Is there a good player's tennis racquet that is easier on the arm? I'm a 5.0 player and my arm is about to cr

Question

I was playing with a tecnifibre t-fight xl. Its a sweet frame with great control. But, I have to find an alternative. I would like a player's racquet half inch longer that won't kill my arm. Even if I have to get an older model and hunt it down on ebay or something I will.

Answer 1

The Babolat Pure Storm Tour + is similar to your current racquet but has a slightly lower swingweight and is just a bit more flexible.  You might try it.  It's 27.5".

I'd also investigate soft strings.  Tennis-Warehouse.com has a great stringfinder which lists all the soft strings.  

I've been searching for the right soft strings for my arm and came up with the Wilson NXT Tour 17.  It's made a difference.

Good luck.

Answer 2

thicker (cross beam) the racket; lighter the racket; longer the racket, larger the face, will do more harm to your arm.

also use a softer string and loosen up the tension a little will help.  use a vibration dampler if needed.

try the wilson pro staff, nCode, new K, these are good player rackets, i think they also have 27.5" version as well.

Answer 3

Yeah, that's a pretty heavy and demanding racquet.  If it's killing your arms, my first thought is to look into something either a little lighter, or something even more head light.

It's already a fairly flexible racquet, but there's some more flexible one's out there.

Just a quick search turns up racquets like the fischer m speed pro 98 and the head flexpoint radical tour.  I don't think they have the extra length, though. These would be something to try if you really don't want to go to something lighter.  They are more head light and more flexible than your current model, but basically the same weight.  This amounts to a lighter swingweight, which is how heavy the racquet feels to swing.

If you are going lighter, you're on your own for that.  You will have to test some racquets to see how light you need to go, as well as how light you can stand to go.

Really, I'd start off by just testing some of the newer stuff out there.  Head's new racquets are supposed to be pretty arm friendly.  See if it's just something about your racquet that bothers your arm.  Hopefully, another one of similar weight won't be an issue.  As far as wanting the extra length, how bad do you want it?  Any extended length racquet will have a higher swingweight than it's standard length counterpart.  It might be easier on your arm to stick with standard length.

Answer 4

Have you tried getting softer string? If you like the way your racquet plays, try different stings and tensions first. Technifibre NRG2 is supposed to be very soft.

Answer 5

You're just going to have to demo some racquets till you find the right fit.  Sounds like you might already have a case of tennis elbow.  You need a softer string, like natural gut.  I would try the Kblade Tour (or 98), the Prince o3 Tour (low swingweight), and maybe the the Prince O3 Tour Speedport.  And if you DO have tennis elbow, you should try wearing a brace.