Racket for female with golfers elbow
Fintft
G.O.A.T.
But racquet wise: Prince Ozone Tour 100 or Prokennex Ki5 295g.
Bagumbawalla
G.O.A.T.
For arm problems, I always recommend ProKennex. They make a variety
of rackets so that everyone can find something that works for them.
Recently, just for a goof, I strung up a Mizuno Reactor, which I considered
a "gimmick" racket. I really like it. Very easy on the arm.
Still, I would have a reputable coach look at your form. If you change rackets
and still have poor form, the problem may not resolve.
of rackets so that everyone can find something that works for them.
Recently, just for a goof, I strung up a Mizuno Reactor, which I considered
a "gimmick" racket. I really like it. Very easy on the arm.
Still, I would have a reputable coach look at your form. If you change rackets
and still have poor form, the problem may not resolve.
@TKK - First off, hang in there. Healing deep-seeded TE/GE can often take an extended period of time, as in months, not just weeks, mainly for longer-term tissue adaptation to set in, but you can heal eventually. The human body is a wonderous thing.
That said, I think a few things are critical moving forward:
1) Physical therapy needs to continue, with gentle build-up, ideally guided by a local physio.
2) Technique cleanup needs to continue, with guidance by your local pro.
3) For strings, if at all financially possible, I'd just go full-bed natural gut, strung at the lowest tension you can still control, otherwise the absolute softest, most shock-absorbent multi, and nothing else.
4) Overall, comfort takes priority over performance, full stop, at least until you find a setup you can play more or less pain-free for a normal-length session at normal daily frequency. If that means you have to play a brand of tennis that's extremely gentle, even dainty, then so be it. At least it's a starting point, from which you can intensify later on.
Looking again at racquets, first off, a correction on the Volkl Team Speed: from all references I've uncovered, RA is 63, not 59. Still relatively soft, but not quite as soft as you may have thought. At this stage, you might as well try the Clash 100UL, just for process-of-elimination if nothing else. There's also the Head Instinct Team L, which is the same 265g, 63RA and ~300SW strung, but has a more forgiving and powerful 107" head.
Hope that helps. Any further questions, feel free.
That said, I think a few things are critical moving forward:
1) Physical therapy needs to continue, with gentle build-up, ideally guided by a local physio.
2) Technique cleanup needs to continue, with guidance by your local pro.
3) For strings, if at all financially possible, I'd just go full-bed natural gut, strung at the lowest tension you can still control, otherwise the absolute softest, most shock-absorbent multi, and nothing else.
4) Overall, comfort takes priority over performance, full stop, at least until you find a setup you can play more or less pain-free for a normal-length session at normal daily frequency. If that means you have to play a brand of tennis that's extremely gentle, even dainty, then so be it. At least it's a starting point, from which you can intensify later on.
Looking again at racquets, first off, a correction on the Volkl Team Speed: from all references I've uncovered, RA is 63, not 59. Still relatively soft, but not quite as soft as you may have thought. At this stage, you might as well try the Clash 100UL, just for process-of-elimination if nothing else. There's also the Head Instinct Team L, which is the same 265g, 63RA and ~300SW strung, but has a more forgiving and powerful 107" head.
Hope that helps. Any further questions, feel free.
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@TKK - You read incorrectly; the Instinct Team L is 1pt HH strung, which makes it roughly 2pts HL unstrung. And I wouldn't be worried about an arbitrary balance point being arm-healthy or not; they're largely independent of one another. The level of how cumbersome a racquet feels really comes down to perceived static weight and swing weight. A lower balance point will increase maneuverability and general ease-of-play, but in and of itself won't "hurt" your arm -- the balance point is just a location, not a physical load.
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@TKK - There is no universal "best", only what's best for your needs and the racquet in question. That said, you really need the most plush, pillow-y, forgiving string possible, which is going to be Natural Gut, more so than even the most plush multi. If that's not possible due to cost or some other reason, then I would recommend Tecnifibre X-One Biphase, in the thinnest gauge that still lasts long enough, strung at the lowest tension you can still control -- that will create the softest-feeling string bed possible. If you need additional durability, move up in gauge thickness, or additional control, string a little higher tension. In the 100-107" frames you're looking at, I would start with 17 gauge at 50 pounds and progress from there. If you need something even more economical than X-One, I would do Dunlop Silk Pro (not regular Silk -- Silk Pro), which plays almost as well but I find that the outer coating lasts a little longer, and it's roughly half the price per set.
Hope that helps again.
Hope that helps again.
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Hi again - I have played with my Instinct Team L today (strung with Tecnifibre X-One Biphase 1.3 at 52lbs (as was told they will lose tension pretty quickly) and whilst it was better to play with than the Volkl, I felt that I was arming it too much, or whatever the phrase is, to get more power out of it which obviously wasn't good for my forearm and my serves had much less power. It felt like I needed more weight / heft and had to work too hard to get decent speed. No idea how or if 17 gauge equates to the 1.3 I bought, so I may have messed up, but it was the only X-One option available? Do I have to accept I won't be able to hit with as much power (which would drastically effect my performance in team matches : ( ) And if the lighter rackets make my arm hurt pretty much immediately, which they seem to, would I be better off with a 280/285g racket? The one I liked playing with was the Yonex Ezone 100L (285g RA 68), which I could hit and serve hard with for an hour or so (with syn gut around 55lbs I think) before my arm/elbow kicked in. The Babolat Pure Drive Lite at 270g was great to play with too for an hour or so but the RA was 69 on that. Do you think the Yonex could be an option with the tecnifibre or dunlop silk pro strings at a lower tension to offset some of the stiffness?
esgee48
G.O.A.T.
