Hello Truc,
I would like to play tennis again...live near energy corridor...would love to play again! It has been a while...
There are several courts here, but don't know where to go? Maybe you can help me find my way here?
Hope to meet you!
CU&Thanx
you should DEFINITELY get the racquet restrung - the factory strings are frankly 2nd rate and you will have no idea what the tension is (racquets can sit on the shelf for months and lose tension over time)
however, i would recommend that you DON'T get this done at Sports Authority if you can avoid it - I bought a Prince O3 Speedport the first week I was in the States last year from Sports Authority and had it strung there at 60lb, then wondered why my shots were overshooting - took it to a specialist tennis shop get it measured and found that the tension in parts of the stick were less than 40lb! Everyone can learn how to do string but to do it accurately is something else, and this can have an impact on your game in the long term. Poorly strung strings can cause you to change your swing slightly to compensate, in extreme cases this can even cause injuries because of the overcompensation.
I would still say, if you can wait until you get to a proper tennis shop, then do so. If not, then get the stick but get it restrung properly later.
Regarding strings, since you say you don't hit with much topspin, then it's down to the feel of the racquet. Again, this will be down to personal preference and recommendations from the store/friends... but if you're starting out again I would stick to a synthetic gut (the Prince Synthetic Gut Multi 16 gauge would be an example) and then once you're hitting for a while, experiment with other combinations like hybrids (eg. polys on the mains, synthetic gut on the crosses).
If you like your strings soft, then I would say try the Wilson NXT 16s, they're about as soft as you can get. I've strung a few sticks for people at the club who hit with a good deep flat stroke and they like the feel of this.
If you like to hit harder, Luxilon have a string called Big Banger which I've seen a few people use.
Babolat have a new string out called Addiction which my mentor's wife says has really good power and feel when she was testing this string.
Personally, I switched to a hybrid once I got back into hitting, with Babolat Hurricane Tours on the mains, and NXTs on the crosses. My elbow does feel this combo though a bit though because the Hurricane Tours are a poly which generally are very stiff. Before this, I used Technifibre Redcode in place of the Babolats which were a softer poly and didn't have this problem. But I quite like the "pop" that I get with the Hurricanes :)
There are a multitude of factors that impact on racquet selection. My practical recommendation to you is to find a racquet shop that will allow you to demo a few racquets - if you can get 4 or 5 and take them down to the court for a hit, you'll be able to get a baseline as to which type of racquet works for you - then you can refine your search from there. Good racquet shops will let you demo for a small charge and a deposit, then use the demo fee towards the cost of a new racquet. Try and find a store that is a specialist shop with a personal touch, they're much better than your Sports Authority IMHO.
Having said that, to start you off, if you used to use a Prince, those racquets used to be relatively weighty if I can remember. At a tension of 70lb, you would have needed to hit pretty hard to get any depth - that's a exceptionally high tension these days, most club racquets are around 55-60lb on average. The lower the tension, the more time the ball stays on the strings, and the more distance you'll get on the ball. However, you should focus on technique as the first priority to getting depth on your shots, with the equipment more as an accessory to your game.
For actual racquet brands, this will be personal but the same rules apply to the below - aim for a balanced mid-high end racquet (but stay away from the top end (Tour) racquets, these will be too heavy or have a tiny sweet spot, whereas the beginners will be too light and ruin your stroke development)
try looking at
Wilson K range (e.g. Wilson six.two, or even up to the six.one Team if you are feeling confident)
Babolat (Aeropro drive is a top choice, Z drive is a lighter version which got good reviews, or perhaps take a look at the new XS range)
Prince - worth taking a look at for nostalgia, but they are marketing the O3 speedport technology these days, and i found their racquets too light as a result - but might be good for you if you want a lighter racquet (take a look at the SpeedPort Red as an example)
Fischer, Head and Yonex would be other alternative brands to consider - but ultimately it will come down to actually hitting with a particular racquet that will seal the deal for you.
Once you've figured out which stick to buy, we can then talk about strings later!
