textreme Tour 95, but that was about 3 years ago and I have hit so many racquets since then I can't recall it well.

Prince retailer on Argentina told me that i will get more comfort on Warrior 100 than Tour 100p. But the stiffnes on Warrior it scares me, besides i want to keep playing with Polyester strings. Would be nice to keep Babolat playability in another stick.

Can you use other types of string other than polyester? If you decide to continue to use polyester strings, would you be play with thicker gauges AND lower tension? I have clients in your rating range and they use 16 Ga polyesters strings in the 46-52# range in 95-100 in^2. The frames range from Prestiges, Radicals, Steams and Blades.

If is possible, i want to stay at polyester strings. I thought that people with arm injuries that want to play with poly's should choose a thinner gauges and lower tension. So you say that thicker gauges and lowering tension a little bit more should be more comfortable?

 

[tennis-galaxy]

Be aware, whatever racket or string you choose you sould come back playing progressively, doesn't matter if you are not in pain

Yeah! thats for sure. But i know that i have to avoid stiffer racquets to not feel pain.

The Warrior 100 or Beast 100 would be the most similar to your Babolats, but with more comfort.

Really, this two racquets are in my sights mainly Warrior 100 but m scare about stiffness and Beast 100 weight.

My vote for Prince Beast 100, as it is 16*19 (warrior is 16*18). In case you need to avoid polys for a while, will be easier to hibrid (gut/poly maybe for some weeks to recover) without breaking strings every few hours.

You mean synthethic gut and poly? or natural gut?
About Prince Beast 100, i doubt about stiffness and weight. I know that i can add lead tape to reach ideal weight, but stiffness makes it not among my options.

I had to take off for a few months when my APD 2013 with RPM Team at 57lbs, finally bit back. Searched many racquets and landed on the Prince TT 100P, strung with Hyper G 17 at 48lbs in the mains, and Prince Tour XR 16L at 50lbs in the crosses. Love the set up, and zero arm issues at this point.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I like a lot that racquet but i doubt about string pattern. Seems this racquet is more oriented to flat hitters, but nothing that a textured spin friendly string can not solve haha

 

[markus666]

stiffness cannot only be considered as a separate figure, is important but not the only thing, some frames with similar numbers are more arm friendly than others.
I cannot remember anyone complaining about the confort of the Prince textreme line, i ve tried 4 different lines and all were great in this area. Also consider there is a Prince Beast 100 O3, with o ports version, even easier on your arm.
I play with a fisher/pacific x force, RA59, but i won t recommend it to a "Babolat player", as the difference will ve so huge in stiffness, that probably you won t like it. If i understood, your goal is a "Pure aero" frame with better confort (keeping as much as possible the same power, spin, pace...). If not, brands like Pacific, pro kennexx, volkl... will be kings of confort, IMO (but not in your list).

 

[Doc Hollidae]

Yeah! thats for sure. But i know that i have to avoid stiffer racquets to not feel pain.



Really, this two racquets are in my sights mainly Warrior 100 but m scare about stiffness and Beast 100 weight.



You mean synthethic gut and poly? or natural gut?
About Prince Beast 100, i doubt about stiffness and weight. I know that i can add lead tape to reach ideal weight, but stiffness makes it not among my options.





I like a lot that racquet but i doubt about string pattern. Seems this racquet is more oriented to flat hitters, but nothing that a textured spin friendly string can not solve haha

Why do you doubt the weight and stiffness of the two Prince Rackets? They are relatively the same weight and slightly lower in stiffness than the Pure Aero. Also the Princes are more headlight, which will play a factor as well.

Prince's are more arm friendly than Babolats, even when they have the same specs imo.

