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I know this page cannot be any less interesting
but I just had to write it for future reference and for some people who like
tennis. I am a 4.0 NTRP level (A
Level) and developing to be a strong 4.5 soon. I also moderate a Tennis group called GermantownTennis at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/germantowntennis I have been taught and played tennis since 8 years old with a Donnay WOOD racket. Yes, wood racket, the one John McEnroe mastered and was obsolete in couple of years afterwards. I have owned 10 rackets so far, broke 3-4 of them, and now keeping 3 of the same, Wilson Pro Staff 85 Sq.in., the one Pete Sampras and Stefan Edberg have been using. |
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My current racket: Wilson Pro Staff 85 Sq.in. (similar to Pete Sampras' and Stefan Edberg's shown above) One of the best ever made out there despite its 20 year-old design). The golden pup even likes it. |
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See how much thickness and contour as well as face size difference between the Pro Staff and today's racket? Pictured with 1997 Wilson Hammer 4.0 |
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Some of my rackets. Some good, some bad, some ok. I just had to sell all of them and keep the Sampras' Original Pro Staff.. From Left to Right, Wilson Hammer 4.0, Wilson Hyper Pro staff 7.1, Wilson Pro Staff Roller 7.6, and Wilson Pro Staff Original. |
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My Racket Stringer. Paid for itself after the 10th stringing. |
Rackets: If you are buying a tennis racket, try to go to a sports store and try couple of swings on some of the rackets that you're interested. You can also ask the store attendance for recommendation depending on your level. Curious about your play level, determine yourself at http://mctatennis.org/ntrp/ntrp.shtml
Usually, smaller face racket gives you more power and accuracy (since you can string with higher tension and thus more accuracy), however, larger face gives you larger sweet spot. You also need to consider the Racket power level, e.g., 2.0 to 7.6 for Wilson Rackets. Smaller number gives you more power but less control. Most Pros use low power rackets (except Women who sometimes use high power rackets). Some racket brands use Power numbers in contrast with Wilson (the higher the number, the more power). You can also demo rackets before you invest your money, although rarely free, but usually you'll have to pay $3/day/racket to demo it.
Once you find your favorite racket, you can buy them in the store to save time, or look for them on the internet through search engine or ebay (http://ebay.com) which is cheaper if you have time.
Most competitive players do not change rackets often since they're used to it. World class pros have to change rackets due to sponsorship and what have you, e.g., Andre Agassi switched from that colorful Donnay to Head years ago. You should also have 2 rackets when you come out and play just in case you break a string on one of them.
If you are a top-spinner, consider a larger face with thinner frame, unless your swing is accurate, a smaller face with thinner frame will be more effective. If you are a female or senior, you might consider a head-heavy racket (as oppose to conventional head light racket) with higher power to aid your ball speed. These high power racket usually have considerably thicker frame and thus, not suitable for top spinning. 20mm or thinner frame is considered thin, which is hard to find nowadays. 20mm-22mm is considered moderate and most rackets fit in this category. Anything thicker than 22mm is considered thick, which you find everywhere, the macho-extreme-looking-pros-laugh-at racket (sorry, I was just kidding) and should give you more power but also more error hitting with the frame while top spinning the ball. Use your own judgment.
Grip size: It varies from 4" to 4 5/8", they usually have grip size chart in most sports store. Buy one size smaller than your actual size and use an overwrap to give you more cushion and protects the original grip, which is not usually good, anyway.
Length: Standard length is 27" until the new regulation allows up to 28.5" couple of years ago. Longer rackets give you more hitting power and especially when serving. However, most competitive players still prefer the traditional length of 27", which tends to give better spin in the serve.
String vibration damper: The rubber W (by Wilson), the rubber P (by Prince) or the rubberish band sold at Walmart, they all reduce the vibration on the string bed when the ball hits your racket. Since vibration tends to generate at the center line of the racket, a small rubberish piece attached at the lower center of the string bed will do, even a piece of rubber band as found on Andre Agassi's racket.
Strings: Larger gauge (smaller number, e.g., 15-16 gauge) lasts longer. Smaller gauge (17-18) gives you more spin due to wider open space among strings. Try to string at manufacturer's recommended tension (mostly 53-68 lbs) for longer racket life. Lower tension gives you more power. Higher tension gives you more control.
Most pros string their racket at much higher than the recommended tension such as 78 lbs on Jennifer Capriati's Prince rackets and her rackets' frame usually break the 3rd-4th time while being strung on the stringing machine, according to the personal stringer.
My favorite strings? Kevlar such as Prince ProBlend or Gosen Aramix blend 18 gauge, (Kevlar Main and Synthetic gut cross string) which is said to last longer but I just broke them every 20 hours of play. Natural gut strings are still the best but way too expensive ($30 unstrung as oppose to my $5 ProBlend), if they sell them. They don't even sell them since pros, who use natural guts, don't shop at the store anyway.
Written by: S. Eric Ratanamahatana: sirote@thai.org
Last revised: 11/02/02 21:28:36.
