racquet recommendations for high schoolers

[nellborg]

Hi - I'm looking for some advice on which 3 demo racquets to get from Tennis Warehouse for my three jr high and high school kids. Why online demo's? I live in a rural area and there are no tennis shops within over an hours drive from me.

My son is one of the top singles player on a class A high school team. He's 6' tall, skinny, and very slow twitch - more of a finesse player because he doesn't have the power. He's currently using a Volkl Organic V1 MP that's about 4 years old.

My older daughters are JV level players and still getting their skills down. Like my son, they're mostly slower twitch kids. Both are using Head Instincts that are about 5 yrs old.

While none of my kids needs a new racquet, I've played enough to know that there can be quite a big difference between racquets in how they feel and play. And, if they enjoy hitting more with a different racquet, then they just might enjoy their lessons and matches a bit more. If they don't care for the demo racquets, I'll just send them back - no big deal.

So, any recommendations? Thanks in advance,
EB

 

[JSeba11]

If you’re not looking for a specific type of racquet, then I’d recommend demoing racquets with a broader, more universal appeal. Racquets with a 100” head size, 16x19 and around a 11.3 oz weight will be easy to pick up and play with. I’d recommend trying the Babolat Pure Drive, Babolat Pure Aero, Head Graphene 360 Speed MP, and the Yonex EZONE 100.

 

[nellborg]

Thanks JSeba11 ! I'll put those on my list.

 

[esgee48]

The racquets you said your children are using are all ~100 in^2 and between 11.2-11.4 oz. What they have are dense string patterns. So why are they looking for new frames? Or should they be using different strings and tensions? What are the features they want to add to their game? Answer these questions and it will guide you towards a particular family/class of frames. Or towards different strings/setups. If they can't describe what they want, then you need to probe. It will fall into several categories - power, spin, durability and comfort. As you can see from the categories, a lot can be accomplished with strings and tension.

 

[Steve Huff]

I just strung a Head Gravity (the 104 sq in model). It felt nice. The owner raved about it. Your daughters might really like it. As for your son, I'd probably recommend a Babolat Pure Aero. It's solid, may give him some extra power, and serves well. If he's not into big names, etc., I really like the Pro Kennex 5 series. It's a little less powerful than the Babolat, but feel and arm safety are amazing.

 

[nellborg]

Thanks for the input Steve and esgee48.

None of my kids are actively looking for a new racquet nor do they have complaints with what they're using now. BUT, they've never hit with anything other than what we put in their hands (which were demo racquets that their instructor sold us really cheap) - although my son did try my Volkl and definitely preferred it over the Instinct that he had been using.

We pay so little for their tennis lessons, court time, gear, etc (compared to what I spend on bicycles and racing kayaks).... so the worst case scenario of having to pay for three new racquets doesn't even register - and if it makes them enjoy the game more, then it's worth it to me.

 

[nellborg]

Just some follow-up: We demo'd the Babolat Pure Drive, Pure Aero, Pure Strike, the Head Gravity 104, Graphene 360 Speed MP, and the Yonex EZone 100. My 13 yr old girl liked the Pure Drive and we bought that one from TW, and my 14 yr old daughter liked the Head Gravity 104, so we bought that one from TW, too.

My 17 yr old son, who's a pretty good High School player, much preferred his Volkl Organix V1 MP over all six demo's - which brings me to my next question: What newer Volkl model is most similar to the Organix V1 MP? I'd like to get him a backup. Thanks in advance.