Discussion of post Choosing a tennis racquet

I received a lot of comments on post “Choosing a tennis racquet” with Bruce Levine.

I published here some comments and hope you find them informative and interesting.

Steve Benson: “Choosing a racquet is a very personal choice regardless of the level of play. The most important thing to consider is the fact that although some racquets can help reduce or contribute to arm and shoulder problems, the bottom line is that good vs. bad technique on every stroke always will be the by far major contributor to arm and shoulder problems. Roger Federer by far has the best overall sound technique of any player I have seen during the past 40 years and he has had no injury problems from head to toe during the past +12 years of his pro career”.

Mili Veljkovic: “Agree… just grip to be about right size and all the rest is technique. Last 10 years there are no bad rackets in the production by known companies. Similar story is with strings. For high quality players – racket’s balance and racket’s composition (with string quality and string tension) makes difference and some fit them more depending on game’s “style” – but after the adjusting period for really good player that difference disappears.
P.S. With wooden racket and fishing strings I came to semis of Serbia veterans – we had the same discussion and I proved it”.

Alex Yep: “I think choosing a racquet that is more comfortable to your grip is good. But most important on your performance in my opinion is not your racquet. It is the type of strings you use, depending on the style of your play.
Don’t think you going to play like the pros when you choose the same racquet as they are using. They are the promoters of that racquet. The racquet they use is not exactly the same as the ones you buy. The racquets the top pros use are modified for the pros specifications. The racquet just looks the same as the pros”.

Julius Switlik: “A good tennis player can feel somewhere 1 gram difference in weight and very slight diffidence in tension of the strings. Ask such a veteran like Ilie Năstase.
I started playing wooden racquet about 385 gr. and 20 kg on strings. It was so long ago, I may be mistaken :)”.

Rebecca Boyce : “I teach adult women beginner beginners (ages 20’s to 60’s). I start them off on a factory Head stock racquet and then am requested to suggest a racquet that will take them from beginner forward. Demos are really not warranted since they generally haven’t a clue as to how a racquet should feel. So far I recommend the Head TiS6 which they generally seem to like and handle well”.

Alex Zotov : “If you are a Pro you just stick with the same racquet for the rest of your life unless you want to change something. Pros get their racquets repainted every time a new “trend” comes in. The best professional racquets are still from the early 2000s when Wilson and Head were in their prime. Babolat picked the trend later”.

I think that a good tennis racquet does not make you play perfect, but it can help you play to the best of your ability. A bad racquet sabotages your efforts and forces you to play under your ability level. The perfect racquet for you is one that fits your unique playing style. If you decided to change your tennis racquet, ask your coach or a tennis racquet specialist about assistance.