Tips to Pick the Perfect Racquet
In tennis, it is essential that you have the right racquet according to your skill level as well as playing style. If you have the wrong racquet, you will likely have problems with improving your game and really ensuring that you can play the best game possible. A good racquet should help you improve slowly, while a poorly matching racquet can cause you problems with playing, much less improving. If you are working with a good coach, they should be able to give you some tips on selecting the perfect racquet for your individual needs, however in the meantime there are some basic guidelines that you can follow to help you until you get the best advice from your coach.
If you are just an occasional player or if you look to start playing it would be a wise decision to purchase what is called a power racquet. This is a racquet that is designed to give more control and support in how the racquet is handled. This works perfectly for those with just beginning skills because it helps to compensate for the lack of skills that you have currently. By providing a much larger head, you have a much greater area that you can hit the ball with. This is very important for those who are not always the most accurate with their swings. In addition, a power racquet provides a much heavier head, which is effective in helping to give more actual power when you are swinging the racquet; this allows greater force to hit the ball, which will provide a much stronger return.
The next racquet that is good for intermediate players is called a tweener racquet. This tends to be much lighter than a power racquet and it provides you with a choice of a large or a small head to allow you to move between the two depending upon your exact skill level as well as how well you can play. If your accuracy is good you can use a smaller head, if you are still working to hone your accuracy skills then a larger head will be a good idea even with this racquet style. The good news about tweener racquets is that they are much longer than a power racquet. This will allow you to learn more control as well as power from your own strength and skills, rather than just what the racquet provides you with.
Your next step up the ladder is called a control racquet. These are typically much heavier and provide a much smaller head size than a power racquet and many of the tweener racquets. Before you move onto a control racquet, you need to have some fairly basic skills established first. A control racquet will generally allow you to have more control during your game, but at the same time, you are losing some of the power that a power racquet game you to start with. This makes it highly important that you are capable of providing enough power in your swing to handle the ball appropriately. If you are not strong enough to handle it without a power racquet then you will need to avoid a control racquet for a little while.
If you are just starting to play tennis you should always seek the advice of your coach before you actually purchase a racquet. If you have been playing a while then you should wait until your coach tells you to change to a new racquet. This will allow you to use the racquet that is best suited to your particular skill level. While your skill level does come into play, it is also important to ensure that you pick out a racquet that is appropriate for you based upon your size, for example someone who is only 3 or 4 feet tall would need a shorter racquet than someone who is taller. Always take your time selecting a racquet to ensure that you are using the most appropriate racquet possible.