 

[tennis-galaxy]

stiffness cannot only be considered as a separate figure, is important but not the only thing, some frames with similar numbers are more arm friendly than others.
I cannot remember anyone complaining about the confort of the Prince textreme line, i ve tried 4 different lines and all were great in this area. Also consider there is a Prince Beast 100 O3, with o ports version, even easier on your arm.
I play with a fisher/pacific x force, RA59, but i won t recommend it to a "Babolat player", as the difference will ve so huge in stiffness, that probably you won t like it. If i understood, your goal is a "Pure aero" frame with better confort (keeping as much as possible the same power, spin, pace...). If not, brands like Pacific, pro kennexx, volkl... will be kings of confort, IMO (but not in your list).

Here in Argentina, Prince racquets are the most arm friendly frames that i can get, thats why im looking that brand. Not necessarily have to be similar to Pure Aero while i have Good Spin, Good Power, Good Control and MAINLY GOOD COMFORT.

Why do you doubt the weight and stiffness of the two Prince Rackets? They are relatively the same weight and slightly lower in stiffness than the Pure Aero. Also the Princes are more headlight, which will play a factor as well.

Prince's are more arm friendly than Babolats, even when they have the same specs imo.

You're right. I did not have in mind that Prince rackets will be more arm friendly than babola'ts at same specs.


Really, now im between warrior 100 or tour 100p.

 

[JoshTheLMT]

Yeah! thats for sure. But i know that i have to avoid stiffer racquets to not feel pain.



Really, this two racquets are in my sights mainly Warrior 100 but m scare about stiffness and Beast 100 weight.



You mean synthethic gut and poly? or natural gut?
About Prince Beast 100, i doubt about stiffness and weight. I know that i can add lead tape to reach ideal weight, but stiffness makes it not among my options.





I like a lot that racquet but i doubt about string pattern. Seems this racquet is more oriented to flat hitters, but nothing that a textured spin friendly string can not solve haha

I have heavy topspin on both sides, and I didn’t notice any drop off from most of the 16x19 patterns I used in my search. Actually put the 100P on top of the GXT Prestige Pro I used Right before I switched; in the hitting zone, the 16x19 of the Head GXT Prestige Pro was just a tad tighter than the 18x20 of the PTT 100P! I was surprised, until I hit with it! I had more access to spin than I had with the Prestige Pro. I would at least give it a solid demo. Lucas Pouille gets a ton of spin out of it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Crocodile]

You are on the right path with the Phantom Textreme and 100P if that is your main option. I would also make sure that the grip size is large enough for you and don't forget to keep strengthening yourself because GE can come back.

 

[Anton]

Hello everyone!

I introduce myself. My name is Ariel, im an 4.5-5.0 level player, baseliner with heavy spin strokes, OHBH.


Last year, i had to stop because i was diagnose golfer's elbow and wrist tendonitis when i switch racquet and grip size.
After 6 months of rehab, now im ready to come back to the court. (I have the OK of my physiotherapist)

My last racket (with which I injured) was Babolat Pure Aero strung with Luxilon Alu Power at 55lb.
Before this stick, i used to use Babolat Racquets (Babolat Pure Storm, Pure Drive, APD GT and APD 2013, all of them with full bed of poly's at similar string tension) and never had any pain. All start with PURE AERO.

Now that i can return, i had many advice to switch to a flexible frame (less than 66 ra),more heavy weight (11.5oz onwards), more HL balance (6pts to 8pts) , an open string pattern and change strings to multifilament or a soft poly.

Here are a list with the rackets that i can get:

Prince Textreme Tour 100p
Prince Textreme Tour 95
Prince Phantom Pro 100p
Prince Textreme Warrior 100 (maybe adding some lead tape to get more mass)
Head Graphene Touch Speed Pro
Head Graphene Touch Prestige Pro


I see that much people recommend ProKennex or Volkl rackets but in my country i can't get any of them and it is very expensive to import them.


So which frames that i mentioned above you will recommend?

Please let me know of any other advice!



Thanks for your time

DR98 demo is a must for you! Pretty much a softer version of APD frame.

Better yet, go for DR98 Light and add lead as needed.

 

[jonestim]

You are on the right path with the Phantom Textreme and 100P if that is your main option. I would also make sure that the grip size is large enough for you and don't forget to keep strengthening yourself because GE can come back.

