Classic Strokes Tennis Lessons

Another thing that is great about tennis is that it requires very little equipment and the costs are also low as you can buy pretty good racquets for as little as $50 to $60.  Since tennis racquet company marketing people are very creative, however, you may see a lot of claims and statements about racquets having all sorts of advanced technology and materials but the only really important thing is how a racquet feels to you.  The reality is that the cost of all those advanced materials in what is roughly a ten to 11 ounce racquet is probably only about $5 per racquet and so a lot of the same materials are also in less expensive racquets.

It is also pretty simple to see how a racquet will "feel" to you by just lightly swinging it back and forth.  You will immediately notice how the overall weight feels to you and also whether the racquet is "head heavy" or "head light" (the weight is distributed more in the head or the handle of the racquet).  Depending on how each racquet may feel to you as you swing it back and forth, you will immediately notice what will feel comfortable to you and what doesn't feel quite right.

In any case, about 80 percent of the performance of a racquet actually results from the strings used in a racquet.  Unfortunately, most "off the shelf" racquets are strung with thicker strings that produce less spin, which then results in less control for each shot.  Clients who have commented "a lot of my shots sail long" often find that those same shots will start dropping into the court when using thinner strings.  More about strings will also be made below along with some more extensive comments about buying a racquet.

Classic Strokes also provides stringing services too, however, and can match a precise string tension and set of strings that will be a good fit for your game.

Checking for Grip Size

One of the most important parts of finding the right racquet for you is the "grip size" which is the thickness of the racquet's handle around which the grip is wrapped.  Grip sizes vary between 4 1/8 inches and 4 3/4 inches and typical grip sizes are 4 1/4 for women and 4 1/2 for men.  If your grip is too small, then players have a tendency to use too much hand and wrist action while hitting each ball and if your grip is too large, players have a tendency to use the racquet as sort of a "paddle" that they use to "hit" each ball instead of using smooth strokes.

The picture below shows how to check for what will be a correct grip size for you.  If you start out with gripping the racquet with the head being straight up and down (a good forehand grip in any case), then turn the grip up so that you can see the gap between the middle finger on one side of the grip and the thicker part of your hand at the base of your thumb on the other side of the grip.

The correct grip size for you will have about one fingertip worth of space between what I have described which you can check by putting the tip of one of your fingers from your non-grip hand into the gap.  If there is too much space, then you will need a smaller grip and if there is too little space then you will need a larger grip.

Buying a racquet...

On your first visit to somewhere that sells tennis racquets, you will find a huge assortment of possible racquets to buy.  My overall advice is to choose a price range and then do the "swing test" described above to lightly swing each racquet back and forth.  When you find one that "feels right" to you, it will probably also feel right for the thousands of tennis balls that you will hit with it on the court.

Brands are also sort of irrelevant in my opinion as every racquet feels a bit different and each brand is also a bit different in their overall feel.  Reviews of tennis racquets are also pretty useless as that is one person's opinion about how that racquet feels to them although a reasonable number of negative reviews for a racquet is probably a pretty good indicator that something went wrong in the design process and that probably won't be a good racquet for anyone.

The best selection is also probably from buying a racquet through a website such as Tennis Warehouse although that doesn't allow a beginner who doesn't know their correct grip size to try out different grip sizes or to do the swing test described earlier.  In any case, if you are looking for a racquet in the $50 to $60 range that I described above, there are lots of local resources here in San Francisco and I usually recommend Sports Authority (in SOMA) as they have a pretty wide selection although no actual "sales help" to give you any advice.  Other local resources depending on where you live in the city are some stores with usually friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable sales staff which include Sports Basement (Mission), Sports Basement (Marina), Golfsmith (Union Square), Lombardis (Russian Hill), and City Racquet Shop (Glen Park).

