"Already know you that which you need" - Yoda

Surely the great and powerful trainer of young Jedi, Yoda, was not referring to tennis racquets with this philosophical quote from Star Wars. But he could have.

The market for tennis racquets has never been bigger or more confusing. There are literally hundreds of racquets made of an infinite variety of materials for players of many different skill levels with many different strengths and weaknesses in their games.

Manufacturers are not out to deceive you. They are in business to sell you a racquet. They are happy if you buy their product regardless of the reason. Whether it is the size, weight, balance, the grip, the strings or even the jazzy paint job. And here is the biggest secret of all revealed here for the first time: no one has created the one perfect racquet for every consumer.

There are three important questions to answer for yourself:

"Already know you that which you need" - Yoda

Surely the great and powerful trainer of young Jedi, Yoda, was not referring to tennis racquets with this philosophical quote from Star Wars. But he could have.

The market for tennis racquets has never been bigger or more confusing. There are literally hundreds of racquets made of an infinite variety of materials for players of many different skill levels with many different strengths and weaknesses in their games.

Manufacturers are not out to deceive you. They are in business to sell you a racquet. They are happy if you buy their product regardless of the reason. Whether it is the size, weight, balance, the grip, the strings or even the jazzy paint job. And here is the biggest secret of all revealed here for the first time: no one has created the one perfect racquet for every consumer.

There are three important questions to answer for yourself:

"Already know you that which you need" - Yoda

Surely the great and powerful trainer of young Jedi, Yoda, was not referring to tennis racquets with this philosophical quote from Star Wars. But he could have.

The market for tennis racquets has never been bigger or more confusing. There are literally hundreds of racquets made of an infinite variety of materials for players of many different skill levels with many different strengths and weaknesses in their games.

Manufacturers are not out to deceive you. They are in business to sell you a racquet. They are happy if you buy their product regardless of the reason. Whether it is the size, weight, balance, the grip, the strings or even the jazzy paint job. And here is the biggest secret of all revealed here for the first time: no one has created the one perfect racquet for every consumer.

There are three important questions to answer for yourself:

This is very important to be honest about. Just because Rafael Nadal plays with a certain racquet, it doesn’t mean you should. A number of factors in measuring ability come into play. The USTA has one rating system. If you have such a rating and it is below 3.0, you should consider yourself a novice. 3.0-4.0 players can consider themselves to be intermediates. 4.5 and above are advanced.

This rating system is only good if you have a rating that has been tested in team or tournament play. Other factors to consider are your age, weight, general physical condition, mobility challenges, and chronic medical conditions.

Being honest about this is critical. When you read descriptions and reviews of equipment, nothing else matters if you aren’t candid about your game. A novice player who attempts to play with an advanced player’s racquet risks injury. Racquets designed for advanced players will have a much smaller sweet spot whereas the novice is likely to make contact all over the racquet face. When that happens, vibrations on contact when occurring over and over have the potential to injure elbows, shoulders and wrists. Advanced players playing with novice racquets will not generate the power, spin or control they should expect.

This is very important to be honest about. Just because Rafael Nadal plays with a certain racquet, it doesn’t mean you should. A number of factors in measuring ability come into play. The USTA has one rating system. If you have such a rating and it is below 3.0, you should consider yourself a novice. 3.0-4.0 players can consider themselves to be intermediates. 4.5 and above are advanced.

This rating system is only good if you have a rating that has been tested in team or tournament play. Other factors to consider are your age, weight, general physical condition, mobility challenges, and chronic medical conditions.

Another way to evaluate your skill level is to rate your ability to generate power. If you are consistently hitting the ball in zones 1-3 in the diagram, you should consider a racquet that will help you generate power. Power racquets use larger head size and increased stiffness to improve energy transfer from your swing to the ball but can sacrifice control.

If you consistently hit the ball in zones 8-10, then your focus should be on racquets where control is the priority. With smaller head sizes and more flex in the frame, these racquets are designed to get your existing power directed where it will do you the most good.

If you hit into 4-7 you may benefit the most from an all-around racquet. With the ability to generate some power with control, these racquets will accentuate your strengths as a shot maker all over the court.

