Racquets for beginners

[Moxie]

What is the best place to start for a beginner, in terms of a racquet? I haven't played tennis for 20 years. I'm a medium-sized woman with strong legs, but not so much upper-body strength.

 

[Denis]

Well this is not going to be very useful, but I returned to the game of tennis a year ago and I just bought the racket which felt the most comfortable in my hand (Wilson 7). The shopowner offered me a couple of rackets which were for the intermediate/beginner range. So a tip would be to ask a shopowner and get a feel for a racket in your hand. I don't think it matters much in the beginning, although you might get used to a certain racket over time I guess.

If you want to order over the internet, I'd wait until someone has something sensible to say about it to you

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

What is the best place to start for a beginner, in terms of a racquet? I haven't played tennis for 20 years. I'm a medium-sized woman with strong legs, but not so much upper-body strength.

Hey Moxie,
The general idea when picking up a racket is that you pick the heaviest one that you can COMFORTABLY play with. Reason being, if you have some heft on the stick, it will be more stable and do some of the job for you, as opposed to your arm and body doing all the work. The lighter ones feel nice at the beginning, until you find out they make you work harder. Also , you have to look at the balance too...some rackets are head-light, other are head heavy. Head-light helps you with racket head speed, so I would pick something like that, that is a bit easier to swing. And, grip size...Nadal might play with a baby grip size, but it might not be optimal for everyone else...ask the shop dude to fit you with the right grip size so it is not huge in your hand or so little that it disappears in your hand.

Good luck and enjoy the game.

 

[Moxie]

Thanks for the intel, guys!

 

[Riotbeard]

I can tell you what I use having been in a similar situation. Quit for about 10 years and not a lot of upper body strength. I also hit a relatively flat ball and play pretty aggressive chipping and charging and serve/volley. I use a Head YouTek Extreme MP. I really like it. It has a lot of control and is light enough considering I am not that strong, but it is also not an ultra-light over powered racket.

Here is a review of my racket by tennis.com: http://legacy.tennis.com/gear/racquet_review.aspx?id=486

When I bought a new racket though, I went and hit with ten different rackets and bought the one that felt most comfortable. This would be my suggestion. My sister in law used to be a tennis pro- at a country club, so I went on the court with her and used all their loaner rackets.

 

[Borg. J]

For a beginner the racket is not going to matter. They are all pretty much the same, big head size, power and light. These are all good for a beginner. Once you start playing more exclusively then consider upgrading to a better racket, but for now it's not really going to matter. First focus on the game
Step one- Learn the rules of tennis.
Step two- Get in shape.
Step three- Learn how to actually play tennis.
Step four- Rock tryouts.
Find a good online instructor to help you perfect. You can find one at https://coachtube.com/courses/tennis or http://www.playsportstv.com/tennis