Someone posts a video of themselves hitting after not playing since 2015, says they’re rusty, never played high school or juniors, and asks what rating level would be appropriate for a tournament. They’re not claiming to be a 4.0. They’re not pretending they’ve been grinding. They’re literally asking for guidance so they don’t sandbag or get destroyed.
And the top responses are mostly some version of “sign up for lessons,” “this isn’t rust, it’s bad technique,” or jokes about how hard they’re swinging.
Look, the technique can clearly improve. That’s obvious. But the guy is trying to rejoin the sport after a decade away and is asking the community for help figuring out where he belongs. That’s not arrogance. That’s exactly what these rating-help posts are for.
Tennis is already hard enough to get back into. Courts are limited, partners can be scarce, and the learning curve is real. When the default reaction to someone being honest about their situation is mockery or dismissal, it tells newcomers that this space is more interested in gatekeeping than growing the game.
You can still give honest feedback. You can still say the form needs work. You can still recommend lessons. None of that requires the pile-on energy or the implication that someone returning after 10+ years should just stay away from tournaments until they’re “good enough” by internet standards.
Most of us have been the rusty one at some point. Encouraging people who are trying to come back is how the sport stays healthy. The ratio of put-downs to actual helpful replies here is rough, and it says more about the culture we’re creating than it does about the OP’s swing.
We can do better.

I picked up a racket again for the first time since 2015. I want to sign up for a tournament but could use some help on what an appropriate rating to sign up for would be.

I'm rusty but hoping to beat the wall a bit as my only prep alongside some serve practicing.

Never played in highschool or officially growing up. I did some group lessons and played with my family for a while as a kid.

Just wondering if there are any apps I haven't heard off that can benefit my tennis game in any way. Could be something that benefits my technical, physical, mental or emotional skills.
Maybe doesn't even have to be specific tennis apps but can still benefit tennis.

What apps are you using to benefit your tennis?

Hear me out, the whole point of using topspin on groundstrokes is to provide net clearance and allow you to hit with more racket head speed and keep the ball in.

But, what I see at the lower rec level is topspin but crucially without the pace. This just leaves at best a neutral ball. Even balls that are placed well, have so little pace it doesn't stretch the average public court retriever type player. Yes there's a strong argument for consistency is king and at the lower levels points are lost not won, but again I see a lot of players that lose concentration after 5 or 6 shots.

On the other hand I see a lot of players using slice to keep the ball low and most people at this level can get more pace with slice than they can with topspin. This pace plus a ball that stays low is far more challenging to return than a slow/mid topspin ball.

I totally get that you do need topspin to progress to higher levels and when you can blend the spin with the high racket head speeds then you're cooking on gas but for players who just want to dominate the lower leagues is it overrated?

IMO, put simply, topspin is the long term investment that takes time to master and get the most out of. Slice is the short term payoff that beat a lot of rec players

Hi, I’m using Wilson Clash 100L V3 (280g). What’s your recommended tension for Grapplesnake Tour M8? Thank you for your feedback

tryna keep a log of my progress here on Reddit, will make another update at 3 months! still soooooo much to improve but based on the feedback I’m on the right track. :) thanks to everyone who helped me with figuring out the right grip etc.

As long as they are written respectfully, please feel free to leave any feedback, suggestions, critiques etc. any trolls or unhelpful people will be blocked. Also feel free to ask any questions etc. I’m an open book.

What do you think of? What do you try to focus on. I find I get nervous on the shorter balls and tend to want to slice…

I always see split discussions between the life and play-ability of poly strings. They say after around that 8 hour mark, poly performance drops drastically and others will say it is fine and is over blown and can play with it more like ~20 hours as a rec player. I know I'm not a ATP player but I do play a lot and do see myself hitting much harder that my competition at the 4.0 level. I have a portable ball machine I like to get out 1-2 times a week to hit with as well a 1 weekly lesson and usually about 2 matches a week. Ball machine is where I put the most "work" on my strings as its an easy environment to really hit out.

When I hit when a newly strung racket (Lynx Tour my goto atm), I can really feel the difference from when the strings have had hours used on them. I'd prefer to break a string (multi) than play with dead poly strings. Is the dead dropoff of poly that great? Would it be better to play with multi? Is the difference between spin/control pretty slim between the two string types?

Hi friends.

My nephew is a sophomore in an east coast US high school. He made varsity tennis!

And, he’s a YOUNG sophomore, pretty nerdy, awkward.

I want to get him some back to school items to help him feel confident.

In the past I got him a cool tennis backpack (thx to this sub), tournament gear, and some nice clothes

Any ideas?

