Mens Tennis Forums banner

Choosing A Racket (Help Needed!)

3K views 21 replies 11 participants last post by  Auscon 
#1 ·
I'm thinking about buying a new racket, but am not sure of which brand to buy (Prince, Wilson, Dunlop, Head, Babolat, Fischer?). Anyone has any advice?
 
See less See more
1
#3 ·
Depends on your playing style. I'm no expert, but I advise you to test some different rackets with different weights and weightdistributions and then see what you like. Do you need power or precision, it all depends.
 
  • Like
Reactions: silverwhite
#5 · (Edited)
Get thyself to the nearest pro shop...and establish a relationship with the proprietor. They'll have lots of demo rackets for you to try...and never buy one without giving it a test run. Racket manufacturers are like car makers...they make all sorts of models to suit their varied clientele's needs, tastes...and bank accounts.

As for what I'm playing with...Wilson nCode n5...and I like it. But I have a medium-paced game and come to the net relatively often. Its sweet spot is adequate and I like the control. It actually added some power to my game too.

Good luck.
 
#8 ·
Find your style, and then find the racquet that will help emulate your style. For instance, If you like to serve and volley, the Wilson Prostaffs give you a lot of punch on the volleys with their weight. Likewise, a strong baseliner would want a lighter racquet, but the varying amount of spin used requires a different type. Flat hitters will like the Dunlop, while the power hitters will like head or babolat. Skilled spin practicioners will like the prince racquets. Of course, each brand makes racquets for every style, but I find the brands mentioned tend to make racquets better suited for the mentioned style of play. Then again, you can adapt any racquet to any style of play, it's all up to the player, really, not the racquet.

I use a wilson prostaff 6.1, f.y.i
 
#9 ·
yep the best thing to do is to try out as many racket's as possible and just find the one you like best. every person has a different taste. for example, i absolutely despise babolat racket's i've tried out virtually every one of their models and they all give me really bad tennis elbow and i just don't feel right with them. i'm playing with the head liquid metal radical at the moment and absolutely love it, some of the new wilson n-code's are pretty good as well. Also, if you play seriously, after you buy the racket get it restrung straight away, the strings that come with a racket are always awful.
 
#10 ·
Domino said:
Find your style, and then find the racquet that will help emulate your style. For instance, If you like to serve and volley, the Wilson Prostaffs give you a lot of punch on the volleys with their weight. Likewise, a strong baseliner would want a lighter racquet, but the varying amount of spin used requires a different type. Flat hitters will like the Dunlop, while the power hitters will like head or babolat. Skilled spin practicioners will like the prince racquets. Of course, each brand makes racquets for every style, but I find the brands mentioned tend to make racquets better suited for the mentioned style of play. Then again, you can adapt any racquet to any style of play, it's all up to the player, really, not the racquet.

I use a wilson prostaff 6.1, f.y.i
Thanks, Domino!

I hit the ball rather hard, but would like to add more variety to my game (eg. volleys, slices, spins), so which brand is the best for that?

And I noticed that hard-hitters like Davenport and the Williams sisters use Wilson while players with more variety like Mauresmo and Molik use Dunlop. Any connection there?
 
#11 ·
adeegee said:
yep the best thing to do is to try out as many racket's as possible and just find the one you like best. every person has a different taste. for example, i absolutely despise babolat racket's i've tried out virtually every one of their models and they all give me really bad tennis elbow and i just don't feel right with them. i'm playing with the head liquid metal radical at the moment and absolutely love it, some of the new wilson n-code's are pretty good as well. Also, if you play seriously, after you buy the racket get it restrung straight away, the strings that come with a racket are always awful.
The problem is, tennis over here is not very popular, and I don't think there are any shops which specialise in selling tennis equiptment, which is why I don't think any of the shops which do sell tennis rackets would let buyers test them out. :(
 
#12 ·
silverwhite said:
My game is not fully developed yet. I hit quite hard, but don't have much variety yet.

I'm wondering what advantages/disadvantages each brand has. :)
if you can generate enuf of your own power, get a brand that gives you more control. www.tenniswarehouse.com
 
#13 ·
silverwhite said:
The problem is, tennis over here is not very popular, and I don't think there are any shops which specialise in selling tennis equiptment, which is why I don't think any of the shops which do sell tennis rackets would let buyers test them out. :(
Where is over here? If it's in the US, TennisChick gave you the link to TennisWarehouse and they have a demo program where they'll ship rackets to you. It might seem a bit expensive (about $30 for two rackets, I think)...but when you're looking to spend $200+...it's well worth the investment. Dick's Sporting Goods is also a big box retailer that has demos too.

Still use your local shop as a resource. And ask, you might be surprised at what they're willing to do for a new customer.
 
#14 ·
Angle Queen said:
Where is over here? If it's in the US, TennisChick gave you the link to TennisWarehouse and they have a demo program where they'll ship rackets to you. It might seem a bit expensive (about $30 for two rackets, I think)...but when you're looking to spend $200+...it's well worth the investment. Dick's Sporting Goods is also a big box retailer that has demos too.

Still use your local shop as a resource. And ask, you might be surprised at what they're willing to do for a new customer.
"Over here" is in Singapore. :p
 
#15 ·
silverwhite said:
"Over here" is in Singapore. :p
PM the poster named Greenout over at wtaworld. he might be able to suggest which stores might let you do it in Singapore. but check the tennis warehouse for the verbal descriptions of the rackets at least so you get an idea.

also this months Tennis magazine is totally dedicated to the latest equipment. i haven't read it as yet but if you can get your hands on it, that might help.

good luck and all the best :wavey:
 
  • Like
Reactions: silverwhite
#17 ·
silverwhite said:
Thanks, Domino!

I hit the ball rather hard, but would like to add more variety to my game (eg. volleys, slices, spins), so which brand is the best for that?

And I noticed that hard-hitters like Davenport and the Williams sisters use Wilson while players with more variety like Mauresmo and Molik use Dunlop. Any connection there?
Then I would suggest either a Wilson Prostaff, or a Dunlop 300G. They're difficult to wield at first, but give much more variety without sacrificing power if you want it.
 
#19 ·
I really like prince racquets, but as everyone has said demo your racquets before you buy.
 
#22 ·
if you know bugger all, as I did when I started looking, check out the guide at tenniswarehouse.com

wont help you with brand choice, but it helped me in terms of making the right considerations of technical bits involved
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top