Returning to game, need new racquets!

S

sidespar

New User
Hey all,

I've been absent probably 5 years from tennis. I'm 25 and used to play at the 4.5 level. I played in a 3.5 league last year, and while my serve is still on the 5.0+ level, the rest of my game is terrible. Still, I was able to win most of my matches by consistently cranking out 100 mph+ serves. If the ball ever came back, I struggled though.

I'm blaming part of my troubles on my racquets: Yonex Rd-Ti 70s (88 sq inch heads) that I used in high school. They just feel 'dead' now. I'm stronger now than I was then, but I still can't get anything out of these racquets beyond the serve. They are beat to hell, and it's time for something new.

Basically, what I'm looking for in a racquet is something that lets me hit the hardest serves I possibly can. That is #1 to me. I am 6'4" and 195 lbs. with considerable upper body strength, therefore swing weights aren't really something that concerns me. But I also want something that has more 'pop' from the baseline as I typically don't swing as hard on my ground strokes as I do on my serve. I remember hitting with my friend's head radical a few years ago and was amazed at the difference. I was like, wow, I might actually be a decent player if I could play with something like this that could generate power from the baseline.

I'm looking through the TW system and would like to demo 8 racquets and need suggestions on a good racquet for me to try. This is what I came up with:

Head Liquidmetal Radical Demo Mid+ (1/2)
Fischer Progressor NT Mid+ Demo (1/2)
Wilson KSixOne Tour 90 Mid (1/2) Demo
Babolat Pure Drive Roddick+ MP Demo (1/2)
Yonex RDiS 100 Midplus Demo (1/2)
Yonex RDS 001 '08 Demo Mid+ (1/2)
Boris Becker 11 S.E. 98 Mid+ Demo (1/2)
Dunlop Aerogel 4D 300 Mid+ Demo (1/2)

My question is: what head size do I need? Should I go with mid or mid plus? What is the advantage of the smaller head size?

Also, what is the advantage of the microgel head radical over the liquidmetal radical? The MG one is nearly $200 more, and the liquidmetal is significantly cheaper than any other racquet in my list, so unless the others are phenomenal, I will just buy the LM radical and call it a day. I'm a believer in the player over the racquet and am not too concerned about small technical details in racquet design (not for a $100 difference anyway), but at this point, I really do need new racquets!

Are there any racquets you would recommend for someone like me (huge serve, weak rest of game)? Any I should remove or add to my demo list?

Thanks!
 
I'd take out the AG300 (too light) and instead try the AG100 or AG200.

I use the AG100 stock (other than with a wilson leather grip), and find it a very good serving stick - I play S&V singles, and doubles, and am a good server. I have used k90s and n90s before for the same reason, but have moved to something fractionally lighter and with lower swingweight to improve my groundies and all-round game (I found the k90 particularly unwieldy). Anyhow, from the weight and balance characteristics, the AG100 can be easily customised to get very close to a k90, so you might find it a good option if you like something in the style of a k90 but "a bit less racket". Otherwise, if you can handle a k90, go for it!
 
I'd also take out the Fischer Progressor and instead demo the Pro 1 98 SL instead. The Pro1 has a much larger following.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions!

What about Yonex?

I've got

Yonex RDiS 100 Midplus Demo (1/2)
Yonex RDS 001 '08 Demo Mid+ (1/2)

What is the difference between these two racquets?

Would I be better off with the RDS 002 tour?

I'm having a hard time understanding the offerings from this company (Pretty much the only racquets I've played with before. Started with the SRD Tour95 and moved to the RD-Ti 70).
 
Here's my 2 cents.

With a strong serve you can pretty much use most frames out there however, with a weaker baseline game a larger head size might be worth looking into.

Basically, you could demo these frames to get an idea of what type of frame might suit you better.

1. K90, Yonex RDS001 (your classic s&v stick) the most forgiving 90 sq in frames out there.

2. N95, RDS002 Tour, Head MGMP/Pro or the Dunlop AG & 4D 200, rather typical range of all court frames and the slightly larger frame size will give a bit more comfort and ease of use.

I'm not sure if you want to consider the PDR as that is a power baseline stick. Serve than bash from the baseline n if your groundies aren't your strength then why consider this stick?

mawashi
 
mawashi said:
Here's my 2 cents.

With a strong serve you can pretty much use most frames out there however, with a weaker baseline game a larger head size might be worth looking into.

Basically, you could demo these frames to get an idea of what type of frame might suit you better.

1. K90, Yonex RDS001 (your classic s&v stick) the most forgiving 90 sq in frames out there.

2. N95, RDS002 Tour, Head MGMP/Pro or the Dunlop AG & 4D 200, rather typical range of all court frames and the slightly larger frame size will give a bit more comfort and ease of use.

