New Tennis Technology

July 8, 2009 5:56 PM

What's new in tennis racquet technology?

I've played tennis off and on for the last 15 years. For the last several years I've been playing in a weekly league, but I've been using the same racquet that I had in high school; a Prince Michael Chang Graphite Longbody. I have a Chang Titanium as my backup in case of a string break, but I've never really had to use it and never really liked the feel of it. I haven't been keeping up with equipment in awhile, but was wondering what is new in tennis racquet technology these days? Is anything worth a demo? Or should I just stick with my current one until it breaks in half (which it may very well do if I toss it around much more).

posted by corpse to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (2 answers total)

I still use a Wilson Pro Staff graphite circa 1997 and it's just as good as anything out there. I've tried other people's new racquets. I wouldn't sweat it. Maybe ou should just get it re-strung and re-gripped. Fanatics will probably tell you otherwise. But unless they are ranked and on the tour, there really is nothing gained from a new racquet.

It's like trainers. I mean, come on. Enough already with the "new cushioning technology". They're just running shoes.
posted by Zambrano at 6:11 PM on July 8, 2009

While I'm completely happy still with my pair of Wilson Hammers from the 90's, I did check out the new stuff the last time I was in a sporting goods store. From my own personal observation, the new racquets appear to have larger heads (larger sweet spots), are a bit longer in length, and are a lot lighter than stuff that was released in the past. Though, like Zambrano mentioned, unless you absolutely hate your current equipment, a new racquet will only add a minimal improvement to your skills and abilities. It might be cheaper just to look for someone selling a used racquet like the one you like prefer right now. I found my second Hammer in a used racquet bin for forty bucks, myself.
posted by Atreides at 5:26 AM on July 9, 2009