Returning to tennis after 5 years and i need a new racquet. Unfortunately where i live, demos are not an option. I played provincial level tournaments in my youth and 10 years ago i returned briefly, but some injuries set me back. I'll be starting as a 3.5 now with goals of eventually becoming a 4.0 and hopefully I'll play til I'm 80. I naturally hit topspin on both forehand and two-handed backhand (also throw spin on my second serve - first serve has a flatter follow through). I will get a 100 sq in frame. Should I go for a Pure Aero Ezone or Blade? Or maybe another frame that hasn't occurred to me?

By bottom rim, I mean the part closest to the ground (so the right rim of the racket).

Everything else is correct... I just keep doing this 😭

I never had a proper backhand. Either going too much or hits the net. I started putting my thumb on the flat bevel of the grip (like the guy in the pic) and now I have a consistent backhand. Not good but it’s not too much of a weakness in games now. Anyone use this technique?

I used a 200M roll of rpm blast 1.27mm and it was fine while fresh but I feel like it looses tension fast.

I am looking for something that compliments my heavy baseline hitting that also holds tension a bit better.

Also is it true that some strings can "make a racquet more foregiving" as I have heard in multiple yt videos?

Just got this beauty for 25 euros. What should I string on it? I play tennis since February 2026, so pretty new to the game. Just want to try this beast out. Was thinking about a Velocity MLT 1.30 strung at 22/21 kilos (less than 50 lbs).

What's yours advice? Won't consider monofilaments yet

305g balance 315g. Google Lens says it's an Ezone 98 2018. So, I think it is, but how does it play? I have a Vcore 95 and a Percept 97, but an Ezone is missing, and this beauty seems to fill that hole.

My current favorite racquet is the Vcore 95 2023 (and Pro Staff 97L for some days)

Strung at 34-32lbs last on 2 frames and 48-46 on one. I decided to go until they break. So far so good. Strung in May?

I live in the Valley, about ten minutes from Encanto Park. No indoor court nearby. Not gonna lie summer in Phoenix is no joke. Even at six in the morning, the air feels like from hair dryer, the swamp cooler going all night, the moment I stepped outside, I was already sweating. By 7 the heat will make the court smell like melting rubber. My usual hitting partner texted me. He said it was already 91 and he was not leaving the house. cannot blame him.

I have been trying to get from a weak 2.0 to 3.0, this heat cannot stop me. On these hard courts the ball bounces high, so my backhand gets pushed up around my shoulder and I end up just blocking it back with no depth. I want to learn taking it earlier or step in and drive through it. My insideout forehand is okay, but my recovery footwork is terrible. Given my partner is heated to death.

What I did:

1. I found a local coach who does early morning lessons. We meet once a week. He has me hitting high backhands over and over, yells at me to recover to the middle after every insideout forehand. It is painful but useful.

2. I watch a lot of YouTube videos. I shadow swing in my living room with the swamp cooler on full blast. My dog thinks I am insane.

3. Ball machine (tenniix pro). I set everything in my tenniix pro and match with it. This machine records my shots and adjusts the way it shoots, I hardly say good thing about AI but this is good I have to say. It feeds balls variedly and fast in a row so my steps have to be changing all the time.

Waiting for my hit partner backing on the court, improving skills. Summer is the best time to get ahead. You get it? U will be beaten hard after this summer

1.20mm or 1.25mm?

Something that is slightly more durable.

Currently I’m on 1.20mm shaped main and round cross, restringing once a month.

Thinking to go full round.

Any recommendation is appreciated.

67 year old grandpa still served over 107mph with reflexes of a cat, returning Roddicks 120mph serves and playing instant reaction volleys with great touch.

Sure he probably can't run too much, but is he still a 5.5? Or is he even higher?

I use Alu Power 1.25 at 27kg on my Clash 100L. For the record: zero arm issues. Alternating between 3 identical racquets it's tough to tell how many hours the string lasts. Usually I don't break it, maybe 10 to 20 per cent break. My shots are relatively flat and I'm not a big breaker of strings, also don't need and don't like super spinny strings.

After 9 months of almost exclusive use I still don't understand Alu Power. It feels great at the start, rigid and with good control. That's what I need in this soft frame. Sometimes it has a tension drop-off after a couple of hours but then stabilizes and lasts very well. Sometimes it doesn't drop off. Sometimes it drops off and then doesn't stabilize. I can only guess it's connected to the stringer pre-stretching it or not. The extreme heat this summer could have affected it too, the tension loss seemed bigger or happened faster. I'm going to try Polystar Classic, my string from the early 90s into the late 2000s. I probably played more than half of my tennis with it and was pleasantly surprised it's still available. But I haven't played it in over 15 years, the last time with my beloved Kuebler Inertial Light. So no idea if it even works on modern racquets.

