Smashed my first racket today :(

QuentinFederer

Professional
Today I smashed my Wilson 6.1 pro staff 90 blx, on the very first time I used it. I wasn't in a great mood anyway, I hit 3 straight easy shots into the net and I just smashed it. The hoop broke into 4 pieces and now I'm just feeling like a total moron. I've never even thrown my racket before, I just don't know what came over me. It only cost me £80, but even so, I'm furious with myself.
 

kingcheetah

Hall of Fame
I trashed one of those too-- I rolled an ankle during a big match, and hit the side of the racquet on the court, cracking it. Post match(off court) it was much more than cracked
 

SoBad

G.O.A.T.
Today I smashed my Wilson 6.1 pro staff 90 blx, on the very first time I used it. I wasn't in a great mood anyway, I hit 3 straight easy shots into the net and I just smashed it. The hoop broke into 4 pieces and now I'm just feeling like a total moron. I've never even thrown my racket before, I just don't know what came over me. It only cost me £80, but even so, I'm furious with myself.
Maybe it's no big deal. What's your monthly disposable income?
 

QuentinFederer

Professional
I trashed one of those too-- I rolled an ankle during a big match, and hit the side of the racquet on the court, cracking it. Post match(off court) it was much more than cracked
I'm surprised at just how fragile it was, I just smashed it into the grass twice and it fell to pieces
 

Simon_the_furry

Hall of Fame
Today I smashed my Wilson 6.1 pro staff 90 blx, on the very first time I used it. I wasn't in a great mood anyway, I hit 3 straight easy shots into the net and I just smashed it. The hoop broke into 4 pieces and now I'm just feeling like a total moron. I've never even thrown my racket before, I just don't know what came over me. It only cost me £80, but even so, I'm furious with myself.
Ow. :(
 

TupeloDanger

Professional
In part, this is why I regret ever moving on from my Prince Pro 110's.

Smashed your racquet? Turn it over and smash it back. Still isn't perfect? Meh, just a little extra English on the ball.
 

CopolyX

Hall of Fame
It is not the rackets fault. Try cutting out the strings aggressively (but be careful not to lose a finger). Cheaper and hey, it could be the strings fault (dead, bad tension, etc..) lol.......
 

QuentinFederer

Professional
You smashed it on a grass court? Luckily no one was looking, they would kick you out
They weren't my club courts, but just some free local courts. They are in a bad way, a lack of maintenance and the turf still has all the bumps from last year. Saying that, I still absolutely shouldn't be smashing rackets on any courts.
 

Jmon99

Rookie
I feel your pain! I've never properly "smashed" a racquet, but I ruined probably the best racquet I've ever owned (Head IG Instinct MP). I was losing a club match very badly and after being broken for about the 5th time, I took a slightly-too-hard crack at the (artificial grass!) court with it, which created a nice crack through the frame and through one of the grommet holes. It's still in one piece but would likely fall to bits if I played with it again. It's strange how the best (ie most expensive) frames seem to be the weakest. My £30 Yonex Ezone Lite is somehow still holding up after countless smacks off the horrible hard courts I was forced to play on as a junior!
 

zalive

Hall of Fame
Bad news: Roger heard of your little 'incident' and calls you to quit being his fan for good :(
Good news: Ivanisevic heard it as well and he's absolutely delighted! He invites you to switch to Head (and smash them, too) :)
Last minute news: Youzhny said it's not a big deal, but encourages you do it the next time against your face, like real men do :p
 

ThirdEye

Semi-Pro
Lost an easy match yesterday and I almost smashed my RF 97. Somehow I managed to keep calm for a few seconds, and decided to smash my aluminum bottle instead.
 

QuentinFederer

Professional
Lost an easy match yesterday and I almost smashed my RF 97. Somehow I managed to keep calm for a few seconds, and decided to smash my aluminum bottle instead.
I can get a bit hot headed on the court at times, but I never thought I'd actually smash a racket. It wasn't even a match, I was just hitting with a friend.
 

