Tennis Equipment Advise

Q.  I was told that its recommended that the length of ones racquet be equal to the length of the arm, from the fingertips to the pivot point at the shoulders. Is this true? Cause I have been having difficulty hitting the ball with my hands placed at the butt of my racquet. I've been trying all different things. Changing my back swing, stroke and even grip. Nothing was comfortable. That’s when I remembered this tip. I tried it, moving my hands an inch up the handle and it felt good, I also got more consistent. I don't know if i should do this cause I see many people do it. Like most its monkey see monkey do. Though I’ am kind short 5" 7', and arms r short too.Please tell me what you think.   

A. Hi Marc. No the racket does not need to be the length of your arm. My racket is a full size adult racket and my arm is 8cm longer than my racket. Moving your hand up the racket a couple of cm's will improve dexterity but you will lose power as the leaver is shorter but if it helps go for it. I would try to move back toward the butt once your confidence returns. good luck Brad  

Q.I chose a new racquet after 15 years use of my previous by 'swishing it
around at a tennis shop' - bad idea I now realise - it was far too light
and stiff - I developed tennis elbow - stopped playing for 3 mths - had
physio - went back to the old racquet - but it comes back. My partner
(we are both in our 50s and used to play comp tennis - now it's more
relaxed games) has now developed tennis elbow. 
I had my old raccquet strung more loosely - I used a string dampener -
my old racquet is a Prince CTS lightning. 
Our 2 local clubs don't have lots of models to choose from for demo
purposes and we don't want to make the same mistake of buying untried
from a shop again. We'd like some recommendations to some specific
makes/models/weights that are available through Australian outlets that would be safer/more comfortable for tennis elbow. Can you put us on the right track? 

A.Dear Ann, How could you? What a nightmare. Here is the problem. You must fix
the dicky elbow first because you will never know if it's a flare up of an
existing injury or caused by the new racket.
ice can help but never hurts - anti inflams (voltaren works well) heat-ice-heat mild weights if they
don't hurt (500ml full water bottle is the go as a weight)
Soft racket aluminum/titanium (yes the cheep ones) I use HEAD 1000 year
04-05 (not long body)
string with 24 kg tournament nylon (cheep stuff) grip 3
use a thick elastic band as a vibro stop or a prince one (they are big)
If you still get tennis elbow you have a big problem.
PS. Im presuming you play pretty well. don’t let the weight of the racket
throw you. Heavy is good but not too heavy.

Q.Hi, I have just seen your website for the first time, and I just want

to say that the support you provide to all the young players is great!

And I also have to ask you this:  my husband (he's 30 yrs. old)  is a

pretty good tennis player, although doesn't play comps or anything

like that.  We only play once a week, but he has been very good at

tennis since high school. The only problem is, he seems to break the

strings of his racquets a lot of the time.  Approximately every 3

weeks, he will need it restrung.  He hits the ball VERY hard.  What

could he be doing that causes so many broken strings? (He has already

tried different tensions). If you can give us any idea at all, we would be most grateful! 

Q.  Hello. We have some new hard courts and the texture seems really rough. Besides being slower than the hard courts I was previously playing on I've noticed that I'm really having problems moving on these new courts. It seems when setting up for a shot like an extreme forehand cross court shot my feet stick to the surface and I'm really having problems getting my body in position for the shot. I've also noticed a lot more muscle soreness from playing on these courts especially in my upper leg muscles. I'm wearing New Balance CT801W shoes. Could you recommend a shoe that might be better suited for these rougher courts and any other tips for playing on these rougher courts would be appreciated. Thanks

A.  Hi Steve. Orthotics, orthotics and more orthotics. Sorberthane soles are also good.  You need a stable shoe like K Swiss but the ones you have should be fine. Get a shoe with a turning cycle on the ball of your foot. You can also use lace up ankle supports.  If the court builders have used too much grit in the paint it can get pretty grippy, I think pro shops at clubs do it so they can turn over product faster than normal. It's terrible for tennis balls as well. Do lower backstretches as well as legs. See an article on what to look for in a shoe on my site. Good luck brad

Q.  Hi, I am returning to tennis after 15-20 years - short, middle age mum previously a squash player with weak arms - who has a squash habit of flicking the ball. I am playing with other mums with similar histories except they are good club level players.  I think I have made the classic mistake and bought one of those >ultra lightweight rackets- 265 gms ( Pro Kennex - Ultra light Ti Speed about 100 head 55-65lbs) - and put a worm shock absorber (8 string) on it.   I have suffered from RSI and tennis elbow in the recent past from work related injuries and always hated those heavy wooden rackets and even the early carbon rackets were very heavy.  

A.  Ciao Rosalie. I get the feeling that this is not the first time you have written your own diagnosis. All of the things you mention have a negative effect on your condition and I'd say your racket exacerbates (a) your elbow condition and (b) your flicking.  To flick is a bad habit that can be overcome, If you were swinging a brick you wouldn't use your wrist or elbow, you would have to use the strong shoulder joint. You flick because you can. Light rackets are good for swinging around, unfortunately you also have to hit something. As most of these rackets are very heavy in the head you can get the racket balanced by putting weight under the grip (lead tape) enough to bring the weight up a bit but just enough to have it balanced properly. good luck Brad

This racket feels light and wonderful and plenty of power but control and aim is poor - and I often resort to the flick rather than the stroke.  Should I preserve with the ultra light racket and give it a little more time and perhaps control will come or should I shop around for a heavier racket with a bigger head???. Should I have the racket re strung to a softer tension?  The new rackets are so confusing.  I do enjoy playing - and it's so much more fun with good players - I run around squash style to keep up. I thought the squash might have been forgotten by now ................is there any hope for old squash players. Regards,

Q.  I utilize the Head Ti.S1 racquet.  I have two of them.  I play tennis about 3 times a week and play in different leagues and tournaments.  I am going to nationals next month and want to make sure I am ready, even equipment wise.  My question is this; both of my racquets grip sizes are 4 3/8.  But for some reason one feels significantly bigger than the other.  I have the exact same over grips on them as well.  Instead of buying a new racquet, is there any way to reduce a grip size?  I like the smaller feel better due to better wrist snap and am thinking about shaving down the larger grip.  Is the right way to go?  Is there a better way?  Please let me know.