Truc N.'s Comments
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I would like to play tennis again...live near energy corridor...would love to play again! It has been a while...
There are several courts here, but don't know where to go? Maybe you can help me find my way here?
Hope to meet you!
CU&Thanx
thanks, Joe B.
joe bautista
however, i would recommend that you DON'T get this done at Sports Authority if you can avoid it - I bought a Prince O3 Speedport the first week I was in the States last year from Sports Authority and had it strung there at 60lb, then wondered why my shots were overshooting - took it to a specialist tennis shop get it measured and found that the tension in parts of the stick were less than 40lb! Everyone can learn how to do string but to do it accurately is something else, and this can have an impact on your game in the long term. Poorly strung strings can cause you to change your swing slightly to compensate, in extreme cases this can even cause injuries because of the overcompensation.
I would still say, if you can wait until you get to a proper tennis shop, then do so. If not, then get the stick but get it restrung properly later.
Regarding strings, since you say you don't hit with much topspin, then it's down to the feel of the racquet. Again, this will be down to personal preference and recommendations from the store/friends... but if you're starting out again I would stick to a synthetic gut (the Prince Synthetic Gut Multi 16 gauge would be an example) and then once you're hitting for a while, experiment with other combinations like hybrids (eg. polys on the mains, synthetic gut on the crosses).
If you like your strings soft, then I would say try the Wilson NXT 16s, they're about as soft as you can get. I've strung a few sticks for people at the club who hit with a good deep flat stroke and they like the feel of this.
If you like to hit harder, Luxilon have a string called Big Banger which I've seen a few people use.
Babolat have a new string out called Addiction which my mentor's wife says has really good power and feel when she was testing this string.
Personally, I switched to a hybrid once I got back into hitting, with Babolat Hurricane Tours on the mains, and NXTs on the crosses. My elbow does feel this combo though a bit though because the Hurricane Tours are a poly which generally are very stiff. Before this, I used Technifibre Redcode in place of the Babolats which were a softer poly and didn't have this problem. But I quite like the "pop" that I get with the Hurricanes :)
Hope that helps to get you started, good luck !
There are a multitude of factors that impact on racquet selection. My practical recommendation to you is to find a racquet shop that will allow you to demo a few racquets - if you can get 4 or 5 and take them down to the court for a hit, you'll be able to get a baseline as to which type of racquet works for you - then you can refine your search from there. Good racquet shops will let you demo for a small charge and a deposit, then use the demo fee towards the cost of a new racquet. Try and find a store that is a specialist shop with a personal touch, they're much better than your Sports Authority IMHO.
Having said that, to start you off, if you used to use a Prince, those racquets used to be relatively weighty if I can remember. At a tension of 70lb, you would have needed to hit pretty hard to get any depth - that's a exceptionally high tension these days, most club racquets are around 55-60lb on average. The lower the tension, the more time the ball stays on the strings, and the more distance you'll get on the ball. However, you should focus on technique as the first priority to getting depth on your shots, with the equipment more as an accessory to your game.
For actual racquet brands, this will be personal but the same rules apply to the below - aim for a balanced mid-high end racquet (but stay away from the top end (Tour) racquets, these will be too heavy or have a tiny sweet spot, whereas the beginners will be too light and ruin your stroke development)
try looking at
Wilson K range (e.g. Wilson six.two, or even up to the six.one Team if you are feeling confident)
Babolat (Aeropro drive is a top choice, Z drive is a lighter version which got good reviews, or perhaps take a look at the new XS range)
Prince - worth taking a look at for nostalgia, but they are marketing the O3 speedport technology these days, and i found their racquets too light as a result - but might be good for you if you want a lighter racquet (take a look at the SpeedPort Red as an example)
Fischer, Head and Yonex would be other alternative brands to consider - but ultimately it will come down to actually hitting with a particular racquet that will seal the deal for you.
Once you've figured out which stick to buy, we can then talk about strings later!
Hope this helps
Cheers
Ben
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