In search for a new racquet!

[tennisINmyBLOOD]

I've been playing with the Pure Drive GT for a little over 6 months now. I love everything about it except for how stiff and harsh it is on my arm. I have to string at 60 lbs or above to gain control. So, I have a racquet that's stiff and a stringbed that is stiff too, even with a multifilament. The Pure Drive has caused me three cases of shoulder pain, luckily none were severe.

For Christmas this year, my sister is asking me what racquet I want. I didn't want another Pure Drive because of how stiff it is, so I am looking for a more arm friendly racquet that will allow me to string at lower tensions, while still maintaining a sense of control.

Here is what I am looking for in my new racquet:

Headsize: 100-105 square inches
Length: 27 or 27.5 inches
Strung Weight: 10.8-11.2 oz
Balance: 3-6 pts. head light
Stiffness: 60-65
Beam: Less than 26 mm
Power: Low-Medium
Swing Speed: Moderate-Fast

A little about me... I am a high school varsity doubles player. I use moderate spin in my game, and prefer a racquet that will help me in all areas of the court, especially in serving and volleying. I love hitting winners, and the pure drive has done a great job of doing so. I actually like the cortex system, but am willing to give it up for an arm friendlier racquet. I have tried the AeroPro Drive Cortex... didn't like it so much. It felt foreign to me... maybe because of its aero modular shape. I basically want a racquet like that Pure Drive GT without the stiffness.

I prefer Babolat, Yonex or Wilson racquets. I'm not too crazy about Head or Prince.

Another question... would it be to my advantage if I used an extended length (27.5 inch) racquet? I am a girl, 5'5" and 128 lbs. What are the pros and cons of using an extended length? Will it be significantly more powerful than a standard length?

Thanks for your posts guys!

 

[Deodorant]

ur a girl, use PRINCE. just kiddin
wait nvm, actually the prince speedsport white mp falls right into your desired categories...same specs as the aeropro...eh i dont know what you want. well hope i helped.

 

[tennisINmyBLOOD]

Used the Speedport White... didn't like it at all. Thanks though.

 

[mawashi]

I've been playing with the Pure Drive GT for a little over 6 months now. I love everything about it except for how stiff and harsh it is on my arm. I have to string at 60 lbs or above to gain control. So, I have a racquet that's stiff and a stringbed that is stiff too, even with a multifilament. The Pure Drive has caused me three cases of shoulder pain, luckily none were severe.

For Christmas this year, my sister is asking me what racquet I want. I didn't want another Pure Drive because of how stiff it is, so I am looking for a more arm friendly racquet that will allow me to string at lower tensions, while still maintaining a sense of control.

Here is what I am looking for in my new racquet:

Headsize: 100-105 square inches
Length: 27 or 27.5 inches
Strung Weight: 10.8-11.2 oz
Balance: 3-6 pts. head light
Stiffness: 60-65
Beam: Less than 26 mm
Power: Low-Medium
Swing Speed: Moderate-Fast

A little about me... I am a high school varsity doubles player. I use moderate spin in my game, and prefer a racquet that will help me in all areas of the court, especially in serving and volleying. I love hitting winners, and the pure drive has done a great job of doing so. I actually like the cortex system, but am willing to give it up for an arm friendlier racquet. I have tried the AeroPro Drive Cortex... didn't like it so much. It felt foreign to me... maybe because of its aero modular shape. I basically want a racquet like that Pure Drive GT without the stiffness.

I prefer Babolat, Yonex or Wilson racquets. I'm not too crazy about Head or Prince.

Another question... would it be to my advantage if I used an extended length (27.5 inch) racquet? I am a girl, 5'5" and 128 lbs. What are the pros and cons of using an extended length? Will it be significantly more powerful than a standard length?

Thanks for your posts guys!

tennisINmyBLOOD,

My gf loves her RDS003, its one of the most comfortable tweener's stick around, has very decent control but doesn't have the stability of a RDS002T ultra light (the RDS002T 4 1/4 grip is a UL).

What don't you like about Head sticks as I would say the new Youtek radical mp or the upcoming prestige mp & pro might be worth a look at.