Being honest about this is critical. When you read descriptions and reviews of equipment, nothing else matters if you aren’t candid about your game. A novice player who attempts to play with an advanced player’s racquet risks injury. Racquets designed for advanced players will have a much smaller sweet spot whereas the novice is likely to make contact all over the racquet face. When that happens, vibrations on contact when occurring over and over have the potential to injure elbows, shoulders and wrists. Advanced players playing with novice racquets will not generate the power, spin or control they should expect.

This is very important to be honest about. Just because Rafael Nadal plays with a certain racquet, it doesn’t mean you should. A number of factors in measuring ability come into play. The USTA has one rating system. If you have such a rating and it is below 3.0, you should consider yourself a novice. 3.0-4.0 players can consider themselves to be intermediates. 4.5 and above are advanced.

This rating system is only good if you have a rating that has been tested in team or tournament play. Other factors to consider are your age, weight, general physical condition, mobility challenges, and chronic medical conditions.

Another way to evaluate your skill level is to rate your ability to generate power. If you are consistently hitting the ball in zones 1-3 in the diagram, you should consider a racquet that will help you generate power. Power racquets use larger head size and increased stiffness to improve energy transfer from your swing to the ball but can sacrifice control.

If you consistently hit the ball in zones 8-10, then your focus should be on racquets where control is the priority. With smaller head sizes and more flex in the frame, these racquets are designed to get your existing power directed where it will do you the most good.

If you hit into 4-7 you may benefit the most from an all-around racquet. With the ability to generate some power with control, these racquets will accentuate your strengths as a shot maker all over the court.

Being honest about this is critical. When you read descriptions and reviews of equipment, nothing else matters if you aren’t candid about your game. A novice player who attempts to play with an advanced player’s racquet risks injury. Racquets designed for advanced players will have a much smaller sweet spot whereas the novice is likely to make contact all over the racquet face. When that happens, vibrations on contact when occurring over and over have the potential to injure elbows, shoulders and wrists. Advanced players playing with novice racquets will not generate the power, spin or control they should expect.

In general, racquets can have four possible objectives: provide control, help generate power, create spin, and manage vibration. Novice players should look for control first as this is what will get the ball over the net and inside the lines. Power for them is important as it will get the ball deeper into the court. Spin is not very important. Managing vibration is important if the player is worried about or previously had an arm injury.

Intermediates will often want power or spin as key objectives as they have already found some control in improving their games. Again, injuries will dictate if vibrations are a concern as this can often be the biggest objective for the intermediate.

In general, racquets can have four possible objectives: provide control, help generate power, create spin, and manage vibration. Novice players should look for control first as this is what will get the ball over the net and inside the lines. Power for them is important as it will get the ball deeper into the court. Spin is not very important. Managing vibration is important if the player is worried about or previously had an arm injury.

Intermediates will often want power or spin as key objectives as they have already found some control in improving their games. Again, injuries will dictate if vibrations are a concern as this can often be the biggest objective for the intermediate.

In general, racquets can have four possible objectives: provide control, help generate power, create spin, and manage vibration. Novice players should look for control first as this is what will get the ball over the net and inside the lines. Power for them is important as it will get the ball deeper into the court. Spin is not very important. Managing vibration is important if the player is worried about or previously had an arm injury.

Intermediates will often want power or spin as key objectives as they have already found some control in improving their games. Again, injuries will dictate if vibrations are a concern as this can often be the biggest objective for the intermediate.

Advanced players will already have power and spin skills so often control is important particularly as their games have progressed to include frequent trips to the net to hit winning volleys.

Can any racquet do it all? There are some that try to do a decent job at all four possible objectives. But that probably means it doesn’t do a great job at any of them. Many intermediates who can’t decide what they need will often buy “all court” types of racquets for this reason. The risk here is this player is reconciling themselves to the player they are today.

No doubt, some players look at cost first. This is a mistake. Discovering the unique characteristics of a racquet and how it can impact you is far more important. Cost can be a factor with prices starting at around $50 and ranging upto $250 with strings installed. But given that you will play with the right racquet for several years and the wrong racquet for maybe a season, paying a bit more pays off in the end.

Particularly for novices and kids, two things can be done to control costs: buy a pre-strung racquet and/or consider a quality used racquet.