Tennis racket advice please

[JABB]

I have never got beyond a game or two with friends and wish to get back into tennis and more seriously.
I am 6' with shoes, medium build ( 36" waist )

I am looking on ebay and other forum for a new to me secondhand racket which will help me enjoy tennis, help me learn and not hinder me. ( I am watching a Wilson Pro Staff Kevlar on the bay, but fear it may be too stiff? )

So the brief is, up to £50. No more than 5 years old in reasonable condition.
Have played with Dunlop, Wilson and Prince before. Never played with Bobolat but hear great things.

Over to you for advice please.... Thank you

[chippy17]

need a bit more info:

how old are you?

in terms of how much you have played I find the US rating system far simpler than the UK one, how would you rate yourself based on this:

http://www.usta.com/Play-Tennis/USTA-League/Inform...

also what racquet do you mean, can you post a link?

[JABB]

chippy17 said:

need a bit more info:

how old are you?

in terms of how much you have played I find the US rating system far simpler than the UK one, how would you rate yourself based on this:

http://www.usta.com/Play-Tennis/USTA-League/Inform...

also what racquet do you mean, can you post a link?

I am 39, and would say from your link between 3 and 3.5.
I let the Wilson run out as I wasn't sure on it.

[chippy17]

JABB said:

chippy17 said:

need a bit more info:

how old are you?

in terms of how much you have played I find the US rating system far simpler than the UK one, how would you rate yourself based on this:

http://www.usta.com/Play-Tennis/USTA-League/Inform...

also what racquet do you mean, can you post a link?

I am 39, and would say from your link between 3 and 3.5.
I let the Wilson run out as I wasn't sure on it.

I am the same age and have started to get arm issues and changed from a Pro Staff to something a lot more flexible so because you are as old as me protect that arm! You could try to find something that is arm friendly, ie something from Volkl or Pro Kennex or something like:

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Wilson_BLX_Blade_9...


which is a good racquet and can cope with you getting better and grow with you as a player and you should be able to find a secondhand one for the price you are looking for, anything 2-4pts headlight and no more than approx 320g would be about right imo

a good source of secondhand racquets is:

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/forumdisplay.php?f=...

[Driller]

Great thread!

Sorry about the hijack but I just played today for the first time in 20 years and thoroughly enjoyed it. Used to play regularly when I was much younger.

6'3" medium build, looking for a compromise between power and control. Did find that I started to get some elbow pain during the match today (5sets).

Looking at this Babolat one as used by Nadal apparently (so of course it makes you play as well as him )

http://www.milletsports.co.uk/racket-sports/tennis...

Very grateful for any advice from the experts!

[Justices]

Get yourself Pro Staff 6.0 85 and apply as much lead tape as you can to the frame at the 10-11 and 1-2 o'clock position

[chippy17]

Justices said:

Get yourself Pro Staff 6.0 85 and apply as much lead tape as you can to the frame at the 10-11 and 1-2 o'clock position

you missed a bit of lead under the handle for extra pop!

but seriously he is joking don't do this

[chippy17]

Driller said:

Great thread!

Sorry about the hijack but I just played today for the first time in 20 years and thoroughly enjoyed it. Used to play regularly when I was much younger.

6'3" medium build, looking for a compromise between power and control. Did find that I started to get some elbow pain during the match today (5sets).

Looking at this Babolat one as used by Nadal apparently (so of course it makes you play as well as him )

http://www.milletsports.co.uk/racket-sports/tennis...

Very grateful for any advice from the experts!

what are you playing with now?

[Hoofy]

Didn't realise this thread existed. I'm just starting again after having played a little bit in school. How ste is this:
http://direct.asda.com/Slazenger-Classic-27inch-Se...

Will it suffice for learning? I can buy something in the £50 range later on, of course.

[chippy17]

Hoofy said:

Didn't realise this thread existed. I'm just starting again after having played a little bit in school. How ste is this:
http://direct.asda.com/Slazenger-Classic-27inch-Se...

Will it suffice for learning? I can buy something in the £50 range later on, of course.

no, assuming you are not joking, this will crumble in your hand within a week!

[Hoofy]

chippy17 said:

no, assuming you are not joking, this will crumble in your hand within a week!

Really? I can't hit that hard with control.

[chippy17]

Hoofy said:

chippy17 said:

no, assuming you are not joking, this will crumble in your hand within a week!

Really? I can't hit that hard with control.

this is not a proper graphite tennis racquet it is made out of hollow metal and is not of one piece, if you plan to play long term better off investing £50ish and buying a half decent racquet, there is a fair size market for 2nd hand racquets so you may well be able to find a decent one for under £50

[Hoofy]

chippy17 said:

this is not a proper graphite tennis racquet it is made out of hollow metal and is not of one piece, if you plan to play long term better off investing £50ish and buying a half decent racquet, there is a fair size market for 2nd hand racquets so you may well be able to find a decent one for under £50

Oh, I see. Are you saying that I should avoid aluminium ones altogether?

[Justices]

If you enjoy your elbow, yes

Get yourself on to Tennis Warehouse, they always have a lot of news frames for sale. The brands like to rip us off in Blighty so restrict TW from shipping their goods abroad. You can get around this by using one of those companies that will forward it to you, this too is cheap. The US has the lowest prices for tennis racquets by a country mile, ironically they are cheaper than China where most of them are produced..


Link

[Hoofy]

Ah. Thanks!

My elbow's already in trouble from climbing; strength training and gymnastics rings don't help things either. Maybe I should take up something more sedate like watching flower pressing DVDs.

[Hoofy]

Justices said:

Link

So many to choose from. What's the cheapest you'd recommend?

[Justices]

From the available frames I'd go with this one. Easy to swing, slightly longer than standard handle (0.5" longer) and should give you a good amount of power without you needing to wreck your arm.

Keep in mind there will be many more options towards the end of the tennis season in October/November.

[chippy17]

Justices said:

From the available frames I'd go with this one. Easy to swing, slightly longer than standard handle (0.5" longer) and should give you a good amount of power without you needing to wreck your arm.

Keep in mind there will be many more options towards the end of the tennis season in October/November.

good racquet but very stiff, if you have elbow problems could be an issue?

[chippy17]

the sad thing is in this country that you cannot demo racquets as it is a very personal thing, in US it is normal, it goes as far sometimes as Wilson, for example, sending out prototypes to recreational players to see what they think of their new designs...there was a place in Cambridge area but I forget the name

[chippy17]

Hoofy said:

chippy17 said:

this is not a proper graphite tennis racquet it is made out of hollow metal and is not of one piece, if you plan to play long term better off investing £50ish and buying a half decent racquet, there is a fair size market for 2nd hand racquets so you may well be able to find a decent one for under £50

Oh, I see. Are you saying that I should avoid aluminium ones altogether?

as Justices says, yes, they won't last very long either before they bend out of shape, makes you realise just how good Connors was when playing with his T2000