I'm not sure if you want to consider the PDR as that is a power baseline stick. Serve than bash from the baseline n if your groundies aren't your strength then why consider this stick?

mawashi
Click to expand...

What is the advantage of the smaller headsize in serving? I already know it's disadvantage on the baseline, but I am struggling to remember why I bought 88 sq. in. racquets so many years ago. The PDR is 100 sq. in., but Roddick doesn't seem to have any problem hitting massive serves with it.
 
The headsize debate is all user preference. Really, you'll just have to find a stick you feel comfortable with. For what its worth, try the regular pure drive as well as the roddick.

Also, the maxply mcenroe racquet offered by dunlop is on sale for about $70. It is pretty stiff (good for serve), has a middle of the road headsize, and is cheap. You might like it if you prefer a more open string pattern then the liquid metal radical.
 
Last edited:
I was in your shoes just last year... Only I had been away since '91. I used to play with the Original ProStaff 6.0 with an 85 sq in head. I have a very big serve and that was important to me to keep. I build my game around my serve as well. I demoed many different racquets! Some to the more notable ones I tried were:

KSix One 90
KSix one 95 X
Yonex RDS 003
Yonex RDS 001 90
Yonex RQS-11
Yonex RQS-22
Yonex RQS-33
Yonex RQ Speed 7
Prince O3 Blue
Prince O3 Red
Wilson KFour

I ended up with the RQS-33. I loved the pop on the big flat first serve and all the spin the open string pattern gave me on my second serves (kick and slice). The larger (107 sq in) head size was incredibly forgiving with my not-so-consistent strokes.

Now (a little over a year later) I wish I would have gone with more of a player's stick and gone through the hardships of grooving my strokes all over again. The reason is that now I am having concerns with the power of the frame. I have to dail down my ground strokes to keep the ball in. So, now I am looking to change to a smaller head size with less power than what I currently have.

My advice... find a used (or a for sale demo) racquet with a larger head size to groove your strokes and then step back into the players raquets.

Just my own opnions...

Good Luck with your journey! Welcome back to tennis!
 
sidespar said:
Hey all,

I've been absent probably 5 years from tennis. I'm 25 and used to play at the 4.5 level. I played in a 3.5 league last year, and while my serve is still on the 5.0+ level, the rest of my game is terrible. Still, I was able to win most of my matches by consistently cranking out 100 mph+ serves. If the ball ever came back, I struggled though.

I'm blaming part of my troubles on my racquets: Yonex Rd-Ti 70s (88 sq inch heads) that I used in high school. They just feel 'dead' now. I'm stronger now than I was then, but I still can't get anything out of these racquets beyond the serve. They are beat to hell, and it's time for something new.

Basically, what I'm looking for in a racquet is something that lets me hit the hardest serves I possibly can. That is #1 to me. I am 6'4" and 195 lbs. with considerable upper body strength, therefore swing weights aren't really something that concerns me. But I also want something that has more 'pop' from the baseline as I typically don't swing as hard on my ground strokes as I do on my serve. I remember hitting with my friend's head radical a few years ago and was amazed at the difference. I was like, wow, I might actually be a decent player if I could play with something like this that could generate power from the baseline.

I'm looking through the TW system and would like to demo 8 racquets and need suggestions on a good racquet for me to try. This is what I came up with:

Head Liquidmetal Radical Demo Mid+ (1/2)
Fischer Progressor NT Mid+ Demo (1/2)
Wilson KSixOne Tour 90 Mid (1/2) Demo
Babolat Pure Drive Roddick+ MP Demo (1/2)
Yonex RDiS 100 Midplus Demo (1/2)
Yonex RDS 001 '08 Demo Mid+ (1/2)
Boris Becker 11 S.E. 98 Mid+ Demo (1/2)
Dunlop Aerogel 4D 300 Mid+ Demo (1/2)

My question is: what head size do I need? Should I go with mid or mid plus? What is the advantage of the smaller head size?

Also, what is the advantage of the microgel head radical over the liquidmetal radical? The MG one is nearly $200 more, and the liquidmetal is significantly cheaper than any other racquet in my list, so unless the others are phenomenal, I will just buy the LM radical and call it a day. I'm a believer in the player over the racquet and am not too concerned about small technical details in racquet design (not for a $100 difference anyway), but at this point, I really do need new racquets!

Are there any racquets you would recommend for someone like me (huge serve, weak rest of game)? Any I should remove or add to my demo list?

Thanks!
Click to expand...


I would highly suggest you demo http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageRCYONEX-Y002T.html RDS 002 Tour.

Now this covers everything #1 it is simular to the racket you used to play with so that way you will not have to strugle with learning a new racket #2 this racket is made to serve huge, and is very crisp yet still with a nice flex #3 it has really good pop to it and weight so returns from deep on the baseline are very easy and the open string pattern will keep the ball in #4 very good feel with a thin beam, you will be able to put that ball where you want.