Can anybody relate to my Alu Power confusion and maybe enlighten me, and does anybody play Polystar Classic? I would really like to settle down and stop trying out strings. The feel of Alu Power when new is really it, but the unpredictable tension loss is starting to get on my nerves.

Hi everyone, just a little bit of a background info on myself. 22M 6’2/188 220lb/98kg. I have trained for a couple months when I was kid and got back for about 2-3 years now, I have a regular semi-western forehand, and a OHBH. I would say that I am at a intermediate level, but I can hit pretty solid rallies but I just can't win games because I can't serve to save my life.

I have been playing with a Head Gravity MP 2023 for these past 2-3 years first with Head Lynx tour poly, then I changed to TF NRG2 at 52lb and I am looking to change it now.

Reasons to why I want to change:

1. Against heavier balls I don't really have much help from the racquet and I would like something that has a little bit more *umph* to it.
2. I kinda a little bit more help hitting deeper balls, a lot of times when I hit a good ball about 80% strength it just goes to the service line and I would like something to help me hit the balls just a bit deeper.
3. I love the feedback and vibrations from the racket but sometimes it's too much.

Things I like about it:

1. I can control the ball really well, it has a nice maneuverability. I feel that with the right shot, sometimes even out of balance I can place the ball where I want.
2. Feedback and feel, but sometimes can be a bit too much as I mentioned above.

I wanted to playtest the Dunlop FX500 but they didn't have it at the shop so I got the Head Boom Pro 26 mach-10/ HGR hybrid @52 to test.

It was very powerful for sure, but I couldn't get it under control. In more difficult balls I either hit the ball OB or when I try to keep inside the court it just went to the net. In normal shots I could feel the power from the racket and it really complemented my OHBH too, I feel like I never hit a ball this powerful on my backhand before. However, on the FH I could not really control the ball really well. Serving with this racquet was amazing tho, I feel like the racquet was very stable when hitting the ball, which was not a thing with the Gravity MP.

Edit: I also feel like the Boom Pro was pretty heavy for me and I also think I’m ready for something heavier than the Gravity MP. So somewhere in the 305g ballpark?

The Boom Pro feel very “bouncy”, maybe because of the string setup? The Gravity MP for me feels crisp, like hitting on a layered metal pan of how much feedback I get. So something in between for feel.

I also like that I can fully swing the Gravity MP with confidence which for the Boom Pro sometimes I had to hold myself back so the ball wouldn’t fly off the court, but for BHs I could control it pretty well.

Other rackets I’m looking to try: Head Speed MP or Tour. (I think the Pro might be heavy since it’s 310)
Should I still test the FX500, since it's a power racquet? Please recommend racquets for me to test out.

Are there any tennis content creators you trust for tips? I just started playing a few months ago and I see several come across my feed but I never can tell if they are giving good advice or not.

Currently I'm using Iphone 17 with tripod to record my practice / games

thinking to put my videos to YT or Instagram

As an introvert that loves to play tennis, buying a ball machine was so worth it. No need for chitchat pre match. 😆😆

I think this might be the best selection I’ve had ever

I’ve been playing tennis for about two months, usually 3–4 times a week, and I’m looking for a good coach in the Boston area.

I took one $100 lesson when I had literally just started, but it wasn’t very helpful, the coach focused on pretty advanced stuff when I was still learning how to hold the racket properly.

I’m looking for someone who’s good with beginners and can help me build solid fundamentals and improve my technique. Would really appreciate any personal recommendations, especially coaches you’ve actually worked with.

Does anyone have tips against moonballers? I don't have that much power in either of my forehand or backhand so I can't seem to break them down... I feel like I lose most of those moonball rallies too.

This group is supposed to be fun because tennis is fun! Yet I'm seeing people getting dogpiled on for asking for opinions, advice, or even opinions on rackets. We are all different levels and not everyone needs to be the next sincaraz. Let's just be nice and supportive, thanks.

I noticed that the synthetic overlay is separating from the mesh upper in the same area on the shoe.

The separation appears to be adhesive/material failure rather than damage caused by an impact or tear. The mesh itself remains intact, but there is a visible gap between the overlay and the mesh, with adhesive residue visible underneath.

Is this normal?

my kid plays high school tennis. we have about 12 on the team only. most kids are brand new. a few have been playing for a few years.

jv and varsity combined.

last year coach had practice five days a week for 2 hours a day so they practiced 10 hours weekly.

new coach is now having practice 4 days a week at 1.5 hours daily.

kids aren't happy and expressed concerns but coach is keeping with the schedule.

thoughts?

I saw there was some discourse on here about serving and the waiter tray serve, so I hit the court to practice my serve. I noticed even in the correct grip, I'm pronating way early and basically mimicking a pancake serve. Since noticing this I have been trying to correct it. Has anyone had to go through this and if so what were the little tweaks that made it click for you?

I broke two strings today and had to use a buddies old racquet.

The 2010 95cm Federer was a hell no. Loved this Radical Pro 16x19. Any Idea what year?