Well, here it is, and maybe a bit overdue. This thread will detail my thoughts on racquet selection, the best racquet for you, midsize, oversize, weight, swingweight, stiffness, blah blah blah.
***Disclaimer*** this is my own personal opinion, and that is what I am sharing with you. I am not saying it is the final word, the word of god, I am not saying that I am right, and dissenters are wrong. Please read with an open mind, think this information through, and comment if you wish.
This post is geared more towards the intermediate player, as beginners will have bigger fish to fry than racquet selection, and won't really have the stroke mechanics to take full advantage of the differences in frames. While advanced players should have a darned good idea of what they should be using. But I would like to think that most players could glean some insight from this thread.
If you have your racquet already picked out, and want some insight on how many you should ideally have please check this thread
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=127992.
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Ok, the first think I want to address is brand. Pretty much every brand out there makes good quality racquets. The only ones I would steer people away from would be the wierd ones like Blackburne, Power angle, etc.
Most all companies make competing racquets in all ranges so once you figure out about what you are looking for, you can demo a few frames from a few brands, and pick the one you like best.
The single most important thing about a racquet is that you like it. You absolutely must like the way the racquet feels to you, the way it plays, the way it looks. If a racquet feels too stiff, too rattly, too dead, too light, too heavy, the grip doesn't feel right, you hate the color, or it hurts in any way when you are hitting, then it isn't the right racquet for you. This is so immensely important. If you don't like the racquet, or if you have to think at all about it, then you will not be able to play to your fullest. You should just be able to pick up your racquet and play with it.
The single most important attribute of a tennis player is consistency. You absolutely must keep the ball in play at all costs. Every shot you miss you forfiet the point. Until you get to about #200 in the world tennis is about one more ball. The difference as you go up in level is the quality of that ball, which will be addressed in the next point. So many times you hear people say "When I hit it right the racquet is awesome" what they leave out is the part about hitting it wrong and losing the point. You need the racquet that lets you hit 8 or 9 good shots out of ten, not the racquet that lets you hit one or two phenominal shots and 6 mediocre ones. If you need to do something out of the ordinary (Swing faster, swing slower, more topspin, less topspin, hit earlier, hit later.) in order to produce good results with a frame, then your consistency is going to suffer. Now, it is OK to pick something if you intend to grow into it, but be realistic, if you have been playing for 20 years once a week, take lessons once a month, are you really gonna develop that wicked western forehand you want anytime soon? Or is a more realistic goal just to add a bit of topspin to your game? Make sure you have the time and inclination to play the frame, and develop the game that suits it before you go and shell out the coin. The old saying fits about excersising and loosing weight. "It is a lot easier to buy the shorts than to do the situps".
After Consistency, the next most important thing in tennis is DEPTH. Let me say that again.
DEPTH once more incase you weren't paying attention
Depth above all. You can hit the most wicked topspin, you can hit the ball 100mph, it won't do you a lick of good if you are dropping them into the service box. (Assuming we all know that I am not talking about angle winners, drop shots, and other shots hit short to facilitate winning a point.) Your racquet should allow you to hit the ball deep and when I say deep, I mean beyond the service line at the minimum, preferably in the back third of the court. You should be able to hit deep AT WILL AND WITHOUT EFFORT in all types of baseline rallying. If your balls are landing short, you need more power, you can get it from weight, string, stiffness, headsize, wherever you choose, but get it from somewhere.
With reguard to racquet weight, and racquet Swingweight. I advocate playing the heaviest racquet that you can play well with. This weight is different for different people. Some people may find anything over 10.2oz to be too heavy, some people will play with a 14oz racquet. What does this mean. The primary factor that you should be able to judge ideal racquet weight/swingweight by is being able to get around on the ball. Out of all the people you play with, or intend to play, or want to be able to play with in the near future, you must be able to get around on the vast majority of their balls. What I mean by get around, is hitting the ball with your full normal swing, and not feeling rushed, and hitting the ball ON TIME. Anyone can smoke feedballs with any racquet, anyone can convince themself that they are playing great when they try out their new racquet against Aunt Thelma, and her moonballs. When you are in competition, when you are on the run, when you are playing in the wind, when you are playing on a lousy surface, when your opponent is hitting behind you, can you get the racquet around on the ball, and hit it on time? Or are you constantly late? Anyone can hit a good shot when they have plenty of time to set up, and line the shot up. If in match play, when you are on the run if you are late on the ball too often, your racquet is probably too heavy/too high swingweight. If your ball is deep in a casual rally, but it shortens up when you are under pressure, on the run, your racquet is probably too heavy/too high swingweight.
The second factor, which should only be a factor if the racquet is WAY TOO HEAVY is fatigue. If you feel tired after swinging the racquet during a hitting session, or after serving three sets, then it is WAY too heavy. Once again it is ok to buy something with a little extra heft if you like it, and have the intention of building up some endurance, but be realistic. Are you really going to put in the effort? A 12oz racquet doesn't build up your forearm muscles while it is sitting in your bag, you need to go out and hit balls with it. . . lots of them. Don't buy the racquet with the intention of growing into it if you are not prepared to put forth the effort.
When discussing weight you will hear the argument that a racquet can't be too heavy for you because women and children played with wooden racquets that weighed way more back in the day, and Sampras learned to play with wood, and he turned out OK, so you just must be a sissy if you can't play with a racquet waying Xoz. This argument is complete and utter HOGWASH (Yea I would have said something else in an unmoderated forum.) They played with heavy wood back when that is what there was. Ballspeed was NOWHERE NEAR in the league that it is now. The ball traveled slower, so you had that much more time to get around on the ball, and didn't have to put nearly as much work on the ball to maintain depth when you were countering a slower less spinny ball. I personally hit a very very heavy ball, and have had many a club player come and tell me "When we hit, I just can't get the ball past the service line". If you can't get around on the majority of balls from the people you play with, you need less weight.
Davy Crockett did ok with a musket, but I'll be damned if I am gonna wade into battle with one in 2007. Sure you could shoot someone dead with one, but given the choice I'll be taking that AR15 into battle thank you very much. Heck I can play high 3.0 tennis with a corn bristled broom (Much to the dismay of the local high school JV Team.) But that doesn't make it a good idea.
On headsize. Play with what you feel comfortable with, what you can hit the sweetspot on regularly. If you are having trouble finding the sweetspot on a regular basis, then the sweetspot is too small. Nuff Said. Headsize is also one of the areas you can get more power from.
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