Which reminds me: when switching from a Babolat to a Prince - unless you were using a Skin Feel grip - go up a grip size.

 

[esgee48]

If is possible, i want to stay at polyester strings. I thought that people with arm injuries that want to play with poly's should choose a thinner gauges and lower tension. So you say that thicker gauges and lowering tension a little bit more should be more comfortable?

Yes. A 16 Ga poly vs 17 Ga at the same ref tension - 16 Ga will have a lower DT because its cross section is larger. That and lower ref tension by 2-4# may be enough to make the combo comfortable. The other thing I am beginning to recommend for all poly users in my client base is using Bab SpiralTek as a cross. Softens the string bed even more. It has the same range of COF as polys plus it holds tension much better. You won't feel as bad cutting the strings out at 12-16 hours when the poly goes dead.

COF is Coefficient of Friction and you can obtain them from http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/reporter2.php

 

[TypeRx]

Too bad you can't get Volkl at a reasonable price in your country -- I also had GE and was using a Babolat PD+. Switched to a Volkl V-Sense 8 315g and couldn't be happier.

Of the rackets you listed, the Warrior will probably be the easiest transition and retain a lot of the qualities you like about the Bab. I was going to switch to the Phantom Pro 100p but then demo'd it and realized it wasn't for me. So, the lesson is to try and demo or borrow a friend's first if possible.

 

[Backhanded Compliment]

Angell tc100 ra 63, a really great frame... beast spin, lower profile... serve king

 

[tennis-galaxy]

You are on the right path with the Phantom Textreme and 100P if that is your main option. I would also make sure that the grip size is large enough for you and don't forget to keep strengthening yourself because GE can come back.

Of course, im doing streches and exercises everyday to keep my arm healthy.
Im thinking to get Tour 100p but Warrior 100 its tenting me

DR98 demo is a must for you! Pretty much a softer version of APD frame.

Better yet, go for DR98 Light and add lead as needed.

Before the injury, i could try DR100 and didn't like it. Seems a little bit stiffer and disconnected to the ball. Doesn't know if DR98 would be the same feeling.

Which reminds me: when switching from a Babolat to a Prince - unless you were using a Skin Feel grip - go up a grip size.

I always play with Grip 3 and 1 overgrip. You say that i should go for grip 4?

Yes. A 16 Ga poly vs 17 Ga at the same ref tension - 16 Ga will have a lower DT because its cross section is larger. That and lower ref tension by 2-4# may be enough to make the combo comfortable. The other thing I am beginning to recommend for all poly users in my client base is using Bab SpiralTek as a cross. Softens the string bed even more. It has the same range of COF as polys plus it holds tension much better. You won't feel as bad cutting the strings out at 12-16 hours when the poly goes dead.

COF is Coefficient of Friction and you can obtain them from http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/reporter2.php

I liked a lot Head Lynx 17g. When i get injuried, i tryed Pure Aero strung with Babolat Addiction 17g at 50 and hurt's A LOT.

I was looking at TWU about string stiffness. Should i consider that value?

Too bad you can't get Volkl at a reasonable price in your country -- I also had GE and was using a Babolat PD+. Switched to a Volkl V-Sense 8 315g and couldn't be happier.

Of the rackets you listed, the Warrior will probably be the easiest transition and retain a lot of the qualities you like about the Bab. I was going to switch to the Phantom Pro 100p but then demo'd it and realized it wasn't for me. So, the lesson is to try and demo or borrow a friend's first if possible.

As someone in this thread said, maybe the transition to a much more flexible frame with less than 60ra could be to much harder to get comfortable. So Warrior 100 is one of my options.

Right now, im deciding between Warrior 100 and Tour 100p. I think that i could play Tour 100p in stock form, and Warrior 100 maybe i should add some lead tape at 3' and 9' to bring more stability. But i liked Tour 100p flexibility and this could be more comfortable so i don't know what to choose LOL

 

[Anton]

Before the injury, i could try DR100 and didn't like it. Seems a little bit stiffer and disconnected to the ball. Doesn't know if DR98 would be the same feeling.

