Tennis racquets come in a wide variety of shapes, lengths, weights, materials, head sizes, thicknesses, and stringing patterns. Today’s racquets are a whole lot different and allow a player to generate much more power, than the old days of the wooden racquet. Choosing the best racquets for junior tennis athletes in New England among all of these factors can be a real challenge.
Competitive junior players hit a big ball with a lot of pace. Hitting with power can create harmful shock. To reduce shock without sacrificing control, players can increase weight to the racquet frame, attach shock absorbers to their strings or string their racquets at a looser tension. Shock-reducing options sacrifice control however, so advanced players tend to want a racquet that is heavy, head-light, and not too stiff. All-court players need a racquet that has enough mass to minimize shock on powerful groundstrokes while offering enough maneuverability for quick adjustments at the net. Baseliners, on the other hand, must hit more strokes to win a point, so minimizing the shock and torsion is important.
Some of the best racquets for junior tennis athletes , and the ones favored by juniors these days are Babolat, Wilson, Prince and Head. There are many others to choose from, but these brands tend to be the market leaders.
Babolat’s Pure Drive racquet boasts the “kind of power, precision and mobility that should appeal to everyone from strong beginners to the professional ranks. Although it compliments a truly impressive range of playing styles, the Pure Drive reserves its greatest charm for aggressive baseliners who like to dictate action with pace and spin.”
The Wilson Pro Staff is a long-time favorite and is the weapon of choice for tennis great Roger Federer. It has a “wider, more rounded beam to better suit the power and perfect weapon for trading heavy balls. It offers great control but whips nicely through contact on full swings, a fact that should allow strong players to crank up the head speed when driving the ball through the court and is solid as a rock at the net.”
Prince Textreme offers a compact 95 square inch head that delivers an “extremely precise response, with an impressive level of accuracy on the biggest swings. From the baseline this racquet’s precision translates into very confident ball striking. It is easy to drive the ball and select targets with this racquet. At net, this racquet feels solid and precise with enough feel for dropping the ball on a dime.”
The Head Graphene Speed Pro is ideal for both strong intermediates and advanced players. “It swings very smoothly and offers slightly easier access to power than the prior version. From the baseline this racquet’s ultra-predictable response supplies confidence on full swings, and the speedy feel makes it easy to ratchet up the pace and spin.”