I haven't found decent wilson tweener sticks as most of them are pretty stiff n uncomfortable. The NPro Open was pretty ok but was bit stiff.
These Dunlops might be worth considering as well:

Dunlops Aerogel 4D 300 (3Hundred) Tour
Dunlop Aerogel 4D 300 (3Hundred)
Dunlop Aerogel 300

Happy hunting.

mawashi

 

[draco092]

Wilson KFactor KTour
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Wilson_K_Factor_KTour/descpageRCWILSON-KTOURM.html

o

Head MicroGel Extreme Pro MP
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageRCHEAD-HMGXP.html

 

[chris]

fischer m pro 1 98 switched from a pure drive to it for the same reasons

 

[ManuGinobili]

Dunlop AG500 Tour is PD with control

 

[vasquez90]

wouldnt overlook the NEW EXO3 Black 100 coming if you are a Pure Drive user and looking to move from that racket.

 

[Ben]

Look at the line of pro kennex racquets. One of them will match your needs. They are one of the best for not producing arm/elbow problems.

 

[ayuname]

RDS003 or RDiS300.

 

[Court_Jester]

wouldnt overlook the NEW EXO3 Black 100 coming if you are a Pure Drive user and looking to move from that racket.

This racquet is even stiffer than the PD at 72RA.

@TiMB,
You might want to try the Pure STorm or the Aero Storm, although the latter might be too underpowered for you.

 

[COPEY]

Given that you love the racquet you're currently playing with, have you tried gut? Yes, the initial outlay in $ is a tad heavy, but from what I've read gut (the good stuff, VS) is supposed to last you a few months (plays well up until you break it). Since you're about to start stringing for yourself there won't be a labor charge tacked onto the high cost of the string.

The process of searching for a new racquet can be painstaking, especially since you already have one you love. I just think before you commit to buying a new racquet you might want to give gut a try and see if that does the trick for ya.

 

[PimpMyGame]

Given that you love the racquet you're currently playing with, have you tried gut? Yes, the initial outlay in $ is a tad heavy, but from what I've read gut (the good stuff, VS) is supposed to last you a few months (plays well up until you break it). Since you're about to start stringing for yourself there won't be a labor charge tacked onto the high cost of the string.

The process of searching for a new racquet can be painstaking, especially since you already have one you love. I just think before you commit to buying a new racquet you might want to give gut a try and see if that does the trick for ya.

+1 for gut, which was my initial reaction as soon as I read the OP. I made a terrible string mistake in the summer and played with a 18x20 PS Classic 95 which I strung with Alu Power Rough. Had to play for a good couple of months with gut hybrids before the pain went away. In fact, I never thought I'd be able to use my PSC again. After a decent spell with gut I'm back to using syn gut with my PSC.

Therefore I suggest you consider investing in a couple of sets of decent natural gut, such as VS, and see how you get on. I'd suggest a hybrid of natural gut mains and either a syn gut or something slightly stiffer in the crosses (to calm down the power of the gut), depending on how brave you feel. You may not need to part with a much-loved frame.

 

[fuzz nation]

I do some high school coaching and this conundrum of finding a racquet to replace a PD has come along more than once among my troops. The first thing I'll encourage you to consider is that you probably won't find a great fit with a different racquet right away. Sorry for mastering the obvious, but anything else is just going to be... yup, different.

How do you get a more arm friendly racquet? Probably try something softer, but if you're hitting with something in the weight range of a PD, yet with more flex, it's going to have a good bit less pop. How do you compensate for that? A little more weight can help with stability and potential for power just so long as you can swing it - that adjustment may take a while. This is just a big "what if" that you may run into as you look for a new bat.

A heavier racquet will be easier to handle, especially around the net, if it's more head-light in balance. I'm no Hulk myself, but I can work my 12.5-13 oz. racquets just fine in part because they have 8-10 pts. head-light balance. Something to keep in mind if you want a solid performer up at net or even if you like to generally use an all-court style of play. Among the preferences you listed, you mentioned a balance of 3-6 pts. HL, but I'd encourage you to use 6 pts. HL as the lower end of your range if you try a heavier racquet (please consider trying a heavier racquet).

The easiest suggestion is that you look at the different Storm models from Babolat. More flex, familiar grip shape, etc. I'm also thinking that you could get some good performance from the Volkl DNX 9, which seems to have earned a cult following of players that have liked it a whole lot more than maybe the LM Radical or the Dunlop 300's. It's also on sale at TW! I know that Christmas is just around the corner, but you'd be smart to take your time with a racquet change. You'll be more likely to get it right.