How to choose a tennis racquet? Head Size - String Tension - Grip - Graphite vs Titanium:

After playing competitive tennis for years and traveling on the ATP tour with friends, I have seen 1000's of tennis racquets used by all levels of players. This is a buying guide to help novices up to intermediate players decide on what type of tennis racquet is best for them. A beginner usually needs a more powerful racquet to generate stronger ground strokes so having a large head size, middle of its string tension range, and a stiffer racquet should help. Most racquets come in 3 different head sizes - midsize is 85-95 square inches, midplus is 95-105 square inches, and oversize is greater than 105 square inches. An athletic person should choose a mid-plus, while a beginner who does not consider themselves athletic should go with oversize frame up to 115 square inches. Very few professional tennis players used oversize racquets because they are athletic enough and swing hard enough to generate all the power they need with a mid-plus or midsize frame.

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Back to the stiffness of the racquet, if the racquet is too stiff, more shock will be transmitted to your arm and you then have the chance to develop "tennis elbow". "Tennis Elbow" is a dreaded injury that affects the arm of a tennis player and can cause sudden waves of pain near the elbow area. I developed it a long time ago and wore a protective arm band to help keep the shock of the racquet to a minimum. Many people end up having to take months off from the game if the injury doesn't heel. When you buy a new racquet (many lower priced models come pre-strung) you will need to make sure the grip size is right for your hand, the string tension is within a good range for your playing ability and that the head size fits your level of play. More often than not, tennis shops will have a demo program where you can use the tennis racquet for a week or so to determine if you like the feel of it. I highly recommend doing this and test out several to see which string tension feels good and which head size gives you the maximum power and control. Remember, in tennis, control is much more important than power. I've seen too many youngsters and beginners/intermediate players try to hit the ball so hard that almost every shot is out of the court which does them no good. Start slow and work on accuracy before power. One last word on weight of the racquet - todays tennis racquets are mostly made of titanium which is extremely light, I say go with one that is made of graphite/kevlar mix that has a little weight to it. You will probably see better control and you will most definitely develop a more solid game as you move along the skill spectrum.

Reviews of the best tennis racquets - Head - Wilson - Prince - Babolat

For a complete review of tennis racquets and prices, we suggest going to Racquetdepot.com and searching for their fine collection of Babolat racquets, Fischer racquets, Head racquets, Prince racquets, ProKennex racquets, Slazenger racquets, Volkl racquets, Wilson racquets, and W Line racquets. There best tennis racquets deals are as follows - Head TI. S6 Racquet $74.95, Head Liquidmetal 5 $119.95, Wilson Hammer H Rival Racquets $59.95, Wilson Hammer H2 $79.00, Wilson nCode N 6 Racquets $98.95, Wilson Hammer H 6 OS $65.00, Wilson nCode N Pro $65.99, Wilson Hammer H4 $65.00, Prince AirDrive MidPlus $89.95, Prince Triple Threat Scream OS $59.99, and Head LiquidMetal Radical Racquets $78.95. Top pros players used a variety of racquets - Justine Henin-Hardenne and Lindsay Davenport use the N Code N Tour 95 Racquet, Martina Hingis the Yonex RDX 300 98, Lleyton Hewitt the Yonex RDS 001 90 Racquet, Ivan Ljubicic Babolat Pure Drive Team Plus Racquet, Tim Henman Slazenger Pro X1. There are always new racquets coming out and the latest lines are due out in July 2006 with the Head AirFlow 3 Racquet $159.95, Head AirFlow 5 Racquet $179.95, Head AirFlow 7 Racquet $199.95, Babolat Drive Z OverSize Racquet NEW $199.00, Babolat Aero Blast Racquet NEW $219.00, Babolat Pure Drive + Cortex Racquet NEW $185.00, Wilson N Code nTour Two 105 Racquets $179.00, and Wilson N Code nTour Two 95 Racquets $179.00. The top selling Prince racquets are the Prince Triple Threat Scream OS, Prince ThunderCloud Ti. 110 Racquet, Prince AirDrive Midplus Racquet, Prince O3 Silver Tennis Racquet, Prince O3 Red Tennis Racquet, Prince O3 Tour Tennis Racquet, Prince O3 Hybrid Hornet MidPlus Racquet, and the Diablo XP Oversize Racquet ($99).

Tennis Racquet String - Stringing a Tennis Racquet:

How you string a tennis racquet determines which a bit about how power will be generated, how the ball will spin, and how much control you should have. The most popular tennis strings are Wilson Stamina Synthetic Gut, Gamma Synthetic Gut, Prince Synthetic Gut Original, Wilson Stamina Spin 40, Wilson Sensation, Gamma TNT2, Gamma Live Wire XP, Wilson NXT Tour, Lightning XX, Head Intelli String. Most run about $10-$15 for a set of tennis string. You can also buy a reel of tennis string for about $40-$80. Prince Topspin 15L is the most popular textured string offering maximum spin, control and power. Triple twist contruction utilizes Duraflex for increased durability and consistency and costs $57.99 for the reel. You would only buy a reel if you string your own racquets. Stringing machines cost about $800-$2000 and are a great way for youngster to earn a living as well. Many of my friends played so much tennis growing up they had to string their own racquets to save money. It can cost about $15/labor plus $10 for the string to get a racquet strung so it can get expensive if you are breaking strings every few days. All the tennis racquet string and stringing machines can be bought online at Racquetdepot.com .

Dunlop Tennis Racquets - Yonex Tennis Racquets:

With so many tennis racquet makers on the market, some models go unknown but are just as good as the larger name brand manufacturers. The top Dunlop tennis racquets are the Dunlop M-Fil 200 Racquet ($99), Dunlop M-Fil 300 Racquet ($99), Dunlop M-fil 500 Racquet ($119), Dunlop M-Fil 700 Racquet ($129). All are made with carbon, S-fiber and magnesium. Yonex tennis racquets has a bigger following of pro players using their racquets which helps promote them to all the young kids. The best sellers are the Yonex RDX 500 Mid Plus ($149), Yonex RDX 500 90, Yonex Ultimum RD Ti-80, Yonex RDX 300 /103, and the Yonex RDX 500 HD. Once again, Racquetdepot.com is the place to go for the best specials online. They also carry tennis bags, tennis balls, tennis grips, tennis shoes, ball hoppers, stringing machines, and tennis teaching aids.

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