How to choose a tennis racket?

Today, tennis is a very popular sport, and the number of people wishing to do it is increasing every year. At the same time, as in any serious sport, the correct selection of equipment plays an important role. And the tennis player’s main inventory is a racket. It is very important to choose it not only by age, many small factors play a role here. Today we will tell you about how to choose a racket for tennis.

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Age selection

First, let's figure out how to choose a racket for tennis for a child. Here you have to be prudent and not buy a racket “for growth”.

Important! The child must hold the product by the handle, and with large sizes he will instinctively begin to do it a little higher, which is prohibited by the rules of tennis.

It is worth considering not only age, but also the growth of the baby:

• With growth to 1 m 18 cm it is better to take a racket 21 inches long, or 53.3 cm.
• For sizes 119-135 cm, a length of 23 inches, or about 58 cm, is recommended.
• For children with a height of 136-150 cm, a racket of 25-26 inches in size is suitable.
• Accordingly - for children above 150 cm, a length of 27 or more will be needed.

Important! Adults should choose individually, as different rackets are designed for different types of games.

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Material

It is best for children to buy aluminum rackets, as they are more durable and cheaper, which means that the risk of breaking their child during the game is reduced. For adults, composite or graphite is recommended.

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Thickness

An important factor is the thickness of the product. Checking it is quite simple: you need to grab the handle and look at the gap formed between the fingers and the palm. If its width is approximately equal to the width of your index finger, then a pen of this thickness is right for you.

There are standard parameters that you can also focus on:

• The optimal circumference for a child is 1-2 inches.
• For women, it is about 3-4 inches.
• For men, the size is 5-6 inches, or 7 - for people with large palms.

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Head size selection

As already mentioned, choosing a tennis racket is not only by age and height, but also by the style of the game.

Important! Heavier ones will make the blow stronger, but with them it is more difficult to maneuver and control the ball. Lighter ones make the swing easier, however, for a strong blow you will have to put in more strength and swing more.

In this case, the size of the head plays an important role. By area, they are divided into groups:

• Standard (old wooden rackets) - 426 sq. see, the smallest, are now almost never used by professionals.
• Midsize - 452-574 sq. M. cm, slightly larger than the previous ones. They carry out better control of strikes, but the power of these strikes drops markedly.
• Midplus (or Mid-over) - 580-677 sq. cm, medium size. It has both a powerful blow and good control.
• Oversize - 710-742 sq. M. cm, large heads provide greater strength and poor impact control. Weight also matters.
• Super Oversize - 748-871 sq. cm, very large. Highly not recommended for beginners. Provides very poor impact control, but at the same time as powerful as possible.

> To understand all this diversity and choose a tennis racket that is ideal for you, consider these tips:

• Rackets with smaller heads (type Midsize) are mainly designed for serving and playing since the summer. Also, such rackets are good against heavy variations, because they provide better control of the blow.
• “Oversize” and “Super Oversize” rackets are suitable for backline players, as they help to spin and cut the ball better. The strikes of such rackets are more powerful due to the greater weight.

Important! The main convenience when playing with rackets with a large-area head is the so-called SweetSpot. Its essence is extremely simple - the closer to the center of the net the ball, the more comfortable it will be to repel. The area around the center of the network is called SweetSpot. In “Oversize” and “Super Oversize” it is as large as possible, which reduces the likelihood of off-center strikes.

• The Oversize type is also suitable for serving since the summer, but it controls the blow much worse. A good compromise would be MidPlus, which is the “golden mean” - it controls strokes better, and at the same time, strokes are more powerful for her than small ones.

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Rim thickness

The impact power and the strength of the mesh depend on the thickness of the rim. Thickness usually varies from 18 mm to 30. How to choose the right thickness? It all depends on skills: the faster you swing the racket, the wider your movements while hitting the ball, the thicker the rim we need.

Important! It is worth remembering that with a thick rim, the likelihood of a ball hitting it with a twisted impact is increased. The only way to avoid the problem is long workouts.

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Head and Hand Balance

Find the middle of the racket and place it on your index finger. The product can be balanced in the center, to the handle or to the head. If the center of gravity is tilted towards the head, then the product will seem heavier, if on the contrary - more light.

Everything is simple here:

• The first option is suitable for those who prefer to play on the back line.
• Rackets of the second type are suitable for playing from the summer - where speed of movement is important.

Important! Each gram is noticeable in a tennis racket, so even a small advantage dramatically changes the feeling of using the product.

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Rackets for beginners

You must still be wondering how to choose a tennis racket for beginners. Everything is not as clear as we would like. In addition to all kinds of physical parameters by type of palm size, nuances are also important that cannot be measured the first time. We have already talked about them earlier. But still, what tips should you follow when choosing a racket for beginners?

• Do not chase expensive equipment. It sounds corny, however, some people are sure that comfort in use depends on the price of the product. This is not true. Even the most expensive racket may not suit you in weight, size or thickness.
• For starters, it’s worth taking relatively lightweight rackets, and only after building up experience switch to heavier ones.
• Returning to the topic of the balance of the handle and head, for beginners, rackets with a center of gravity exactly in the middle are suitable, since they are universal in circulation.

Important! A couple of racket care tips:

1. Keep it in a special case in a cool, dry place.
2. Avoid exposure to direct sunlight - this may damage the coating.
3. It is highly recommended not to store the product in the trunk of the car, since there the temperature can reach 60 degrees Celsius, which is detrimental to the strings.

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Stock footage

Armed with the knowledge and useful tips from this article, you can now safely go to the sporting goods store, in order to understand in a practical “trial” how one model differs from another and choose the best equipment for playing tennis.