Tennis Racket recommendations

[TennisKoala33]

I am looking for a new racket. I have been playing with the Babolat Pure Strike VS and really enjoy it but it is not very forgiving. I'm looking for a control oriented racket that has a bigger sweet spot and is more forgiving. I was thinking of trying the Prince Tour 100P, Head Gravity Pro and the Yonex Percept 100D. Would those rackets fit the criteria? What other rackets might be a good fit?

 

[Soundbyte]

When you say "more forgiving", what exactly do you mean? More power (for forgiveness when on the run/defense)? Less harsh feeling away from the sweet spot?

Also, have you experimented with different string setups or lowering your tension significantly? Polys can be played comfortably at 38-44 lbs. I string my control frames at 40 lbs these days (I started originally at 48lbs... Just keep going lower)

 

[socallefty]

Try some lead tape at 3 and 9 to expand the sweet spot and add some mass. You might need to experiment with some weight at the tip also, but make sure you don’t put so much where your RHS on serves comes down too much.

You could also try a Pure Strike Tour which gives a lot more depth when you make incomplete swings playing defense or being late to the ball compared to the Strike VS.

 

[TennisKoala33]

When you say "more forgiving", what exactly do you mean? More power (for forgiveness when on the run/defense)? Less harsh feeling away from the sweet spot?

Also, have you experimented with different string setups or lowering your tension significantly? Polys can be played comfortably at 38-44 lbs. I string my control frames at 40 lbs these days (I started originally at 48lbs... Just keep going lower)

By more forgiving I mean that it doesn't feel as harsh and rough when you don't hit in the sweet spot exactly. The other rackets I listed are 100m so I thought they might provide that.

 

[TwinCinema]

I think the Percept 97 might be a better choice. It’s the same head size as PSVS but feels very forgiving to me (never had one vibration off the sweet spot when I demoed it) and it feels better (ie softer) than the PS. It’s low powered but you can take full swings and have great control. My only issue was stability but I think that’s similar to PSVS anyway according to anecdotal reports.

Speaking of anecdotal, I thought the 100D sucked.

 

[TwinCinema]

But if you want a 100” stick, Speed Pro is awesome.

 

[Tranqville]

I am looking for a new racket. I have been playing with the Babolat Pure Strike VS and really enjoy it but it is not very forgiving. I'm looking for a control oriented racket that has a bigger sweet spot and is more forgiving. I was thinking of trying the Prince Tour 100P, Head Gravity Pro and the Yonex Percept 100D. Would those rackets fit the criteria? What other rackets might be a good fit?

Two most similar frames to your Pure Strike VS are the Blade and TF40. Not sure if they will have a bigger sweetspot. You may want to demo Wilson ProStaff X, a recent release which was specifically designed as a control racquet with more forgivenes, or Head Speed Pro in control-power category.

 

[Fintft]

Maybe Shift 300 or a TGT 293.1 XL.

 

[born_hard]

Head Auxetic Extreme Tour.
I own both rackets and the PSVS is way stiffer. The ET is softer and more arm friendly. Both rackets are control oriented and both rackets need some weight at 3 and 9 for more stability, especially if you hit against string opponents.
The feel in the ET is way better, not just comfort wise but the impact at contact is crisper and you can guide the ball better at dropshots. The ET has also a good combination of power, confirt, control and spin. Sweet spot is nit the largest but a tad bigger then the Babolat.

 

[Trip]

@TennisKoala33 - What modifications, if any, have you made to your PSVS, beyond just an over grip and dampener? That matters, in order to get an idea of what your actual strung spec is, and be able to replicate it in a new setup.

Short of knowing that, for a general recommendation, if you're looking for something as similar as possible but just more off-center forgiveness, the answer is the Yonex Percept 97, customized with 2-3g of lead (total) at 10 & 2, and strung with full-bed poly in the mid-40's (or lower) or a hybrid around 50 (or lower). The P97 will offer the most identical flex profile and playability, but once properly customized, will offer a bit more perimeter forgiveness, especially if you tend to hit higher up with more swipe to your ground strokes. IMHO, it's the best 97" hoop shape left in the market for the modern game. As an honorable mention, the Percept 97D would potentially be an even better choice, as it's even more forgiving off-center (the entire string bed is more or less a sweet spot), but you must be strong enough to wield a 320g frame, comfortable playing medium-dense 18x20's and you need to bring 4.5+ level skill and racket-head speed, otherwise the D is going to be more punishing that it will be beneficial, primarily due to being too low-powered and unwieldly.

Beyond that, if you're willing to look at larger head sizes, I would look at the following:

- Dunlop CX 200 Oversize (also only $100 right now until 12/31)
- Under-spec Head Gravity Pro (otherwise Gravity Tour if you're outside the USA)
- Head Gravity MP, customized up
- Head Speed Pro, maybe Speed MP, customized up
- Prince ATS Tour 100P
- ProKennex Kinetic Pro 5G Classic, w/ 1-3g lead at 12
- Yonex Percept 100/100D, w/ 1-3g lead at 10 & 2
- Wilson Blade 98 (16x19 w/ lead, or 18x20 stock) with a leather grip, or Blade 100 with a leather grip

Exclusions: stuff that's not in that list has been left out for either being too clunky (ex: Speed Pro), still too unforgiving off-center (ex: Extreme, Radical) or just too dissimilar spec-wise.

Of all of those options, IMHO the Prince ATS Tour 100P is the most well-balanced, universally-playable frame, by a decent margin, especially in stock form. But don't discount the others, even the CX 200 OS. I'd try and demo as many as you can, with your normal string(s) and tension if possible.

Hope some of that helps!

 

[stephenpinkus]

An appropriate Volkl model. No vibration, easy on arm. Doesn’t have the raw power of Babolat, but the ball goes where you want it to go and pain free.