Demo Programs

The best way for a more experienced player to find a racquet that will be a good fit are through "demo" programs where you can try out various racquets for a period of time.  The best demo program in my opinion is from Tennis Warehouse where you can try up to four racquets at the same time although they do charge for shipping (click here for a description of their program).  All of the other local stores mentioned above (except Sports Authority) also have demo programs although the number of racquets you can try and the costs vary by store.

Strings

As described earlier, strings contribute probably at least 80 percent of the actual performance of a racquet.  All modern racquets have lots of power but a good choice of strings allows a player to control all that power.  Adding to possible choices are that there are many different types of strings (natural gut, synthetic gut, polyester, multifilament, hybrid) and more than 20 significant brands of strings.

In general, however, a good quality polyester string will be the most durable and also provide good performance.  Natural gut strings have the best "feel" but are not durable.  Synthetic gut strings have similar feel to natural gut but are more durable although that can vary a lot across all the different synthetic gut strings.  The wide range of multifilament and hybrid strings makes any characterization difficult and probably also makes all of this overly complicated.

One general guideline, however, is that thinner strings do produce more spin than thicker strings and spin is what results in more control on each shot.  A tennis court is actually not very long (78 feet) and modern racquets have a lot of power and so using strings that can produce more "top spin" which causes a ball to drop more rapidly will result in more shots staying within the court.  The only trade off with thinner strings is that some brands and types may be less durable resulting in having to restring your racquet more frequently.

String thickness is described with the word "gauge" (pronounced "gage") and almost all strings sold today are in a range from 15 guage to 18 gauge.  String thickness decreases as the gauge number increases (18 gauge strings are thinner and will produce more spin than 15 gauge strings).  I usually recommend 17 gauge strings for clients although I actually use 18 guage string for producing even more spin.  Most local shops usually have only 15 guage and 16 guage strings, however, and so at least use 16 guage strings if having your racquet restrung locally.  Classic Strokes keeps 17 guage and 18 guage strings in stock, however, for those clients using our stringing services if you would like the additional spin produced by thinner strings.

Local shops charge two separate charges for restringing with one being for labor (typically $15) and the other being for the cost of the strings (which can vary between $10 and $30) but they will also usually agree to use strings that you have bought elsewhere given that their selection can often be pretty limited.  If you would like to use a 17 guage or 18 gauge string that is not carried by a local shop, then I would recommend using what I have now used for years which is Babolat's Pro Hurricane Polyester strings which have been very durable for me and also have great feel and overall playing performance.  This link is for the 17 guage version of these strings from Tennis Warehouse's website.

String Tension

There is one additional aspect of what affects the performance and spin produced by strings which is the "tension" or tightness of the strings when a racquet is strung.  String tension is expressed in terms of "pounds of pressure" and typical string tension is around 55 pounds.  A general rule is that less pounds of pressure produces less spin and more pounds of pressure produces more spin although that can sometimes vary a bit based on technique.

I generally recommend somewhat higher levels of tension for producing more spin and depending on the client will recommend somewhere between 56 and 62 pounds (I use 68 pounds).  The only tradeoff is that higher string tension can feel a bit more physically harsh on your forearm and elbow but that can also usually be eliminated by using a "string dampener" (those little inserts you see stuck between strings near the lower end of the racquet head).  Any elbow soreness can also be completely eliminated within a few weeks by doing curls to build up elbow strength.

Grips

Another important but overlooked part of racquet performance is having a grip that feels comfortable and secure for gripping the racquet.  I have a lot of clients who haven't played for ten to 20 years and while their racquets are usually still ok, the grips on such long unused racquets are now usually completely dried out resulting in both poor racquet control and often a lot of the grip material rubbing off on their hands.

In any case, a grip in good condition should feel somewhat "soft" and "tacky/sticky" resulting in a confident and secure feeling when gripping the racquet.  If you may feel that your racquet needs a new grip, I usually recommend the Wilson "Contour" grip which also has slightly raised "ridges" on the grip for an even more secure grip.  This is a link for the grip described (which we also always have available) and most local shops usually carry the grip.