Matching the Right Racquet to Each Player

Different tennis racquets are made for different types of players.

Tennis racquets come in a variety of weights, lengths, stiffness ratings and head sizes, all designed to help particular types of players. Before attempting to choose a racquet that’s right for you, it’s important to know what type of player you are—this will allow you to find the type of racquet that has been made specifically for your type of game.

Manufacturer’s divide adult racquets into three categories: Game Improvement (for beginners and advance beginners); Tweener (for intermediate and advanced recreational players); and Player’s (for professional, collegiate and highly-ranked juniors).

Game Improvement Racquets

Game Improvement racquets are made for beginners, advanced beginners and some seniors. They feature larger head sizes, a stiffer frame, longer length, and a lighter overall weight with more weight toward the head of the racquet.

The larger head sizes provide a larger “sweet spot,” which provides more control on off-center shots. Racquet with larger head sizes tend to weigh more and decrease racquet head speed. Stiffer racquets are favored by lower-level players who aren’t able to generate much power. Longer racquets provide slightly more reach and better serve performance.

Look for racquets with heads sizes between 107-135 square inches if you are in this category.

Tweener Racquets

Tweener racquets are made for intermediate-level and more competitive players, who are not highly ranked. They add more weight to the frame, decrease the head size and shift the weight more toward the center of the frame, while keeping the extended length found in Game Improvement racquets.

These types of racquets provide players who do not mis-hit balls as frequently the opportunity to use frames which provide more maneuverability without losing many of the control and power benefits of beginner racquets.

Look for racquets with heads sizes between 95-102 square inches if you are in this category.

Player’s Racquets

Player’s racquets are the lightest frames, with the smallest head sizes, the most flexibility and shortest length.

Professional, collegiate and highly ranked juniors who are able to generate much power with their strokes prefer more flexible racquets, which they feel give them more control. Since top players do not mis-hit the ball frequently, they prefer racquets with smaller head sizes, which do not require them to sacrifice racquet head speed.

Look for racquets with heads sizes between 85-98 square inches if you are in this category.