A.  Hi, It’s not unusual for rackets to be marked wrongly as the butt caps are not interchangeable with different sized grips but it can happen. So in other words if the butt cap fits the racket the grip must be wrapped wrongly (too thick). How rackets can differ is by having the original grip changed and having it wrapped to thick or with a thick (cushion) grip. If the but cap is the right size (should be printed on cap) then you should try to buy a thinish grip that you can stretch quite tight in order to make it thinner. Then put on a thinner over grip and test. If that doesn't work you could leave the under grip off and build up the handle with thin over grips to the required size but its not usually very successful. Good luck in the champs. Brad

Q.  Hi! I'm searching for an opinion here.  While playing tennis today, I noticed my racket felt a bit weird.  Pretty much like it was broken in two around the grip.  Well, when I took my grip off there was a crack going all the way through the grip of the racket.  Now, I have had this racket for 10yrs.  I have never thrown it or mistreated it at all.  It's been my baby!!  The thing of it is...when I first got it as a gift from my parents (it's a Dunlop Super Revelation with ISIS) a similar thing happened.  I was playing for the number 1 spot on my schools tennis team & my new racket broke in half at the grip.  My parents proceeded to send it back to Dunlop and they in turn sent me a new racket! My question is...after all these years could the crack in the grip be due to overuse?  Is that possible?  Just looking for another opinion.  I'm off to do some racket shopping  Thanks for listening!

A.  Very strange, the racket breaking problem thing that is. I have heard of rackets breaking just before the grip but its very very rare. To have it happen twice is odd.  When rackets get old the reasons that hold them together get brittle so after some time (10 years plus) things like this can happen.  If it happens at the beginning of a rackets life then it is usually a manufacturing fault as the are next to the handle is the least likely place to get a break. happy shopping Brad

Q.  Just wanted to drop you a note and thank you for your great site.  Ialso had a question I was hoping you might be able to answer for me. I have a new Babolat Pure Control racket.  I love it, I have it strung tight, about 61 lbs.  I am a 4.5 player and have a full swing and hit the ball hard.  I was wondering if I might need to add a bit of weight to the head as most rackets today are a bit head light if you will.  Any experience with this racket? Thanks!

A.  Thanks for your kind words Mark. As for your weigh up on your racket, I think you've got it right. If you go to www.racquetresearch.com you can get the specs on your racket and then take it from there. I think you should have a balanced racket of about 340-60 grams. that's about the same as most pro's. on my site under equipment, then Racket performance check list, you will fin the info you need. cheers Brad 

Q.  Is there a certain kind of racket that would be recommended for beginners?  I have only been on the tennis team 2 days for my high school, and borrowed myfriends from the previous year.  How do you know if you should get a lighter? or heavier racket?  I'm already obsessed with this game!  It's awesome.

A.  Hi . welcome to the club, you passed the test when you said "I'm already obsessed with this game". well done. As for rackets its a little hard to say as you have given me little info to go on. However at a guess I would say a 26 inch or 27 inch racket with about 260-280 grams. big head size 3 grip. go to a store and see if they will let you try a couple in this range. price range no more than 100 USD to get started. last years models will do ya fine. go for it! Brad

Q.   Hi ...I'm a tennis aficionado, I have been for few years, and we play Park District In Chicago, and at this time our club is looking to purchase a tennis racket stringer, any idea where we can shop for one???? Any help will be greatly appreciated; Sincerely. Tennis fan . 

Q. Please help me my name is …I am a 5.0 tennis player I am 17 years old I'm planning to get a knew tennis racquet I wanted the Dunlop 300g I only problem is that there is no way to demo it but I did demo the Dunlop inferno and wow it felt great but the only problem is the reviews on it say that is only for intermediate players(2.5-4.0) if it feels nice should I get it or should I get the 300g without trying it out. Could I still use the inferno in a fast paced full swinging game how set are the racquets guide lines about player levels and who should use them? Thanks…

A.  Hi … The recommendations for rackets should be taken with a grain of salt. If your a good player you should be looking at solid rackets around 350 grams. after that its just feel. I wouldn't go long body or any funky gimmicky stuff. Standard beam, standard length and heavy. check out choosing a racket for idiots on my site or for up date stuff go to www.racquetresearch.com you will then have to test them. There is NO OTHER WAY! good luck ps the 300g is a very good racket in my opinion but its just that, "an opinion".

Q. Dear coach,I've been looking for a new racquet and after reading your site and doing a bit of research I think I'm interested in the Head Prestige Classic 600. The racquet that I'm looking for is one with good control. Now, they all say that this is a "professional racquet" and I'm certainly not a professional player. So will I be able to play with this racquet? My current racquet weighs about 330g on the kitchen scale so this racquet would be a little heavier (but this is good, right?). Do you have any alternative suggestions?I look forward for your advice.

A. Hi …It's a good racket. Not the only good racket. The biggest tip I can give you is test before you buy. That means play with it not swish it around in a pro shop. Go to www.racquetresearch.com and see how other rackets stack up to the head scientifically then make the discission.