How to choose the right tennis racket

Whether you have decided to start in the world of tennis and are thinking of buying a racket, as if what you are looking for is to change yours for a lifetime to improve your performance on the court, there are a number of aspects in which we must look at when choosing a tennis racket suitable for our level, type of game and physical conditions. 

The length of the racket, its weight, the balance, the size of the striking surface, the profile of the racket, the speed of hitting ( swing ) and the type of string and the stringing pattern thereof are the aspects most important to consider when choosing among the multitude of options available in the market.

In case you have not noticed it, all these characteristics are related to two fundamental variables in tennis: the power in the beating and the control of the ball.

But getting your purchase right is not only important to get the most out of our technique and qualities, but it must be emphasized that the right choice of tennis racket is an important factor in preventing sports injuries, so should not be taken lightly or opt for aesthetics or price alone.

Alargarnos but the rally before, we pass will detail one by one the factors that determine the choice right of a tennis racket:

Swing gesture speed

The speed of the striking gesture refers to the speed with which the player moves the tennis racket when executing any of the blows. Thus, players with a low hit gesture speed (slow swing) (usually novice and intermediate), players with a medium hit gesture speed and players with a high swing (usually advanced players) can be distinguished.

The heaviest tennis rackets with a more displaced balance on the head of the racket are usually intended for advanced players. However, players with a slower swing should use lighter rackets and a lower balance that allow them to move faster when hitting the ball.

Tennis Racket Length

The length of the tennis racket usually ranges between 68 and 70 centimeters. Apart from these rackets, there are junior and mini-tennis rackets with shorter lengths that adapt to the height of the little ones.

In a simple and easy to understand way, we can say that the longer a tennis racket is, the more power it offers when it comes to hitting the ball, since the angular velocity that reaches the ball is greater at the moment of hitting. On the other hand, this has a negative impact on the control of the ball, since the ideal hit point moves away from the player's body.

We have to keep in mind that if the player is not able to move a long racket at the same speed as a shorter one, the hitting power will be greatly reduced.

Weight and balance of the tennis racket

The weight of a tennis racket is an important factor when choosing it, but especially the “how that weight is distributed” (balance) is what will make the difference between power tennis rackets and tennis rackets control. This factor is also called 'equilibrium point', which is that point where the racket stays in balance when we hold it with two fingers by the frame or neck. Depending on where that point is, we say that it is a racket with a high, medium or low balance.

The more the weight is displaced towards the head of the tennis racket (balance point closer to the head), the more power it brings to the blow. These tennis rackets are somewhat more complicated to handle, since the weight is very far from the player's body.

If the weight of the tennis racket is more displaced towards the handle (balance point closest to the handle) the racket gives the player greater control. These types of rackets are somewhat faster to handle, since the weight of it is close to the player's body.

The weight of tennis rackets usually ranges between 255g –in those intended for players of initiation level, with little force or with a slow hitting gesture–, up to more than 300g –of the rackets for advanced level players and with a high hitting speed.

Hitting surface size

This is another factor that determines whether a tennis racket is more control or power. This measure is expressed in cm 2 and the size of the racket head usually ranges between 600 cm 2 and 780 cm 2 .

In general terms, the larger the head of a racket, the more power it provides. We can give the example of a trampoline mini-bed in which a person bounces a little, in front of a large trampoline in which a person would bounce much more. This will also vary depending on the tension that the player brings to the string , being a lower tension that gives more power to the blow.

Tennis Racket Profile

This aspect is one of the most unnoticed happen when choosing a tennis racket and is also decisive to succeed in our choice. The profile of the tennis racket is the height of the racket frame. This height is defined by general norm in millimeters.

A smaller thickness of the racket profile will give us greater control of the ball and a greater thickness of the profile will give us greater power in the hit. Therefore, novice and intermediate players should tend to use rackets whose profiles are high (between 22 and 28mm) and advanced players should tend to choose lower profiles (between 18 and 21mm).

Racket stringing pattern

The string pattern of the tennis racket refers to the number of vertical and horizontal strings that the striking surface has. In this way you can find open string patterns (when the space between strings is larger) and closed string patterns, when the space between vertical and horizontal strings is smaller.

But how does this affect when choosing a tennis racket? Open string patterns confer greater hit power and greater ability to print ball effects, while tighter string patterns provide greater control.  

The player has to keep in mind that the life of the ropes (length of the ropes until they break) will be longer the closer the stringing pattern of the tennis racket is.

Taking into account all these factors, the tennis player must know what he wants to achieve (power, control ...), what are his characteristics and what best suits his style and technique to choose the most suitable tennis racket for his game. And remember, not always the most expensive is what suits us best, let yourself be advised by a trusted expert.

For more visit: myracketsports.com