DR100 - 69 RA
DR98 - 62 RA

Enough said.

 

[fuzz nation]

The flex rating of a racquet will contribute to it relative comfort, but that can be completely undone by stringing it with a stiff string option. Since you're looking to switch into a different racquet, that will be a little tougher on the arm, just because you'll need some time to adjust to it. Before you do, you're going to rack up some extra mishits as you dial in your timing, etc.

I personally don't put much faith in "soft" polys, but maybe those could work for you after you play with your new racquet for a while and adjust to it. Before then, I'd say stick with a softer string to give you a better chance of keeping your mended arm happy.

Multifiber is rather soft, but I don't much like it - that string type tends to steadily degrade (soften and break down) as it's used and the "premium" multis are also rather expensive. I generally prefer synthetic gut. At the right tension, that string type is moderately soft, it holds tension better for me than a multifiber, it gives me better feel and performance, and it's also much more affordable.

If you want to start out with the softest string for your arm that's not natural gut ($$$!), then try a multifiber. But you may get a lot of comfort and decent performance with synthetic gut, too. If the multi doesn't hold up for you very well, consider a try with a syn. gut bed. Even a soft poly is still a poly and if you eventually go back to that string type, I'd say try to find a hybrid that should be slightly softer on your arm than a full layout of poly.

 

[Simon_the_furry]

Hello everyone!

I introduce myself. My name is Ariel, im an 4.5-5.0 level player, baseliner with heavy spin strokes, OHBH.


Last year, i had to stop because i was diagnose golfer's elbow and wrist tendonitis when i switch racquet and grip size.
After 6 months of rehab, now im ready to come back to the court. (I have the OK of my physiotherapist)

My last racket (with which I injured) was Babolat Pure Aero strung with Luxilon Alu Power at 55lb.
Before this stick, i used to use Babolat Racquets (Babolat Pure Storm, Pure Drive, APD GT and APD 2013, all of them with full bed of poly's at similar string tension) and never had any pain. All start with PURE AERO.

Now that i can return, i had many advice to switch to a flexible frame (less than 66 ra),more heavy weight (11.5oz onwards), more HL balance (6pts to 8pts) , an open string pattern and change strings to multifilament or a soft poly.

Here are a list with the rackets that i can get:

Prince Textreme Tour 100p
Prince Textreme Tour 95
Prince Phantom Pro 100p
Prince Textreme Warrior 100 (maybe adding some lead tape to get more mass)
Head Graphene Touch Speed Pro
Head Graphene Touch Prestige Pro


I see that much people recommend ProKennex or Volkl rackets but in my country i can't get any of them and it is very expensive to import them.


So which frames that i mentioned above you will recommend?

Please let me know of any other advice!



Thanks for your time

Get yourself the Phantom Pro 100P or maybe the new Yonex VCORE Pro 97.

 

[OjoLOCO]

¡ALU, no más!
Basta del APD.
New Prestige Touch Tour 18 by 19 (?)with solinco hyper g 17g mains and 16g Spiraltek crosses both 55 lbs or lower. Lead as needed.
Just a thought.

 

[graycrait]

I've had shoulder, elbow, wrist issues and had my right hand index finger tendon surgically repaired so am always on the hunt for THE BEST racket for me. I have a lot of 11.5 - 13oz rackets. But after my last experience with a relatively flexy racket, Prince Phantom Pro 100P which I traded off for a couple of Prince Classic Graphite 100s (I have 8 of those), I started looking at non-conventional rackets for comfort. I even had 3 Prince Textreme Warrior 100s, gave 2 away kept my permanently modified 12oz TW100 just in case. However, against convention I started looking at light weight low RA rackets that I could add my own weight to.

My favorite racket right now is a Head Graphene XT Extreme LIte weighted up to about 10.6oz/301g (still playing with the weight and balance). It is strung with 17g Solinco Tour Bite mains/16g Solinco Outlast crosses at 48/48lbs or 22/22kgs. Using TW's Racquet Finder I have identified another 17 rackets (most out of production) that I would gladly add my own weight to that are light and have <63 RA.

