Racquet Reco - 100 sq inch or less

[dzg]

Hi All,
I have pored through the archives on this forum for the past week to no avail.

My sister is an NTRP 2.5 - 3.0 player. She plays recreationally and for fun, no ambitions to compete.
She asked me to get her a new racquet (she is currently using an old aluminum Wilson from the late 1980's, probably 90 sq inch head size).

Here the kicker, she wants something that is light-weight (ideally sub 10 oz) and SMALL head (ideally around 98-100 head size).

All the racquets I find that meet this criteria are for expert players or "tour" models and TW rates them for NTRP 4+.
All the NTRP 2.5 - 3.0 racquets are Oversized 110 sq inch monsters and she wants nothing to do with them.

I have only found a Wilson BLX Tour Lite and a BLX Pro Lite 2012 that might meet her needs, but unsure if these are too difficult for her (not possible to demo these in my area).

If anyone has any suggestions I'd appreciate them (I am open to vintage racquets from the 1980-1990's too).

thanks!

 

[MikeHitsHard93]

The Head IG Radical S is a great racket. 100sq inch head, 10.3 oz, low swing weight. She would have fun with that.

 

[robbo1970]

New Dunlop S3.0 Lite

98sq head
10oz strung weight

Brand new out.

 

[McLovin]

OK, el-cheapo forum poster coming through...

What I would recommend is taking a look at the TW Sale Racquet section:

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/saleracquets.html​

From there, I would disregard any 'NTRP X' recommendations, as well as any 'Tour' or 'Team' marketing ploys. If the racquet meets her requirements (e.g., head size, weight, grip size, color, etc.), then go with it.

At first glance, some good options on that page are the Dunlop 500 (any of the variations), Head YOUTEK Radical Lite and the BLX Blade Lite (they even have it in Pink!).

Any 'new' racquet tech is suspect at best, and will undoubtedly be lost on her at the 2.5-3.0 level. Probably the two most important features in her mind are (1) weight, and (2) color, at least that is how my wife rated her's when first buying a racquet...

 

[robbo1970]

Yes, the Dunlop 500 is a good shout.

Sub 300g strung and a 100sq head.

(I am a bit Dunlop biased, I think theyre great rackets)

 

[davo81]

Forget the NTRP recommendations. In my view the main purpose of those is to ensure that people who devote more time to tennis buy more expensive racquets while at the same time ensuring that those who are new to tennis feel like they can get a racquet without having to spend too much.

Instead, focus on weight, balance, etc.

I think 100 sq oz is the perfect head size. Small enough for a pro yet big enough for a complete beginner. I'd recommend something like the Babolat Pure Drive Lite. An extremely good racquet that has a 100 sq oz head size and is reasonably light-weight. If you buy the current model online it's not cheap, but at local stores you may find an older model as a closeout.

 

[dzg]

Thanks for the replies guys, its reassuring to know I can safely discard the "NTRP ratings".

For those of us having grown up playing with wooden racquets and smaller head-sizes the OS racquets are rather unwieldy and feel unnatural ... thats why she dislikes them.

Weight is a primary concern (luckily she is not concerned about colour), I wanted to get her an older Prince racquet (which is what I play with) but they're a bit too heavy for her.

Will check out the recos from this thread. thanks and keep them coming.