Racquet Recommendations for a Racquetball player

[Tezroza]

Hey everyone,

My dad is getting into tennis, he's 50 years old and has played little tennis in his life, but has played a ton of racquetball. He's a pretty solid racquetball player, playing A level and Open tournament a few times a year to decent success.

Problem is that he plays tennis like it's racquetball, which is expected. So he hits the ball extremely flat with very little spin and can generate serious power. What type of racquets you think would suit him best? I was thinking something with an open string pattern, giving him a higher launch angle and more access to spin. Aside from that I'm stumped. I'd appreciate any and all help.

 

[golden chicken]

I would suggest the opposite. A tight patterned control racket. Something like an 18x20 Blade, maybe?

 

[pyrokid]

If he's got enough control it could be absolutely hilarious to give him a pure drive and just let him blast, but yeah I'd guess something like a blade or speed or something would be more likely to work out.

Might wanna get him some coaching, a lot of the racquetball guys I've known have had some pretty funky tennis strokes that wound up really working their wrists over. You can get away with a lot more of that with a racquetball racquet than a tennis racquet.

 

[Tezroza]

Gotcha blade and speed do sound like a good combo for his demos, thanks. Yeah a tennis lesson is definitely in order, I’m scared his elbow is gonna explode from just watching him play.

 

[socallefty]

He is probably a candidate for an old-school players racquet with a 18x20 pattern as it sounds like he will like a thin beam and dense pattern to control his powerful, flat shots and some weight to give him stability on off-center hits. If he is trying Head, he should try the Prestige MidPlus and Gravity Pro in the new 360+ model and also the latest versions of the Yonex VCore Pro97HD, Blade 18x20 and maybe the Pure Strike 18x20.

 

[Stratotanker]

Just my two cents here - a bit counterintuitive, but I'd agree with your initial proposition. In my case, my dad is a long-time racquetball player with little tennis experience, and my wife's Clash 100 gave him net clearance and a bit more consistency that my 18x20 6.1 95 when we went out to hit last year. The open pattern seemed to cut down on the low rockets into the tape!

Practical advice might be to get him out with a 16x19 tweener and a old, dense pattern player's stick for a dual session and just see how he feels with either one. Either one is going to be "heavy" compared to your standard 160g and 170g racquetball sticks.

 

[Tezroza]

Good point, those low rockets really are something lol. I think ill fill out a demo order with a couple 18x20s and 16x19s and see what he thinks. Also have my own racquets and friends racquets I can have him try out.

 

[blablavla]

Hey everyone,

My dad is getting into tennis, he's 50 years old and has played little tennis in his life, but has played a ton of racquetball. He's a pretty solid racquetball player, playing A level and Open tournament a few times a year to decent success.

Problem is that he plays tennis like it's racquetball, which is expected. So he hits the ball extremely flat with very little spin and can generate serious power. What type of racquets you think would suit him best? I was thinking something with an open string pattern, giving him a higher launch angle and more access to spin. Aside from that I'm stumped. I'd appreciate any and all help.

1. it depends where these balls are flying
2. simply based on your description, I would say what was already said, an old school racket, 18x20, max 100 sq. inch head, or perhaps smaller
3. I know someone similar, a person that is good at a bunch of sports played with racket, and when it comes to tennis this person plays with a Pure Aero VS, an in-between solution if you approach it from 16x19 vs 18x20
4. finally I would suggest a test, and see what happens

a stiff frame with open pattern will have a higher launch angle, so without proper spin chances are that the balls will keep flying long.
on another side, depending on how much pace he generates, even a 18x20 will require spin, but it will be a bit more complicated to achieve if there are many years of playing something that requires heavy hitting without any spin.