Are You Playing With the Wrong Tennis Racquet? | My Recommendations for the Rec Level

Are you playing with the wrong tennis racquet? In today’s video, I recommend which racquets you should be using at the recreational level.

0:00 Graphite Racquets
3:30 Two Types of Players
9:44 Recommendations

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[LucaMorosini]

I live in Italy and I believe I have a ranking of 4.5 / 5.0 as equivalence and I see from my personal experience that even the differences in stringing are often magnified.
Many times I play well even with the most used strings and often in fact it depends exclusively on the confidence in the shots and in your own game!
So yes, I think the issue is almost exclusively mental 🧠

[OneAdamAdam]

I love your direct explanation. No sugar coating. Excellent. It's that German upbringing. Thank you for sharing your expertise.

[graemecook]

Amazing advice, Nick. I’ve just checked my racquet an old Wilson Tour. Sold to me by my first coach 8 years ago and it’s the right weight and grip size according to your recommendations. I’ve abandoned thinking about getting a new racquet to improve my game. My bad shots are not the fault of the racquet they are down to ME! As the old saying goes ‘A bad workman always blames his tools.’

[maireadmaccy]

Wow, honest advice!😮 How many youtubers wud hav used this topic for a sponsership ad money making opportunity?? Now we know you definitely have our interest at heart.Thank

[georgezheng]

Brilliant video Nick! As a researcher in the field of management / psychology, I know there is a term for "oh i missed the backhand, that has to be the racket / string / grip", called Attribution Error: people always attribute mistakes to others (e.g. equipment, court, weather), instead of looking to their circumstances (fundamentals and techniques). Indeed it is mental / psychology! You have explained it very intuitively!

[kkekang]

I agree with Nick completely. The only minor detail that would make a difference to me would be the grip shape. Head has a more of a rectangle grip than other brands. String tension would make more of a difference to me.

[stevenhowie]

Racket stiffness is definitely a big factor for injury rather than static weight, some rackets at 300g are super stiff to be able to give more power add in stiff polyester strings is a recipe for tennis elbow. Higher static weight but low stiffness e.g RA rating is a good way of getting best of both worlds, the higher static weight can absorb big serves, volleys against big players, low stiffness doesn't lead to injury

[cyberjonesy]

Thanks for sharing your tennis knowledge with all of us.
Your lessons are top quality, the explainations, much more detailed and easy to understand than most tennis lessons that my parents have paid for when I was in my teens.
I have been following your channel for a while now and I feel like I have been blessed with many hundreds of dollars worth of tennis lessons!
Keep up the good work !

[BobInKC]

A light, head heavy, stiff racquet is a recipe for tennis elbow. Best to start with a standard sized 27 inch racquet with the weight that Nick recommended.

[alanwilliams]

Hi. Having played tennis for over 40 years, and having coached tennis - thanks for your experience and common sense. One of the few truly worthwhile online resources for the truth about racquets etc. Again, thanks for your content

[keith]

I just switched from the 285g Babolat Pure Aero Team to the heavier Rafa Pure Aero version (300g) and i LOVE IT!!!! 3.5 player here 👍

[SrJFK]

Nick, all I can say is you have single-handedly improved my game with your amazing lessons. I took a few years off and recently took tennis again. Your feedback is spot on and well-articulated. I have struggled to find a coach that I can really understand and connect with but your videos are literally everything I can hope for. I'm now even stringing my racquet at 47 lbs and loving it. Keep up the great work and I'll keep watching.

[kugelblitz]

I had been suffering from pretty bad tennis elbow for about a year, which forced me to examine different parts of my game, from technique to strings to raquet. I think strings and technique are the most important factors, but what i found also helped was ADDING weight via lead tape, to both the handle and head.

I agree this is not a great idea for a beginner or someone who doesn't have too much arm strength, as it definitely can produce injuries, but for me the added weight is not a problem, and the added stability and reduced vibration when hitting that the added weight brings (along with technique and string improvements) really helped reduce pain and get me to where I am now - no more tennis elbow!

I say this only to give my personal experience. It's worth trying different options and seeing what works for you.

[timothybooth]

As a guy beginning tennis, who is an advid golfer and likes to tinker with clubs, you explained this well. Thank you

[TrentG]

agreed, I still play with the Original AeroPro Drive from 2004 and no plans on switching.

[christianolsson]

Best video on racquet guide ever. No bs. Just tell it like it is. 🙏

[Breadfan]

A friend used to have a Hyper Hammer from his Dad, and I also loved it! It was so easy to hit great Baseline Shots.
Wish I had bought one.

[satyu]

Light racquets are awesome! I used to be snobbish towards them, but had injuries with heavy racquets and switched to something lighter, flexible, mid plus racquet and it suits my game so much better than any of the heavier ones did

[nolanballew]

I finally decided to take your advice, I bought a Wilson Blade Team. It's basically a Pure Drive Lite with a 16 x 18 pattern, 99 sq inches and a high stiffness rating...so not really a Blade at all. I string it with gut mains and whichever decent poly I can find on sale for the crosses. My game has improved some but more importantly I can play as well in set three of doubles as I can in set one. Twenty five grams does not seem like much but to a recreational player, it's a lot. Thanks!

[TheSuperDmyers]

In my experience playing with a heavier frame actually reduces chances of tennis elbow. I’m only a 4.0 but a 300 gram pure drive feels like it’s transmitting all the shock of impact directly into my arm. I play with a weighted up Head speed pro (345gr). Zero issues.