What racket gave you tennis elbow and what did you switch to

[rocky b]

I keep hearing about what racket to use for TE. I want real life experience from people who switched from one racket to another and got rid of TE. For me I played with head radical killed my arm strung with kevlar. Switched to Pro Kennex 7g can play all day long with no pain

 

[LuckyR]

An old inexpensive Head widebody gave me TE, the ProKennex 5G took it away. Have since moved to the Ionic 5 then to the Volkl DNX V1 (decreasing degrees of arm friendliness), but still no pain.

PS- also shifted to gut...

 

[rasajadad]

Got it using Head Pro Tour 280 (I blame the BB Alu Power). Lost it with the racquets (and strings) in my signature.

 

[hifi heretic]

I disagree with the premise that it's the racquet that "gives" you tennis elbow.

If a racquet alone is to be blamed, answer this: At what point did the racquet suddenly inflict it's damage? Was it the first hit? ..the second game? was it the third set, or the fourth week?? ..At some point - undoubtedly - the elbow must have felt just fine. Then, at some later point, it began to hurt. The problem, then, is NOT the racquet. It is that the player persisted in playing when his/her elbow was bothering them!

If a new racquet presents the elbow with a greater workload - by virtue of being heavier, higher swingweight, less flexible, strung tighter etc.. - then there is the risk of injuring your elbow if you don't ease into using it. Give it time to acclimate! Whatever your form, whatever your fitness, etc... Give your arm time to adjust. Remember, an entire match is comprised of thousands of repititions; a small difference b/w racquets might have little impact after 100 swings, but it may have a huge impact after the 2,220th.

I truly believe that almost everyone could use just about any present day racquet being sold PROVIDED they take time to adjust to it!

My advice: Don't buy a new racquet, then abruptly use it for whole matches! I'd recommmend playing a few games, then go back to your old frame. As time goes by, work up to using the new frame on a full-time basis.

 

[rocky b]

rackets do give you tennis elbow how come the second I switched to the pro kennex my pain went away and alot of people had the same experience. I can see going from 9 ounces to 12 can hurt but I always played with a 12oz racket one caused pain the other felt great.

 

[hifi heretic]

rackets do give you tennis elbow how come the second I switched to the pro kennex my pain went away and alot of people had the same experience. I can see going from 9 ounces to 12 can hurt but I always played with a 12oz racket one caused pain the other felt great.

Simple: The PK obviously presented your elbow with a lower workload - who knows why. Could have been the grip shape, could have been the flex, could have been the swingweight. In any case, the fact that the pain subsided with the PK doesn't mean that your elbow couldn't have adjusted to the other racquet - if given ample time and care. And nor does it mean that PK is better suited to your style of play.

When asked, I tell people to pick the racquet that is most appropriate for their swing-speed and style of play (our Pro makes good recommendations). THEN be on the lookout for any new pains or aches. If you feel any, then add add'l days of rest before going back to the court and ALWAYS stop at the slightest hint of pain. ..As weeks go by, you'll find that you're able to work back up to your usual routine.

Remember: Our body has the capacity to HEAL so long as you give it the opportunity to do so.

 

[varuscelli]

If older racquets count:

Got tennis elbow pretty badly using a Head Atlantis 660 (purchased back in the early 90s).

Switched to a Wilson Hammer 6.2 (again, back in the early to mid-90s) and it eventually went away, never to recur again.

But, by the time I switched to the Hammer 6.2 I was using other control methods for the tennis elbow, like exercise, careful warm-ups before play, ice after play and ibuprofen when necessary.

Now, I'm upgrading racquets and demo'ing a bunch of them to figure out what to switch to. Looking at Wilson nCode racquets and possbly ProKennex (loved the way the ProKennex Ionic Ki 20 PSE hit, but worried about the stiffness of the racquet).

 

[Young Gun]

yes racquets can give you it, i had a hyper hammer 6.2, then switched to its somewhat of a cousin n6 and no pain at all anymore, but can i ask something, what could be the causes of the whole upper arm stinging and going numb
it started from just below my elbow to all the way up near my rotator on my shoulder

 

[Young Gun]

varuscelli go with the n6 if u like the way the hammer 6.2 played, similar but better, comes in 3 diff. headsizes if ur in australia and plays beautfully only thing wrong is the huge grip

 

[boobik2371]

I went from a Head Liquidmetal Radical OS that gave me tennis elbow to a Wilson Hyper Pro Staff 6.1 MidPlus. Then my coach switched me to a Dunlop revelation 200g(hurt my elbow at times) and M-Fil 200. Now I'm using a Flexpoint Prestige mid and I don't seem to have any problems.

 

[Duzza]

FXP Radical leaded up. Way too head light which really confused me!

 

[varuscelli]

varuscelli go with the n6 if u like the way the hammer 6.2 played, similar but better, comes in 3 diff. headsizes if ur in australia and plays beautfully only thing wrong is the huge grip

Thanks, I appreciate the suggestion.

Curiously, I actually demo'ed the nCode nSix-Two and personally felt it played very differently from the old Hammer 6.2. My take on it was that the nSix-Two didn't provide me enough feel or physical feedback when hitting. It felt softer to me than I was comfortable with and I didn't feel I was getting as much pop on my serve as I did with the old 6.2. (The nCode nSix-Two was one of the first racquets that came to mind, once I had done a bit of research, for replacing my old 6.2's, but to me it seems like the racquet's evolution has made it a very different racquet.)

But thanks again for that suggestion.

Oh, and on the grip -- why not try a smaller grip? :neutral:

 

[Young Gun]

the handle of the racquet is just naturally huge

 

[Yondan]

I hit with a Mizuno MS300N or some such. 28 inches long. Stiff as a 2x4. I had pains in my elbow after 30 minutes of hitting. I was using a Prince Diablo MP at the time but I soon switched to a leaded up Yonex RDS 001 MP.

 

[ericwong]

Initially, I've gotten TE after a few hits with Head i.Prestige 98 strung @ 58 using Kelvar. So I got it to 55 and the pain becomes lesser but I was still weary about it. When the PK Redondo 98 arrived , I strung using the same string and still at 55 lbs. It was magic. I totally did not feel any strain on my elbow. Maybe it was during the time I was strengthening my elbow while using the Head racquet. When I used the newest addition to my arsenal, I am swinging away with gusto. I further down the tension to 49 LBS and I am feeling alive again with my game