Here's Something About the Pros We Should Emulate But Don't

[asifallasleep]

Top players hardly ever change their racquets. Constantly changing racquets will screw up your game. Us normal folk keep buying all the latest and greatest frames in search of the holy grail, when all that money would probably be better spent on a few more tennis lessons. We keep the big racquet manufacturers in business.

The pros just go through numerous paint jobs reflecting the latest and greatest release while still using the frame they've been using for ten years. We should learn from this. I'm sadly one of the worst offenders.
It's sad that I know this but continue buying and trading buying and trading. Sigh. My wife calls it a sickness. I agree.

Of course if I we're getting a million dollar contract to switch to another racquet company that would be an entirely different story.

We all can dream, eh?

 

[rufus_smith]

The TW owners just had a group heart attack!

 

[bblue777]

The American consumers have been conditioned to buy the latest and the greatest... not just tennis rackets.

Yes - racket switches USUALLY screw up the game. Or at the very least, the game will get worse before it gets better.

 

[Fintft]

Well, I'm keeping mine at least a couple of years and then I usually switch to the latest version of the same model (hence no much difference)...

 

[arche3]

Ttw will peoceed to ban the op for such postings.

 

[LeeD]

By the time pros become pros, they have tried dozens of rackets.
And while they are pros, they try their friend's rackets, and also the different offerings from their sponsor companies, and quite a few are constantly making small CHANGES.
Every hear of customizing?

 

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

OP's post is ban worthy, haha.

 

[Disgruntled Worker]

I have two PDRs, a K Pro Staff, an IG Prestige Mid, a K6.1 95, and a Wilson Hammer and I'm not good enough to use ANY of them!

 

[jhick]

Not me. Old racquets die hard. Most of my racquets I've had last me 10+ years. Since the early 90's, the only racquets I've owned are the Head Polaris, Wilson Hammer 6.2 (skunk), and the Head Liquidmetal Radical for the last 3 years.

 

[skiracer55]

Yes and no...

...if you think switching a racket is going to give you a magic wand that'll immediately raise your game two NTRP levels, it ain't gonna happen. But if you know what you're looking for, you can make changes in your gear that'll help you improve. This spring, I was playing with a Head Graphene Instinct S. Great racket...I've been using Heads for years...but I've been making some improvements in my game, and suddenly this stick felt like it had too much juice...unless I hit the ball perfectly, I couldn't keep it inside the lines.

My buddy is a Volkl rep, and the next time we hit, he had a bag full of demos. Long story short, I fell in love with the Organix 7 (310 g), got 3, and haven't looked back. Very solid, comfortable racket, does everything well, and very predictable...the ball usually goes where I want. I also got locked into Volkl PowerFiber II strings, and he had my try 18 guage...sold. Incredible feel, last just as long as heavier gauges. So that's my story, and I'm sticking to it...

 

[Say Chi Sin Lo]

...if you think switching a racket is going to give you a magic wand that'll immediately raise your game two NTRP levels, it ain't gonna happen. But if you know what you're looking for, you can make changes in your gear that'll help you improve. This spring, I was playing with a Head Graphene Instinct S. Great racket...I've been using Heads for years...but I've been making some improvements in my game, and suddenly this stick felt like it had too much juice...unless I hit the ball perfectly, I couldn't keep it inside the lines.

That's not going to fly in the equipment sections. :twisted:

I think there was a thread in the strings section, and someone was asking about getting more power. I think I wrote something like: "why don't you hit the gym and spend more time on the practice courts instead of buying power?"

 

[Avles]

LeeD makes a good point about pros probably having tried many racquets while learning the game.

Also, the potential negative impacts of a racquet switch seem much more significant for pros than for recs. If a pro spends 6 months struggling while learning to use a new racquet, he may lose millions of dollars and serious ranking points, not to mention a lot of time, in a career with a pretty small time window. So it's not surprising they'd be reluctant to mess around too much.

In comparison, most of the rest of us have relatively little to lose from trying out new racquets (though I agree that it's probably a waste of time and money for most).

 

[LeeD]

While lots of you's can gain strength and technique, it's just not possible for a 64 year old who was playing A/Open levels 35 years ago, and now barely 4.0 and heading down.
That's one reason to look at racket's and strings to regain some lost power, vision, movement, and reflexes.

