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The
Tennis Company
is dedicated to offering the best possible service to
our customers. All staff stringers are either USRSA or
CRT Certified Stringers. Being certified is just one of
the many steps we take to making sure our customers get
the best care and racquet maintenance. A pro shop
environment allows our stringers to work with our
customers one-on-one. To appreciate the abilities of our
stringing staff is to see this skilled and experienced
group produce 30+ high quality string jobs each day! Read
more about our tournament experience and
state-of-the-art stringing equipment!
Finding the racquet that works best for you is
important. Using equipment that is designed for your
skill level and playing style will maximize your
enjoyment of the game. You will play with more
consistency and confidence. Most of all, you'll have
more fun on the
court using equipment that was built to suit your
preferences.
Racquets are not only better than ever, they're also
more sophisticated and complex than ever. Today's tennis
racquets are a
showcase of high tech materials and engineering. Some of
it's rocket science ? literally!
Read on and let us break down the underlying
fundamentals of racquet performance for you. If you want
to learn more about the basic
characteristics of tennis racquets, you've come to the
right place.
At a very fundamental level, every racquet design tries
to find an ideal balance of playing characteristics for
its target market. Every
design team consciously makes compromises in: (1) power
vs. control, (2) comfort vs. feel, (3) light
weight/maneuverability vs. solid
shot response and stability.
They do this by altering the design of the racquet in
many ways. This includes changing the size and shape of
the racquet head,
weight, balance, length, thickness, and frame materials.
Here's how some of these factors affect overall racquet
performance.
Head Size: Larger head sizes increase power,
spin, and the ideal hitting area of the racquet known as
the "sweet spot". Smaller head sizes allow
players to swing more freely and aggressively without
hitting balls out of the court.
Choose a
head size of 107 square inches or more for power.
Choose a head size of 98 square inches or less to
optimize control.
Get the most even balance of both with a head sizes in
the range of 100-105 square inches.
Length: The "standard" length of a
tennis racquet is 27 inches. Over the last decade,
advances in racquet technology have allowed
manufacturers to offer longer racquet designs. Most
current racquets are between 27 & 28 inches long.
Long racquets have been a great equalizer for smaller or
less agile players, providing more reach as well as more
spin capability and power. The additional reach and
power boost also works well for beginners and many
recreational players.
Control oriented players favor racquets near the shorter
end of the range. Shorter racquets provide better shot
placement for intermediate and advanced players.
Longer is better for the power-hungry, beginners, and
casual players. Short, small or less mobile players at
all skill levels will benefit from extra length.
Minimize length to maximize control.
Weight: Weight affects the power,
maneuverability, and stability of the racquet. Heavy
racquets have greater power potential and are very
stable when hitting back an opponents powerful shots.
Touring pros love heavy racquets, but they are fit
enough and quick enough to use them effectively. In the
amateur ranks, the more advanced skill levels generally
prefer a racquet that is heavier than
average.
Lighter than average racquets are usually easier for
beginners and recreational players to handle. Light
racquets also work well for competitive senior players
that like to conserve energy in match play. Many
intermediate doubles players also prefer a lighter than
average racquet because it is quicker around the net.
Super light racquets are usually found in the largest
head sizes where other design characteristics are used
to compensate for loss of power and stability.
Competitive baseliners and advanced players usually
prefer a racquet that weighs 11 ounces or more unstrung.
Many control racquets built for advanced players are
heavier than average. 9.6 - 11 ounce middleweight
designs work well for a broad range of players. Super
light racquets weighing less than 9.5 ounces must lack
power and stability. Designers frequently try to offset
this with a very large head size. They can be good for
beginners and recreational players that need a very easy
handling racquet.
Swing Weight: Swing weight is a much better real
world measure of a racquet's quickness than it's actual
weight! As the name suggests, swing weight describes how
heavy the racquet feels when you swing it. It also goes
by the more scientific name of "moment of
inertia". It can be measured with a precision
instrument like The Tennis Company's Babolat RDC
machine. Equalizing swing weight is a critical part of
the racquet matching service we perform for our
customers who want all of their frames to play the same.
Length, balance and weight all factor into swing
weight.
All other things begin equal, longer racquets swing
heavier; racquets with a head-heavy balance swing
heavier. Baseliners and advanced players are usually
less sensitive to a high swing weight. Shorter racquets
and racquets with a head-light balance swing lighter.
Players who want a racquet that is quick at net should
look for something with a swing weight around 310 or
lower.
Head Shape: The head shape can define the shape
and location of the "sweet spot". The sweet
spot is the most powerful part of the string bed. It
also generates the least amount of shock and vibration.
It's where every tennis player wants to hit every ball.
Advances in technology have expanded the size and
potency of the sweet spot on modern racquets. In some
super oversize models, the entire racquet face feels
like the sweet spot. In smaller head sizes, the location
and shape of the sweet spot is more noticeable.
Round head shapes typically have a round sweet spot
located more closely to the bottom half of the racquet
face. Teardrop shaped heads usually have an oblong sweet
spot. Often, this kind of design lets the sweet spot
extend higher up into the string bed. Teardrop shaped
heads are often seen in "game improvement"
racquets which are targeted at beginners and casual
players. They are generally more common in
power-oriented racquets.
Racquet recommendations for power players
Racquet
recommendations for optimum power/control combination
Racquet recommendations for control players
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