Tennis Raquets

There are an astounding amount of racquets to choose from today and choosing the right one can impact on your game immensely. There are a few things you should always take note of before making a purchase and the best thing is to try as many out as possible. Some stores allow customers to demo their products before purchasing.

Grip size

The size of the grip is absolutely vital and typically come in 3⅞ and 4 for younger players and 4¼, 4⅜, 4½, and 4⅝ for adults. One way of finding the perfect grip size suited to you is to hold the racquet at a level where your palm is level with the string face. At this position, it should be comfortable to place the index finger of your opposite hand in between the ring finger and palm of the hand holding the racquet. Too small a space signifies that the grip is too small and too large a space means it is too big.

Head size

In general, the larger the head size, the more power and spin you can create but you sacrifice on stability and control. Smaller head sizes are the opposite, great for control but has less power. The professional players generally use mid sized as they are able to generate a substantial amount of power by themselves.

Racquet length

A tennis racquet is usually 27 inches long but recently, manufacturers have introduced racquets of size 27.5 to 29 inches long to provide extra power and reach. As a compromise, these larger racquets are usually made lighter so that they still provide substantial control.

Flex

The flex (stiffness) determines how much bend there is when the racquet impacts with a ball. The more stiff a racquet is, the more power you can achieve because it will bend less. A more flexible racquet give you much more control of the ball but sacrifices in power. Players with short swings tend to go for stiffer racquets where the flexible racquets are more suited for players with longer swins.

Weight

The weight of a racquet has dramatically changed over the years due to increases in technology. On average, they use to weigh 12-13 ounces in 1990s, but today they are much lighter with many manufacturers offering sub 10 ounce options. Heavier racquets tend to generate more power but sacrifices on manueverability.

Balance

The balance of a racquet is associated with how the weight is distributed. If the majority of the weight is towards the head, then it is said to be "head heavy." Likewise, if the majority of the weight is towards the handle then it is "head light." Professionals generally go for head light racquets.