 

[hrstrat57]

Interesting thread. My perception is maybe the focus is on the more stubborn pros who reject new gear. Pros like Sampras and Fed for example.

I actually think many pros change gear quite frequently and many jump companies. Sure a lot are still playing pt 630 paint jobs or clones but I don't think a blanket statement can be made.

As for the rest of us nothing wrong with a shiny new pair of sticks to make us smile.... I however have played head 18x20 frames for 10+ years but have tinkered with the setup quite a bit over the years.

I have already bought a matched pair or radical OS for when I need a little more help than a setup tweak can deliver. Not adverse to picking up a new frame to hit around with for giggle either. However these usually get moved pretty quickly on the big auction site...

As for TW I am a super loyal customer with shoes, strings, leather grips, lead etc - and the YT prestige were bought on TW and matched beautifully.

I doubt TW has many worries about a thread like this - just talking about gear here gets folks stoked to shop for more!

 

[BMC9670]

I think switching racquets has to have a purpose. Ask why the change? Need a more arm friendly stick after an injury (my last change!), more more mass, need more HL balance to get more spin? Switching just to have a new stick doesn't make much sense.

Also, there are lots of ways to achieve change other than new frames - strings, tension, lead tape, grips, and over grips can change the feel and performance of a racquet greatly and should be considered when contemplating a new racquet.

Then again, getting new gear is part of the fun!

 

[LeeD]

The "purpose" can be to spend off some of your excess money, so you can feel good about your current situation.

 

[Fedinkum]

I just want to believe that I will play like Federer using the latest racquet that he is actually not using....the illogical mind of a fan under the spell of clever marketing.

 

[LeeD]

Actually, Federer will play like Federer using YOUR racket, against you.

 

[asifallasleep]

...if you think switching a racket is going to give you a magic wand that'll immediately raise your game two NTRP levels, it ain't gonna happen. But if you know what you're looking for, you can make changes in your gear that'll help you improve. This spring, I was playing with a Head Graphene Instinct S. Great racket...I've been using Heads for years...but I've been making some improvements in my game, and suddenly this stick felt like it had too much juice...unless I hit the ball perfectly, I couldn't keep it inside the lines.

My buddy is a Volkl rep, and the next time we hit, he had a bag full of demos. Long story short, I fell in love with the Organix 7 (310 g), got 3, and haven't looked back. Very solid, comfortable racket, does everything well, and very predictable...the ball usually goes where I want. I also got locked into Volkl PowerFiber II strings, and he had my try 18 guage...sold. Incredible feel, last just as long as heavier gauges. So that's my story, and I'm sticking to it...

Love this: "So that's my story, and I'm sticking to it..."

 

[martini1]

I do not mind just sticking with one frame, if the manufacturer can supply the exact same frame forever, but they don't. They keep changing the feel / spec every 2 yrs. Pros do not use the same frames, their inventory is refreshed frequently. The harder you hit, the quicker the frame get fatigued. Not to mention people restringing every month or so.

Now that's assuming you have found your ultimate frame. A lot of people don't. They need more/less power, certain flex, and certain feel. The pj of cause is a big factor. It's a consumer product after all.

 

[chippy17]

I agree with you completely, in the last 20odd years I have only changed my racquet once. I went from PS6.0 95s to PK Redondo 98s about 3 years ago. I only did this because I had shoulder problems and the PS was just too stiff and due to age needed something that was more forgiving and had a bit more control. Very happy I did, I am currently buying a few Redondo so that when they stop making them I will have enough to keep me going for a while...

But I do still try other racquets, I tried some PB10 Mids the other day but prefer my PKs. The only racquet that I really loved recently was the Donnay Pro One 97 16x19 so trying to find one secondhand to try but rare as hen's teeth...

 

[Bender]

I switched from an AeroPro Drive to a PS 6.1 90 and my god it was the best switch I ever made in a while (the last one being a switch from a Wilson Surge to the AeroPro Drive Cortex).

Unlike the pros who get to have their racquets selected and tailored to their preferences, we mortals (especially those who live in countries where demo-ing isn't available) have no choice but to take gambles...eventually we do find something that suits us, so I think regular racquet switching (with a purpose in mind, not impulse buying) does make up for it.