@TKK 1.30 mm +/- .02 mm is also 16 ga. 1.25 +/- .02 mm is 17 ga. So yes, if using 1.30 mm, you need to drop the tension a few lbs for more power.
To see what multis are available, check out the multis carried by TW. And look only at those not labeled CONTROL and comes in 17 ga. I am partial to Head so would suggest FXP 17.
To see what multis are available, check out the multis carried by TW. And look only at those not labeled CONTROL and comes in 17 ga. I am partial to Head so would suggest FXP 17.
time_fly
Hall of Fame
The Ripstick is the O port racquet to get for most players, unless they really want low power and lots of control. The only thing is that the thick, CTS beam puts a lot of weight at the tip so the swingweight is relatively high; my 300g Ripstick measures over 330. I would try the 280g for a woman with arm problems.
I am torn between the 280g ripstick with the o-ports (which I liked on the 03 legacy 105) and the ripcord, neither of which I can try before I buy. Read a review for the ripstick that said it only works if you play with spin to keep the ball in the court..... swingweight of 319 v 307 and 2HH v 4HL, so very different specs! Think even to head light balance is better, so erring towards the ripcord if I can't get the instinct team lite to work. Will try a shock grip on the instinct maybe for extra weight and hope the strings loosen off quickly...
ericykchan
Rookie
ericykchan
Rookie
I played with Ripstick 280g with full bed of poly. If you have a full swing then need to put quite a bit of spin. Control is definitely and issue for me when I was playing with it.
If you can handle 280g unstrung, the VCore Pro 100L should be another good choice for you. It is a good frame for flatter hitter, and comfortable.
Yonex VCORE PRO 100L (280g) Racket | Tennis Warehouse Europe (tenniswarehouse-europe.com)
That's really interesting thank you!
slipgrip93
Professional
Just for an alternate idea, If you don't mind a secondhand or older but good frame racquet, there's the Steam 100 BLX frame that a bunch of the WTA players are currently(!) still using under the Blade repaint jobs. Mentioned among using them are Emma, Badosa, Ostapenko, Svitolina, Haddad-Maia (-who's now in the RG SF). It's light at 295g unstrung, ~314g strung yet, very supportive feel with its throat area which is a bit of the oldschool boxbeam form (helps with a cushiony feel on hit for one's wrists, elbow(?)) along with the original BLX material. Usually plenty offered on the e-bay for close to or less than a hundred bucks. (thread on the racquet)
This old amazon listing has some bullet points about it which could be more clues as to why these girls like it (the steam 100):
(page link)
(another review)
About the technibre t1-biphase which to me is a very comfortable and fine multifilament string. I thought it was smoother and refined than the gamma livewire pro multi which has kind of a rough form. And could cross it with technifibre triax if one wants a partial poly hybrid to cross with the biphase mains.
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I have not read through all responses, but I'll throw in my 2 cents. I'm a female player and am prone to elbow issues. I've had TE and GE in the past. I think the string choice and tension may be more important than the racket choice. Try a full bed of natural gut string. Since you are a flat hitter, natural gut should last a long time. It maintains tension almost forever. I use Klip Legend or Volkl V-icon, which are less expensive than Babolat. I rarely break strings and I can use gut until it breaks.
Most of the Prince O3 rackets are indeed very easy on the arm. I wish Prince offered more O3 options here in the US. Another racket suggestion is a Volkl V1 Classic of V-Cell V1 MP. Those are very arm friendly with a manageable swingweight.
Most of the Prince O3 rackets are indeed very easy on the arm. I wish Prince offered more O3 options here in the US. Another racket suggestion is a Volkl V1 Classic of V-Cell V1 MP. Those are very arm friendly with a manageable swingweight.
Just wondering why she went for syn gut rather than a multi? And whether she tried different tensions and settled on 48 or went with 48 because it was syn gut? And what gauge string is it?
Thanks for that. Good to know. Its hard enough to work out specs for a racket, but type and tension of strings as well..... Most people i play with seem blissfully unaware, until their elbow hurts of course!
ericykchan
Rookie
Actually it was because she has been playing sync gut since young. She is getting back to tennis after a few years now that our girl is not longer a toddler. Prince racquet and sync gut were her setup so she just wanted to go back to the most familiar stuff.
As for tension, she had no idea but wanted something comfortable so I recommended 48lb.
Thanks for coming back to me : )
Boubi
Professional
Smaller grip size will certainly not help !
Thanks Boubi - I have added an overgrip to make it slightly bigger, as most people have said bigger is better than smaller
Thanks, been icing after i play and its slowly getting better i think. Managed 2 matches pretty much back to back relatively OK , so hopefully on the right track...