 

[OjoLOCO]

Tour Bite 16 gauge killed my arm in an old Youtek Radical MP. Biased in favor of Hyper G for playability and comfort.

 

[myke232]

I have some managable TE and GE as well. But got them to a point where I was able to play several times a week last year.

Anyway, I got the Head Prestige Pro last year and really like it, got more power from it than my previous raquet, although I can't generate as much spin because the head size is a bit smaller so the strings are closer together (compared to 100 sq. in.). It can be somewhat unforgiving if you hit off center. I was also tempted by the Warrior, but as you said it would require adding some lead tape, I really wanted a raquet that I didn't have to do that with though so I went with the Prestige which is the perfect weight for me as is..

 

[makinao]

I have an unusual suggestion. Try an old skool oversize racquet like a Prince Original Graphite. Look for cheap second-hand ones so you can just give them away of you don't like them. I did this five years ago when I was recovering from shoulder and elbow problems. Now I have three Prince Original Graphites, all second hand, all about US$20 each, and all were in very good condition. They feel VERY different from current lightweight racquets, and may take some getting used to. But they are solid, heavy, headlight, flexible, and can take high tensions and stiff poly strings without hurting you. Exactly what you are asking for.

You might find other old models if you look hard enough. I'm in the Philippines, where prices are high and the selection is not that large. But I found three new-old-stock Head Radical Agassi Limited Editions at closeout sale in a local store for about US$70 each. They have similar weight and balance to the POG OSs, but are slightly stiffer, which I like for more aggressive play. Also, Tennis Warehouse still sells the Radical Microgel series, which are lighter. They go for about US$90 brand new. I've seen some in my country for the same price.

 

[Nick777]

For serious arm problems i wouldnt play with poly over 180 stifness no matter if the racket is extremely flexible, last year with shoulder problems i played with 52 flex rate racket and full bed of multi, imagine the feel!!

 

[ludde]

My rescue was Angell TC100 with Wilson Shock Shield Hybrid Replacement Grip. Velocity / Cream 52/50.
Now, i can play every day.
I think, a full bed poly is the biggest problem. For my arm/elbow was (soft)Poly/Multi not comfortable enough. The poly in mains is to dominant.

 

[Doc Hollidae]

TT Warrior 100 is on Happy Hour for $130 currently.

 

[om panda]

Prince textreme in any line and ezone dr will be good.

For prokennex, I have Q5 line and many times they make my elbow a bit tender. It looks like they feel deceptively dampened

 

[Zoolander]

Right now, im deciding between Warrior 100 and Tour 100p. I think that i could play Tour 100p in stock form, and Warrior 100 maybe i should add some lead tape at 3' and 9' to bring more stability. But i liked Tour 100p flexibility and this could be more comfortable so i don't know what to choose LOL

The 100P is 18x20 pattern but it is very open, not like pure aero but certainly similar to pure storm and even APD. Just remember prince grip shape is quite round feeling, more so than babolat.

 

[sma1001]

There's little doubt that the Warrior 100 will be closer to the Babolats, but at the same time it is still quite different, and is stiffer than other options you list. As regards the Textreme Tour 100P i agree with the above comment: it is very open for an 18/20, and easily as open in the middle as the Prestige 16/19s you list. Despite the low RA it still plays crisp and generates a lot of spin.

My experience with the graphene line has not been great. For me the drop off outside the sweetspot is exaggerated and the feel when you do is awful. I was convinced it wasn't doing my arm any good. So i'd be inclined towards the Prince options. Whereas i play the Phantom Pro 100P it is more different from what you play than the Tour 100P, so i'd be inclined to point you in that direction. Note: many Princes come in "under" in terms of spec (especially swingweight), so test that if you can.

