7 Mistakes To Avoid When Buying A Tennis Racket

When buying a tennis racket, consider the following factors: weight, balance, and head size. Each tennis racket has its own distinct qualities. Learning how to buy a tennis racket is a process, and you are bound to make a few mistakes. Or - you can learn from our mistakes and make sure you're buying the perfect racket for your game!

As I mentioned in the video, here is the link you can use to buy Tennis Warehouse products:

MyTennisHQ.com is an online tennis academy created by Guilherme Hadlich and Karue Sell. We played junior, college and professional tennis and we love to learn about tennis. We are privileged to be able to work and be around amazing professionals, from players to coaches and everyone else who makes our sport so incredible. We want to share our knowledge and experience with you. We want My Tennis HQ to be the go-to place for all things related to tennis. From lessons to racket recommendations, we want to give you only the best of the best content. We want to make tennis more accessible to all players and fans, and to help every player reach his or her full potential.

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[samuelbaldwin]

I choose by looks and you can't stop me 😉 lol. It is silly but I need the racquet to look good too! An all-black racquet is much more appealing to me than any other color and it feels much more like a weapon than any other paintjob.

[anthonymacaluso]

The biggest problem people have when buying a racquet is the honeymoon period/effect. The retailers generally give you one week to demo the racquet which is too short in my opinion. When players first use a racquet they may only perceive the best attributes of it compared to their current racquet. The new racquet might seem great at first but over time players find other problems they didnt have with their old racquet. After using the new racquet for a few months you get used to it and you end up having the same results/issues as with the old racquet.

[Radnally]

What is a reliable way to determine if a racquet is too heavy for you? For example: Tired arm at 30 minutes of play? Too hard to move it quickly for volleys? Etc...

[seunghwansamlee]

best Tennis related video. Very informative and helpful! Keep up the good work

[mikedudley]

You guys should make a video talking more about strings and how/how much they can affect your game and feel of the racket. People mainly just talk about this racket does this and that while skipping over the string completely.

[googlereviewer]

I actually by used racquets to try out. That way I can try it out for a month or more with different strings / minor weight tweaks etc and sell if I don't like it without losing too much money. Then if I'm really fussy about the cosmetic condition of something I like, then I'll buy a new version but make sure I can RDC first to take into account factory variances. After a while, you learn what sort of "specs" / types of racquet are going to roughly suit. That way you don't waste too much time/money buying stuff that is wildly unsuitable and you avoid getting suckered in by hype/marketing etc. I stayed well clear of the PT2.0 for example despite the hype because I knew that I would not like a small head / small sweetspot / 18x20 / thin beam. Now I see of loads of people selling them on Ebay!

[Froshigi]

As an intermediate, I was surprised that the RF97 was so clean and smooth to play with, I could feel the difference in plow through. Didn't like the Yonex ezone, Babolat pure strike, or any of the other rackets nearly as much.

moral of the story is that you really do need to demo the rackets and see what feels right

[robertturnip]

When I was 14 I didn't even know about static weight. I just played with whatever I had.

[srivatnadat]

That was very nice and clear explanation, thank you very very much. I have made all the 7 mistakes 😢, hopefully I don't repeat the same mistakes again

[extraryes]

Based on experience, i bought my Wilson BLX 95 315G which I find comfort in using and makes my shots effortless because of it's weight. I only play volley/net whenever the need arises.

[Nathanvr]

Best tennis channel out there... You could do a full guide video about strings.

[abhinavmishra]

Hi, I am from India and we recreational players here do not get to demo racquets to check out before we buy a new one. I have done all the seven mistakes which you have mentioned here and they are very true. Thanks for making a video out of your personal experience, I am sure this is going to help a lot of players worldwide. Cheers.

[tennisenthusiast]

Why didn’t I have this video 2 years ago?! Always great content man👍👍

[Janisarahmed]

Excellent review!! Especially on the swing weight is really true and helpful!

[matteo]

Adding to the higher weight mistake. I think it's important to account for racquets coming in over spec, and all the weight you will add from customizing (overgrips, leather grip, etc.) even if you don't intend to add lead.

[YehShano]

The weight is a big one, you hear so many reviewers talking about the need to add weight to certain racquets but probably most people watching aren’t at the level to deal with such weight…I played years with a Speed Pro 336g static (overgrip and dampener)at a more advanced level, recently switched to the Extreme Tour 328g(overgrip and dampener)static and in my head I thought I needed to add weight because every reviewer has said that racquet needs it for more stability…Well I added weight evenly between the head and grip to make it 335g and I absolutely didn’t like it on that racquet…I fell in love with that racquet for its manoeuvrability, feel and control and the extra weight whilst adding a little more power and yes more stability on off centre shots, it diminished the things that I loved..so the trade off isn’t worth it for me in this scenario….technically my strokes are pretty good, I’m physically strong and mentally I accepted that my game likes the stock whippy setup without beefing it up

[bashar]

Thank you for all the information but I didn’t understand how to reflect them to my situation .

[ztennisfan]

I recently demoed 3 Yonex rackets, the Ezone 98 Tour, Vcore 98 and Vcore 100. I have been using Head Graphene360+ Prestige S with some customisation for a year now, and immediately from my first hit i was underwhelmed with the Vcores. I would put it down to the swingweight, and stiffness even though they were all comparable to the Prestige. However, these demos also came with full bed polys that were of unknown age. I think that is the probably the biggest issue. And because i am so familiar with my own racket, switching back to something familiar immediately felt more comfortable. If all rackets came strung with fresh strings at least then i could probably make a better comparison. The Ezone 98 Tour i felt was the best of the bunch but not enough to sway me over. Its a very personal choice as well, as some players suffer from arm issues etc.

[ReidVV]

7-Is there a specific list of factors a beginner should consider when choosing a racquet? What should you look for? What makes one racquet better than another for an individual? 6- What racquet weight is appropriate for a player and why? I get the "not too heavy" part).? 5-Swing weight related to the combination of static weight and balance (head heavy vs head light), right? What is good to look for and what is bad to avoid? How do these affect the racquet's stability? 4-The effect of strings on a racquet's playability is super underrated by recreational players. Where should beginners start? What string? What tension? How long does it usually take for a player to try different strings and tension combos to find the correct strings for them? 3- Racquet color doesn't matter. Good point. 2- How do you measure grip size? What is the correct grip size for a player? How does adding an overgrip affect the grip fit? How can this be taken into account when buying? 1- Demoing is good. What should you specifically look for when demoing? How should you play? How do you compare one racquet vs another other than just "feel?" What role do strings play in a demo and how do you work with a tennis shop to get the strings on the demo racquets to be equal so one racquet doesn't outperform the other based on the string setup?

[gavlatennis]

Basically just do the complete opposite of what those fools on the tennis warehouse forums do and you'll be fine. Whatever racquet they are hyping that particular month, its a good sign NOT to buy it.