Dartagnan64

G.O.A.T.
We've all done it man. Sorry for your loss. :(

Speak for yourself. I've never smashed a racquet and at $300 CDN I wouldn't dare wreck one over a missed shot. Keeping your cool is an important skill to learn in life and sports. Hopefully the OP will take it to heart and look into the root causes of such an outburst and how to manage it better. It's all fun and games until there is a woman or child on the other end of that angry outburst.
 

beltsman

G.O.A.T.
Speak for yourself. I've never smashed a racquet and at $300 CDN I wouldn't dare wreck one over a missed shot. Keeping your cool is an important skill to learn in life and sports. Hopefully the OP will take it to heart and look into the root causes of such an outburst and how to manage it better. It's all fun and games until there is a woman or child on the other end of that angry outburst.

There's nothing wrong with venting anger. To pretend that there is somehow a connection between smashing racquets or water bottles on the tennis court and domestic violence is asinine.
 

QuentinFederer

Professional
Speak for yourself. I've never smashed a racquet and at $300 CDN I wouldn't dare wreck one over a missed shot. Keeping your cool is an important skill to learn in life and sports. Hopefully the OP will take it to heart and look into the root causes of such an outburst and how to manage it better. It's all fun and games until there is a woman or child on the other end of that angry outburst.
The root cause is that I woke up in a bad mood after staying up too late, and was probably to tired to use a 90 inch frame for the first time. To imply that I might show signs of aggression towards a woman or child is insulting to say the least.
 

TennisHound

Legend
Speak for yourself. I've never smashed a racquet and at $300 CDN I wouldn't dare wreck one over a missed shot. Keeping your cool is an important skill to learn in life and sports. Hopefully the OP will take it to heart and look into the root causes of such an outburst and how to manage it better. It's all fun and games until there is a woman or child on the other end of that angry outburst.
Okay Mr Righteous Indignation. These guys who are so above everyone else crack me up. I guess not all of us have smashed a racquet. Why look into the root causes? Its simple - you get mad, smash what's in your hand. I guess you're better than Djokovic, Federer, and the rest of us. You're so far above us, man o_O
 

TennisHound

Legend
The root cause is that I woke up in a bad mood after staying up too late, and was probably to tired to use a 90 inch frame for the first time. To imply that I might show signs of aggression towards a woman or child is insulting to say the least.
Don't worry about what Fartagnan says.

I have a guy like this in my office (I'm sure eveyone does). He is very lonely and has all kinds of bitterness built up. Everytime he's in a conversation, he is either trying to run the other person down, or try to build himself up in front of everyone. Usually, its tear the other person down to make himself look good. I feel sorry for him cause no one likes him and can't stand to be around him.
 

Dartagnan64

G.O.A.T.
There's nothing wrong with venting anger. To pretend that there is somehow a connection between smashing racquets or water bottles on the tennis court and domestic violence is asinine.

You think so? I'll just leave it at having some personal experience with angry racquet smashers and abusive personalities.

Yes sometimes a racquet smashing is just a minor heat of the moment thing people can learn from and sometimes it speaks to a personality flaw that can come out at other times.
 

Dartagnan64

G.O.A.T.
Okay Mr Righteous Indignation. These guys who are so above everyone else crack me up. I guess not all of us have smashed a racquet. Why look into the root causes? Its simple - you get mad, smash what's in your hand. I guess you're better than Djokovic, Federer, and the rest of us. You're so far above us, man o_O

I don't think I'm anymore righteous than anyone else. I'm just not a racquet smasher and am able to keep my cool. Doesn't make me better than anyone else. But certainly if I was destroying expensive pieces of personal property over 3 netted balls, I'd explore my ability to control my feelings a bit more. The only person I've seen smash a racquet was my father and thank god he did get his behavior looked at eventually.
 

beltsman

G.O.A.T.
You think so? I'll just leave it at having some personal experience with angry racquet smashers and abusive personalities.

Yes sometimes a racquet smashing is just a minor heat of the moment thing people can learn from and sometimes it speaks to a personality flaw that can come out at other times.

Does Federer beat Mirka?
 
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