With as many racquets as there are out there, it is quite hard to decide on which brand and what model to choose from. Different head sizes, racquet thickness, string pattern, etc. will drive you bonkers if you don't have a lot of knowledge on the subject. So, here are a few tips...........
1. Playtest the racquet! There is nothing that I say here that will trump
the playtest. Tennis Warehouse does a great job of lending demoes for
a small fee. I believe that the fee can be put toward the racquet if you
decide to buy it.
2. Racquet Weight. My suggestion is to not go too light. The lighter the
racquet, the less plow through the ball and the less stable the racquet
will be. Of course, that can be taken care of with lead tape, but why
not buy a racquet that is at least close to what it needs to be for you?
Again playtest for the final decision.
3. Racquet Stiffness. The stiffer the racquet, usually the less dwell time
the ball will have on the strings. With that, usually it will have less feel
and not be great for touch. However, it seems to be pretty good for
power. Heavy topspin players tend to choose a medium to flexible
racquet while your flatter hitters tend to choose medium to stiff. Again,
playtest.
4. Racquet Width. This one is not the biggest factor, but I do have a word
of advice. If you tend to hit a heavy topspin shot or use lots of slice,
a thinner beamed racquet will work better for you. Flatter hitting players
can basically use anything they want as the sides of the racquet don't
come into play as much as they would with a heavy topspin hitter whose
racquet has the chance of knicking the ball and causing a mishit. And,
of course, playtest.
5. Headsize. This is strictly your choice. Agassi used oversize and Sampras
used a midsize. Take your pick. You will get more spin with a larger head,
but the feel of a good midsize is hard to beat. For years, I used the Head
Prestige which had a 93 inch head and I hit extremely heavy topspin off of
both sides (one handed backhand). I then went to the mid-plus Pro Tour
280 which I noticed a tremendous increase in power, spin, and sweetspot
size. For beginners and intermediates, I recommend no less than a 95
inch head. Preferably 98 inches and larger for the beginners, but again,
that is your choice.
6. String pattern. A racquet with an 18 main and a 20 cross will be more
control oriented. A racquet with a 16 main and an 18 cross will be more
spin friendly. Again, that will be a personal preference.
Well, I hope that helps a little. There are a lot of great racquets out there and a lot of great companies as well. Just try them out first. If you need any suggestions on a racquet, feel free to shoot me a line. I won't give you a definite "you need to play with this racquet", but I will be more than happy to hear how you play and then give you a few suggestions of racquets to playtest. Again, Tennis Warehouse is great when it comes to that.