Eight Bad Reasons To Get A New Tennis Racquet
Jul 14 '06 (Updated Aug 05 '07)
The Bottom Line Don't buy a new racquet for any of these reasons!
If you've been getting a real hankering for a new tennis racquet, make sure it isn't for any of these reasons because it might be a waste of money. Of course, if you just want a new toy, then go for it. As long as you aren't spending money that should be going to feed your children or something, no harm done. Let's see, here's one I hear way too often...
1. "The grip on my old racquet sucks! The one on this racquet is nice!"
I see lots of people saying something like this. If you don't like the feel of your grip, you can always get an overgrip, i.e. a thin grip you put over your current grip. Then some people say they don't like overgrips because they make their racquet's grips wider. There is some truth to that so then some people junk their sticks. Well, did you know that you can rip off the grip on your racquet, buy a new one (make sure you get a replacement grip, not an overgrip) for about $6, and install it on? It's easy (just make sure to pull it tightly when you're putting it on) and it's cheap. People who already know this might be going "DUH!" but there seems to be a lot of people that don't know that and I've heard plently of people say, "I love this new racquet! The grip is so comfortable!"
Now if you don't like the shape of your racquet HANDLE, that might be a valid reason. For example, Prince handles tend to be round, while Head handles are more rectangular. You still might be able to get that customized, but I can understand getting a new racquet if that's the case. But if you just have a problem with your GRIP...well then, you really don't need to spend $100+ for a new stick. Just get a new grip.
2. "This new racquet is soooo light!"
When I was a freshman on my high school tennis team, a bunch of us always pestered this one guy because we all wanted to borrow his racquet (a Hyper Hammer). Why? Because it was super light. It was nice and easy to swing and you can swing faster with a lighter racquet, which means you'll hit it faster, right?
Well, not really. A basic rule of thumb is that you want to play with the heaviest racquet you feel comfortable with. Why? Well, heavier racquets are more stable resulting in less mis-hits, have more power (F=m*a, remember?), and tone your muscles. You might swing faster with a light racquet, but not by much, and you're certainly not going to swing a 7 oz racquet twice as fast as a 14 oz racquet. Generally, I'd say you want to avoid anything below 10 oz unless you're just pushing the ball.
Racquets that are easy to swing might be convenient, but they generally don't help you get better. They can give you tennis elbow too (more on that later).
3. "Roger Federer switched to this racquet, so I'm gonna too!"
First of all, ask yourself if you really play like Roger or Rafa or Martina or Andy. You might try to emulate their technique, but you probably don't really hit like they do. On TV it might not look like they hit it hard, but I recently read an article about a 4.5 player finally getting to hit with the 40+ year old Johnny Mac. Mac not only crushed him, but overpowered him. If Mac can overpower a 4.5 player and Roger can easily easily overpower Mac, where do you stand?
Second of all, people like Roger Federer don't really switch racquets often. You must know how superstitious athletes are. Do you really think the #1 player in the world switches racquets every time Wilson creates a new technology? Supposedly he used a Pro Staff 6.0, then a Hyper Pro Staff 6.1, Tour 90, and now the nCode all in a period of about 4 years. I don't think so. I don't think he really uses an nCode. I might not know for sure exactly which players use paintjobs, but it's a proven fact that they do exist. Mostly it happens like this; a player gets endorsed, his racquet company will come up with a new technology, the player doesn't want to switch racquets, so the company will keep giving him his old sticks, except they'll be painted like the newest racquet they're pitching. Lleyton Hewitt, for example, pretty much openly admits to this. Some people, like Andy Roddick, actually do use the racquets they endorse. But my point is, a lot of pros do not. Heck, Agassi even used a Prince racquet painted like a Donnay for part of his career. James Blake is supposedly using a Prince Experimental racquet but I found pictures where you can see that his racquet has a Dunlop bumper guard on it. So, basically, you can't keep up with the pros unless you really know what they're using. Chances are that they stuck with a racquet they used for a while. Maybe you should too?
Oh, and they just released a Federer Edition nCode in Japan that's supposed to be his actual racquet. So Wilson pretty much admitted that the nCode Tour 90 is not Roger's actual racquet.