I would recomend a soft string with this racket ie Yonex string Yonex Tour Super 850 and Pro http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/YonexString.html. The string is soft with very good feel, holds tension for a very long time, huge spin, but the nicest part is that for a string that soft it is not over powered, but still with a lot of feel.
 
sidespar said:
What is the advantage of the smaller headsize in serving? I already know it's disadvantage on the baseline, but I am struggling to remember why I bought 88 sq. in. racquets so many years ago. The PDR is 100 sq. in., but Roddick doesn't seem to have any problem hitting massive serves with it.
Click to expand...

Feel and accuracy. A smaller head will let you swing faster. Generally it is accepted that s&v players prefer smaller head sizes as you can really crush the ball with it and the small head size gives a lot of feel to put away volleys n drop shots.

The baseliners or those who hit with a lot of spin or those who use western to extreme wester grips do generally prefer larger head sizes as framing the ball is rather easy if you play with a lot of spin but use a small head size.

If you are thinking of returning to s&v then stick to something no larger than 95 or 98. If you are thinking of getting a stick that serves great n is more forgiving then frames from 93 to 100 is a pretty good range to aim for.

With the exception of the Dunlop 4D I have owned or used the frames that I have mentioned and that's what I think they are better suited for.

I won't hesitate to recommend the K90 for pure s&v, RDS002Tour, Wilson N95 (18x20) or the Dunlop AG200 for an all court player.

mawashi
 
Xtreme said:
tfight 320 v02.
Click to expand...

This. I just got one and it is a big server's fantasy. I am not sure the speed of my serves currently, but I cracked 100mph easily as a junior, and I can still send bombs. It is also a 95, so you will have a lot of control at net if needed, but this racquet is really nice for aggressive baseline play and serving.
 
Your gameplay sounds like Roddicks. (Big serve, etc. )
And you want more power from the baseline.

Go for the pure drive roddick..
 
I think the greater difference in the performance is the combination of weight and swingweight (354g/336 for k90, 332g/312 for AG100).

I found the k90 a brilliant racket for grooving my swing when warming up, not hitting at rally speed. Get that frame swinging early and on plane, and the shot feels solid, arrow-accurate and quite effortless. Likewise for serving, when I can dictate the pace, or for intercepting on the volley, when again I can anticipate and be early. But anytime you're late and playing catch-up on your swing, different story.

I agree the AG100 is a great serving stick. In many ways, I prefer it to the k90, because - being a bit lighter - I can tweak the rackethead as I throw it at the ball and go for slightly more slice or higher up the sideline (on sliders, for instance). For baseline hitting, being lighter (than the k90) probably makes it fractionally less solid, but what I lose in that I probably gain in better timing and crisper hits on the sweetspot; certainly, my sliced backhand is a lot more effective with the AG100 even when I'm stretched (low over the net, deep to the baseline, skiddy low bounce - my coach hates it!), so I can now switch from top to slice on that wing pretty much at will, to vary the pace and bounce of the rallies.
 
First off you want to preserve your serve go with a racquet no larger than 98Sq in. If you go 100 or higher that headsize is going to catch wind like a sail and slow you down. You don't want to goto a 90 cause you have no ground game. So 95-98 sq in is the best overall size.

Since you want a bit more pop on your ground game I do suggest a racquet that is no more than an inch thick. My suggestion of racquets for you would be

1. Wilson K Pro Tour
2. Prince White
3. Dunlop Aerogel 500
4. Babolat Pure Storm
5. Head Microgel Radical
6. Yonex RQ iS 1 Tour
 
You guys aren't seriously suggesting a racket with head below a 95sq are you?? The guys said he had problems with serve return and basline return, and you are suggesting a racket below 95sqin????:confused:

To OP: If you pick a racket below 95sqin you will be very unhappy in the long term, good luck.
 
jackson vile said:
You guys aren't seriously suggesting a racket with head below a 95sq are you?? The guys said he had problems with serve return and basline return, and you are suggesting a racket below 95sqin????:confused:

To OP: If you pick a racket below 95sqin you will be very unhappy in the long term, good luck.
Click to expand...

That's because returning serve and rallying on the baseline is overated. Who the hell hits from the baseline (end sarcasm)
 
It's gonna be the RDS001 90

I didn't get a chance to demo the PDR, the BB, or the T320, but the RDS001 I am happy with and don't see a need to pay for more demos. It is a huge improvement over my previous rd ti-70 88.

What is the recommended string setup and tension for this? The demo was strung with Yonex something or another, which I loved, but like I said, I don't know exactly what Yonex string was on it.
 
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