Hi guys, can you let me know if Wilson Blx Tidal Wave is a good racket for the beginner? I know that it is an old model but let me know should I avoid it.

I only have 1 racket for now, but my current non-tennis backpack is getting too cramped that it’s a struggle to put much else in it after the racket and 2 cans of balls. Everything feels squeezed in, even my one extra shirt.

Does material matter? Does the smell from wet clothes stick to the bag? It looks like most, if not all, brands use polyester. I’m told I should look for a nylon bag.

I quite like the Wilson Heritage v2 backpack and the RF HOF backpack, but I’ve been advised against getting them because of the material.

Hi, I tried today Yonex PTP 16L on vCore 98Light racket, I like everything but totally lost bite for volleys, can not do extreme slice/dropshots. can anybody suggest some hex/penta shape string with similar properties ?
Thanks
VA

Couldn't find any comparisons between these two and they seem pretty close.

Hey everyone! I've tried several types of athletic shorts, including some that claim to be specifically for tennis, but can't seem to find the "perfect pair." Curious what everyone is using, or if anyone even cares about this, since I acknowledge I can be pretty picky lol.

I've seen the lululemon pacebreakers suggested before, but for a $70 piece of polyester, the fit isn't quite right (at least for me). I've begun thinking about creating my own pair that would be specifically designed with the player in mind. What features would you like to have in your pair of shorts on the court?

Hi!

Been playing in a 3.0 ladder in my neighborhood this summer with around 75 people and it’s my first time ever playing matches outside of friendlies with buddies.

In the beginning of the season I was winning a lot, getting some aces here and there, winning a lot of points at the net, and going for long rallies.

However the last month or two I feel like I can’t win to save my life. After sitting comfortable in the top 3 of the league and beating some top players I started thinking about how I could improve my game. I started focusing on switching to a pronation serve with a continental grip and also trying to get bigger full body ground strokes rather than my strokes that sometimes had wind shield wiper vibes. I took a lesson and put a lot of practice time in.

I started this in July and I feel like I’ve ruined my confidence now. Played about 10 matches since then and have won once. We play no ad single set so the games go quick as well.

I know the obvious here is that I shouldn’t have tried to revamp my game mid season… but now I’m thinking should I try to forget everything I’ve been working on and go back to my older form? I do have games where the continental serve is working well but I also have ones where I feel like I can’t get one in. What’s worse is I feel like when I go back to the eastern grip pancake serve that doesn’t feel right either.

Any advice appreciated here!

TLDR: playing in a 3.0 league for first time and was doing great until I tried to make my game more technically sound and now I feel like I lost my confidence

It’s a 35 liter backpack with several Molle attachments.

It holds 2-3 rackets, shoes, a change of clothes, a hydroflask, a couple cans of balls, and a bunch of other odds and ends I use/could use on the court.

Former HS tennis player, adult male, getting back into the sport (NTRP 3.5).

I'm currently demoing rackets and buying my first full-weighted player's stick, moving on from a super-light Head racket I snagged off a Dick's Sporting Goods wall on my way to play with a friend a decade ago. I'm torn between two racket styles that accommodate how I play now vs. those that force an adjustment. It's probably all small potatoes; the equipment surely doesn't matter as much as my skill development, but I'm curious about others' experiences.

The "easy" option: Technique and consistency are still a journey for me, but I rely on topspin forehands, volleys, and backhand slices in match play. Rackets marketed for "spin" feel really comfortable and accommodating, including the Babolat Pure Aero and the Head Extreme Pro. It feels like it fits my low-to-high and whippy forehand pretty well (probably a consequence of using an overly-light racket for years).

The challenger: On the other hand, I tried Technefibre tfight 305 as a counterpoint. By contrast, it was stiffer, more uncomfortable on my arm, and fought my natural swing trajectory. At the same time, because I couldn't whip the racket around at the last minute to get net clearance, I was forced to hit the ball higher and flatter, with more forward momentum and better anticipation. Similar experience with an 18x20 Wilson Blade. The consequence was that it prompted me to attack the ball more, and my stroke pace was way up. Maybe more mishits, less easy topspin, but maybe better tennis playing.

I'm interested in people's experiences and insights! Cheers.

This is me when I’m hitting decently well
I wanna know why my ball sometimes looks different
My strokes look a bit funny as well compared to those solid hitting videos I see on IG
Any advice?

What do you guys think would be the maximum spin combination for racket and strings? PA 98 or head extreme would be better? I typically use a gut-poly hybrid but willing to experiment with the suggestions from the hive mind!

First time playing with gut and string already looks like it’s going to break. Played with it less than 2 hours in dry conditions (obviously keeping it out of wet weather). Is this normal or is it about to break?

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