What is the life span of a racquet?
- Thread starter askwines
- Start date
J011yroger
Talk Tennis Guru
It is a feel thing. Certainly not a time thing. Depends on how hard you hit, and how many stringjobs on the racquet.
I have 12-18 racquets in rotation at any given time, play 15-20 hours per week in the outdoor season, and am a big hitter, so I flex out frames fairly quickly.
For the vast majority of players it is not something you would worry about.
Some info about your daughter her racquet of choice, and restringing frequency would be helpful.
J
I have 12-18 racquets in rotation at any given time, play 15-20 hours per week in the outdoor season, and am a big hitter, so I flex out frames fairly quickly.
For the vast majority of players it is not something you would worry about.
Some info about your daughter her racquet of choice, and restringing frequency would be helpful.
J
J011yroger
Talk Tennis Guru
OK, firstly totally no offence meant, if she is getting 60 hours out of a stringjob then she isn't really hitting hard enough to put much of a hurt on the frame.
Secondly and I am just making an assumption here (and we all know what happens when you assume) that she only has one frame. Which for any sort of tournament player is absolutely absurd.
Please peruse my handy guide to finding your ideal number of racquets. Located here.
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=127992
To answer your question, I would retire the frame after two years or so. You can only assume that as she gets bigger and stronger and better and starts hitting harder and breaking more string the racquet will take more of a beating. But who knows, maybe by then she will want to switch to something different.
The thing with the racquets getting soft is you don't notice it because you play it every day, and it happens really slowly. Like if you bought 2 brand new navy blue t-shirts. And you put one in your dresser drawer, and the other you wore and washed every day for a month. During the month you wouldn't notice that the shirt was fading, but if at the end of the month you went and held it up next to the brand new one you could see that the one that was washed 30 times was faded compared to the new one.
It is a good idea if you don't already do it, to keep track of the date of purchace of the racquet, and how many times it has been strung. Especially when you are dealing with a bunch of racquets. You don't want more stringjobs on one racquet than another, you want them all about the same so they wear evenly.
Here is how I keep track, but keep in mind that I am way more nuts about this stuff than anyone needs to be.
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=123530
J
J011yroger
Talk Tennis Guru
Not really, lots of players prefer their racquets with that broken in feeling.
I personally like them when they are new and stiff, but play them till they get soft. Then I retire them once they turn to goo. (And write "Flexed Out" on them in magic marker so I don't forget and get it restrung.)
J
J011yroger
Talk Tennis Guru
my prestige 600 from high school (20 years ago) still hit like a dream! nice and stiff! i am around 4.5. I also hit with used pro tour 280/630's that have been passed on by how many generation which i have the slightest idea, but they are still hitting like a dream...
And oh, i hit hard (all out swinging), both spin and flat(when i go for the kill).
jeez, I am not pro and don't make money playing tennis... so why even worry about these things! just worry about your technique and try to have some fun!
And oh, i hit hard (all out swinging), both spin and flat(when i go for the kill).
jeez, I am not pro and don't make money playing tennis... so why even worry about these things! just worry about your technique and try to have some fun!
It's my humble opinion but I don't buy the racquet life span theory. I agree racquet gets to feel different over use but wouldn't describe it as "being dead". As I mentioned it in another thread and MTXR seems to have said it above too, the change is rather a pleasant one.
People say professional players consume how many racquets a year. Perhaps they like freshness. Even so, I heard Hyungtaik Lee, a Korean pro player, used his Prestige 660 racquets until they cracked. (He recently converted to another Head model since his previous racquet discontinued.) So there is even a pro who don't believe racquets being dead.
People say professional players consume how many racquets a year. Perhaps they like freshness. Even so, I heard Hyungtaik Lee, a Korean pro player, used his Prestige 660 racquets until they cracked. (He recently converted to another Head model since his previous racquet discontinued.) So there is even a pro who don't believe racquets being dead.
Deuce
Banned
I agree - seeking out a finite 'time limit' for frames is ridiculous.
It's like such people are desperately looking for an excuse to scrap their racquets and buy new ones.
All anyone needs to know is that they should play with a racquet until the racquet doesn't feel comfortable to them any more. For some, this can mean 6 months. For others, it can mean a lifetime.
It is no more complicated than that.
No-one knows except the player.
