Best Tennis Racquet

If you’re still pondering what gift to buy for that sporting enthusiast in your world, er: BUBBLE during this COVID-19 PANDEMIC time of the world. 

Here’s something new that was sent to me that you can play while being extremely socially distanced and will be in a four part series.

Enjoy the read and feel free to offer up a reply. 

Our top pick for the best tennis racquet is the Wilson Blade 98 18×20. We settled on the Blade 98 18×20 due to the awesome maneuverability, precision and control it offers.

Our step up pick is the Babolat Pure Strike 16×19. Our decision was based on its excellent performance, good control and its impressiveness on volleys.

For our budget pick, we settled on the Wilson Tour Slam. We chose the Tour Slam because it delivers decent performance with adequate control, precision and stability despite costing just a fraction of the price of high end rackets.

A Little Background

Tennis is a popular sport that originated in France in the 12th century. Tennis can be played by an individual against another (singles) or by a team of two against another team of two (doubles).

To play tennis, each player uses a racquet to hit a rubber ball over a net into the opponent’s court, with the aim being to play the ball in a manner that denies the opponent a chance to play a valid return.

Tennis can be played by players of all ages and by all levels of society. It is also an Olympic sport.

Types Of Tennis Racquets

Tennis racquets can be classified into three major categories, which are:

Power And Game Improvement Racquets

This term is used to refer to tennis racquets that are purposely designed for power. Most power and game improvement rackets tend to be longer, lightweight and come with oversize to super oversize heads.

These rackets are also usually stiffer and are either evenly balanced or head-heavy.

This gives them adequate weight in the hitting zone. Power and game improvement rackets are best suited for players with short, slow swings, and who therefore need some extra power from the racket.

Tweener Racquets

A wide variety of tennis racquets fall in this category. Tweener racquets are a sort of middle ground. They offer a mix of features that are found both on game improvement racquets and control racquets.

Tweener racquets are generally lighter and can either be slightly head-light, evenly balanced or slightly head-heavy. They also tend to have extended lengths and medium size heads.

Tweener rackets provide low medium to high medium power. They are best suited for intermediate players who have just learnt how to generate their own power and are now looking for advanced maneuverability.

Control Or Player’s Racquets

These are advanced tennis racquets that are mostly used by professional players in top tournaments. Control racquets are generally heavier than game improvement and tweener racquets.

They come with thinner, flexible beams and small heads. Control racquets are balanced to be head-light. This allows them to provide advanced maneuverability and control.

Control rackets are best suited for players who have already mastered how to generate their own power and are now looking for advanced control. Control rackets can have either standard or extended lengths.

How We Picked

The best tennis racquet is determined by a number of factors, you can use Tennisinformation to know more about these factors. Some of the factors we considered when coming up with this list include:

Weight

The weight of a tennis racquet has a very huge impact on both power and control. Heavy tennis racquets provide more power and stability to your shots.

They also transmit less shock to your arm when the racket hits the ball. Lighter rackets , on the other hand, are easier to swing and allow for greater maneuverability.

However, they transmit too much shock to your arm. Generally, most beginners will find a weight of 10 to 11.5 ounces to be best for them. Anything above that will feel quite heavy for a beginner.

The weight of tennis rackets is usually classified into three major categories – lightweight (head-heavy), medium and heavy (head-light).

From the above, it is clear that the weight category of the racket is determined by the weight of the handle.

You can easily figure out if a tennis racquet is head-light, balanced or head-heavy by determining its balance point. The balance point refers to the point on the length of the racket where it balances perfectly.

To determine the balancing point, place the racket on a straight rod.

Adjust the position of the rod until the racket stops leaning towards the head or the handle. If the balance point is closer to the head, then the racket is head-heavy.

A balance point that is closer to the bottom means that it is head-light, while a balance point around the middle shows that the racket is balanced.

The balance point is measured using points that are equivalent to 1/8 of an inch. A 4 point head heavy racquet means that the balance point of the racquet is half an inch above the middle.

Power

The power delivered by a tennis racquet is determined by several factors, with the most important ones being head size, head weight and frame flexibility.

A larger and heavier head provides more power but at the same time sacrifices control. The heads of most tennis racquets are either midsize (85-95 inches squared), mid-plus (95-105 inches squared) or oversize (over 105 inches squared).

For players with above average athletic ability, mid-plus is the best size. If your athletic ability is average or below average, the best option is an oversize rackets .

However, do not go for anything above 115 inches squared, since this will provide too much power. Most professional players prefer midsize and mid-plus, while oversize rackets are best suited for beginners.

If you are a beginner, flexibility does not have as huge an impact as head size. Flexible tennis rackets provide slightly less control and power.

However, most beginners won’t notice this, until they get better at the game and get a feel for different swings. Most aluminum rackets are generally flexible.

With graphite rackets, you can get anything, from very flexible to very stiff. In most cases, the stiffness of the frame is directly proportional to its thickness, though the material also has an effect on stiffness.

Apart from head size and flexibility, another factor that has an impact on power is string tension. When using a tennis racket with low string tension, it might feel like there is some extra power.

This is because low tension rackets make the ball fly farther. However, this does not actually mean that they provide more power.

What happens is that the because of the looser strings, the ball is released slightly later into the swing. If you opt for a pre-strung racket, the best option is to go for one that has a mid-range tension range.

Length

Adult tennis racquets have a standard length of 27 inches. Anything below that is meant for junior players. A couple years ago, extended length rackets were introduced into the market, with the aim of providing players with more reach and leverage.

While the advantages of extended length rackets are subject to debate, they have been said to provide greater serving power. On the downside, they are said to decrease maneuverability.

If you are not exceptionally tall, going for a tennis racket with an extra inch is a great choice. It will enhance your serve without feeling unwieldy. However, length is just an enhancement.

You should never base your decision on length alone. On the same note, avoid going for rackets that are longer than 28 inches, especially if you are a beginner.