Here's some more info on paintjobs: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=1872892&type=story
4. "I don't like the strings that came with this racquet!"
Here's one that I don't hear as often as the grip excuse, but still, every player should know that every racquet is meant to be restrung at least every couple of months. Strings lose their tension after some time hitting or even leaving a racquet in the trunk of your car for a while. If your current racquet is playing like crap, your first question should be "Have my strings lost tension?" not "Do I need a new racquet?"
5. "My racquet is too head-light/head-heavy!"
This is a valid reason. If you have a Hyper Hammer, for instance, and want a racquet that is more head-light or even balanced, you are going to want a new racquet. However, if you're thinking that your stick would play well if it was just a tad more head-light, try some lead tape first. Lead tape is made so players can add extra weight to their racquets, so you want to try the $4.99 tweak before you go for the $300 solution.
6. "This new technology sounds really cool!"
Be very very skeptical of all technology claims. No one associated with a racquet company will tell you this, because this is how racquet companies make money. First they make up some crazy new technology (i.e. "two precisely engineered holes in the frame"...Head's Flexpoint) and then they make you believe that you need it through snazzy diagrams and promises to increase your power and control by some arbitrary number (Wilson promises 22% more power with nCode). Now I love my new Flexpoint racquet so don't get me wrong, I'm not saying all new racquets are crap. I'm saying that I don't really believe that two precisely engineered holes in the frame are what makes my new racquet tick.
Do you really think that these companies are coming up with these ridiculous technologies like clockwork every few years? Has Wilson ever gone through a drought where they couldn't come up with a new line of racquets? And the funniest thing is the racquet companies' new lines often abandon their own old technologies. For example, Head used to use "intelligence fibers" in their racquets but once they came up with LiquidMetal, they ditched it. What does that tell me? It didn't really do much. Now something like Wilson's Perimeter Weighting System (PWS) is legit since it's been on some of their racquets for 20+ years and other companies have copied it. Of course, it only promised to improve stability, which it does, not do anything by 22%.
Let's see if Wilson is still nCoding racquets and Head is still drilling two precisely engineered holes in their frames 5 years from now.
7. "I have tennis elbow so I need a snazzy new racquet with new technolgies to protect me!"
Oh man, Head has a new racquet with a computer chip in it or something to get rid of shock. Every company comes out with some new stuff for comfort: Babolat's Woofer and Cortex, Prince's Shock Eraser, Yonex's VCon, etc. But the bottom line is that tennis elbow is caused mostly by one of two things...
-Your racquet is too light and you're overexerting your arm.
-Your technique isn't correct.
If you want to get rid of TE, spend your money on some lessons with a certified pro who should be able to alert you to some bad habits you didn't even know you had. The most arm-friendly racquet is the good ole Prince Original Graphite. Not some new racquet with a computer in it.
Heavy racquets absorb more energy and thus reduce the impact on your TE. It's that simple.
8. "This one looks cool!"
Ok I'll admit that if two racquets played extremely similar, I'd choose the better looking one. But I've known people who choose racquets based on their looks. Why this isn't smart is self-explanatory, but also know that you can probably get your tennis racquet painted at your local auto shop. Heck, if you know someone who paints goalie masks or something, they probably can do a custom design for you! So buy a racquet that's good for your game and then get whatever you want painted on it later. And if you're rich enough to buy racquets soley based on look, you probably won't mind paying the goalie mask painter either.
That's all I can think of for now. I'm sure I'll think of some more later.
My final point is that spending time demoing and adjusting to new racquets is time that you can be spending to improve your skills. I'm not one of those people that says pick a racquet and stick with it until the end of time, but buying new racquets all the time can really disrupt your tennis game. You'll spend time adjusting to a racquet that you junk the next time some cool new technology comes out and then you adjust all over again!
If you need a new racquet, demo as many as you can, read reviews online, and play some matches with them if you can. Take your time. Then when you decide, really try to stick with it for a few years. Your wallet and your tennis strokes will thank you later.
xo,
underdawg
If you do really need a new racquet, get started with my guide. I mean, if you want to.
I currently use the Head Flexpoint Radical Tour and Signum Pro Poly Plasma 17 @ 56 lbs.
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