 

[tata]

Try grab the textreme warrior for a demo and maybe even for a cheaper price with the beast line out...unless you care for an extra cross in the beast 100. As everyone mentioned, the warrior 100 is naturally the closest to your previous babolats and they play very comfy. Great for modern baseline game. My friend of mine went from RF97 to the radical in the graphene touch line. He was having issues in the arm and was limited to using multis in the RF97 but he wanted more spin you get from a poly. He demoed the radical and found he can play poly in it with no pain and made a switch.

 

[Deleted member 54265]

I would vote for the Prince Textreme Tour 100P, the 18x20 like stated above is kind of open pattern. The feel is great, I love everything about this racquet.

Be aware thet the Phantom 100 and P100P are very low powered compared to the Textreme, coming from a Babolat the Textreme could be a better choice, perhaps also look at the Beast 98 (I did not try this racquet but spec looks interesting).

One advice is for a longer period of time to commit to only one racquet, I spend too much time trying out different racquets and got confused.

 

[lima]

I would vote for the Prince Textreme Tour 100P, the 18x20 like stated above is kind of open pattern. The feel is great, I love everything about this racquet.

Be aware thet the Phantom 100 and P100P are very low powered compared to the Textreme, coming from a Babolat the Textreme could be a better choice, perhaps also look at the Beast 98 (I did not try this racquet but spec looks interesting).

One advice is for a longer period of time to commit to only one racquet, I spend too much time trying out different racquets and got confused.

It's very hard to commit to one racquet. I have also tried many frames recently and I'm all over the place right now. All i know that my racquet has to be comfortable, I really like plush feel

 

[max]

Pro Kennex 5G

Volkl C-10

 

[max]

. . . and drop the poly. It's bad string unless for pro use. Vicious hard shocky stuff.

Considering lower string tensions.

Also, use the largest grip size that you can reasonably handle, so that you don't death-clench the grip when you play.

 

[tmc5005]

Sounds like you are getting good advice.
My current list of top 10 arm elbow friendly racquets have similar qualities and include
Yonex EZone DR 98
HEAD XT Graphene Prestige MP
PACIFIC BXT X Tour Pro 97
Wilson Ultra Tour
Volkl Vsense 10 325g
Pro Kennex Q+ Tour Pro
Pro Kennex KI5 320
Head Graphene Touch Speed Pro
Wilson Countervale Blade 98 18×20
Dunlop Srixon Rev CX 2.0 Tour

 

[phanker]

This is deceiving. I would consider the DR98 to be the most comfortable of all listed here, except the Phantom 100 which is way too flexy for me.
DR98 plays stiffer, which I prefer, but it's so pillowy and forgiving. Highly recommend a demo and just ignore its specs. It's safe with poly. Plays nothing like the DR100 at all.

I got GE too and do recommend you try natgut/poly hybrid as it adds another level of comfort while giving you similar spin performance to fullbed poly. Much better playability duration too. I used to be a poly addict but no longer.

DR100 - 69 RA
DR98 - 62 RA

Enough said.

 

[Anton]

This is deceiving. I would consider the DR98 to be the most comfortable of all listed here, except the Phantom 100 which is way too flexy for me.
DR98 plays stiffer, which I prefer, but it's so pillowy and forgiving. Highly recommend a demo and just ignore its specs. It's safe with poly. Plays nothing like the DR100 at all.

I got GE too and do recommend you try natgut/poly hybrid as it adds another level of comfort while giving you similar spin performance to fullbed poly. Much better playability duration too. I used to be a poly addict but no longer.

A buddy of mine hurt his elbow pumping iron at the gym (told him to stick to tennis!) and was complaning about his DR98 with Luxilon being painful to play, so I strung him up with a Natural gut main with co-poly combo at about 54/52 tension (I used Sergetti method though). He was thrilled with the result - much more comfort, gained some power plus touch and didn't notice any spin drop off.

 

[TennisViking]

Forget about poly strings to start with. Arm comfort is top priority. I switched to multifilament strings after getting golfers elbow and the difference in arm comfort was massive. I will never again use poly strings.

Stay away from poly strings at the least for a year. It is possible to play good tennis with multi strings unless you are perhaps a really high level player.