Looking at a yonex ezone. Does this look structural it's pretty good price.

Thanks all confirmed my suspicions!

I'm a complete beginner and have been taking tennis lessons for a couple of weeks. I'm looking for my first racket and I'd like to stay under $200.

I've been looking at the Babolat Boost Aero and Babolat Boost Drive since they're both within my budget. They seem to be popular beginner/intermediate options, but I'm not sure how they compare in real-world use.

A few questions:

• Are the Boost Aero or Boost Drive good choices for someone just starting out?
• Is one noticeably more forgiving or easier to learn with than the other?
• Will I outgrow either of them very quickly, or are they good enough to use for a year or so while I improve?
• Are there any other rackets under $200 that you think are a better value?

For context:

• Adult male.
• Playing 2–3 times a week.
• Still developing my technique, so comfort and forgiveness are probably more important than maximum performance.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has played with either racket or started with one. Thanks!

I am an intermediate player, and was a bit hesitant to try it out when my coach suggested it because I wanted a more «advanced» racquet. Turns out I love it, and preferred it over other racquets i demoed before buying. Haven’t read that much about it online so I’m curious to hear what you think!

Video here.

Full text: "Carlos Alcaraz’s junior coach watched me hit for 10 minutes at 14 and what he said to my dad afterwards I’ve never forgotten.

He’d flown over to Edinburgh to run a few sessions with some of the best juniors in Scotland.

I was 14, ranked top 10 in the UK, and I’d been preparing for this session for weeks.

I hit my best stuff for 10 minutes, big forehands, clean backhands, sharp footwork, the whole show.

He stopped the session, called my dad over to the side of the court, and said something I’ve thought about every week since.

He said your son hits a beautiful ball, he moves well, he competes hard, but he’s been trained to look like a tennis player not to win like one.

He explained that in Spain they don’t train juniors to have textbook strokes, they train them to figure out how to win the next point against the opponent in front of them.

British juniors get rewarded for clean technique in lessons, Spanish juniors get rewarded for ugly winners in matches.

By the time you’re 18, the British junior has a beautiful game and a losing record, and the Spanish junior has scrappy technique and a draw of opponents he’s already figured out how to beat.

That session reframed how I see development at every level.

The point isn’t what the stroke looks like, the point is whether the player wins the match in front of them"

END

I can imagine the push back, that this guy was already good, so you need to focus on technique in the beginning. Not totally wrong. But as a kid (10 to 17), me and friends just played so many matches. We were too young to think of drills and ways to constantly tweak technique, we would just play matches. I think Karue said he was the same way. I don't know. Just something to think about if you want to be a good tennis player as opposed to somebody who can hit well.

Long story short, I don't attract many people on or below my level to play with consistently every week.

I can put my level at 4.0 and play mixed doubles and beat half of the club.

However, with men's singles, I can put my level at 1.0 and be sandbagged by a "beginner" who has years experience and is just coming back to tennis and hits like fucking train.

Anyway, it's annoying because I can't find a match where I'm not losing 6-4 6-1.

Like, I want to play someone I can beat 6-4 too for fun.

Point is I feel shit always playing this guy with no hope and feel like I'm just getting worse but he keeps showing up to the lowest rated stuff.

I'm struggling to see if it is actually useful to me at all.

Like I do want to compete above my level at tennis, but not all of the time, and especially when I purposely set my level to the lowest and attend the lowest rated group sessions.

I dunno. I want the balance of training, competing, and playing for fun, but the latter part is severely missing.

I'm looking for low cost balls/ equipment to start beginner coaching. Anyone have suggestions? I'm ok with a higher cost if they last a long time, particularly the balls.

A fantastic display of Rafael Nadal’s legendary fighting spirit and court coverage on clay. Even under pressure, he manages to pull off incredible returns that leave everyone in awe.

Always a pleasure to watch the King of Clay in action. What’s your favorite Nadal highlight or shot?

Respect to both players for the entertaining rally

Courtesy - tennis TV

I apologize for my English, it is not my first language.

So, I've been using the Pro Staff 97 V14 since the start of the year. For context, this is how it is set-up: 315g unstrung + 5g for Wilson Pro Performance Leather Grip + 10g for two Wilson Pro Overgrip + 5g for Luxilon Legacy Dampener Black + 15g Head Lynx Tour 17 strung at 50 lbs mains/crosses. However, since June, I've been experiencing wrist, elbow, and shoulder pain every time I use the Pro Staff. Thus, I decided that I needed to change from a heavy, 350g racket, to a lighter racket.

With Wilson announcing the Defyer, I bought one right away. The Defyer comes at 305g unstrung. My set-up is 305g unstrung+ 10g for two Wilson Pro Overgrip + 5g for Luxilon Legacy Dampener Black + 15g Head Lynx Tour 17 strung at 50 lbs mains/crosses, total of 335g set-up.

I used the Defyer today in practice, and here are my thoughts:

• Balls went long. In order to generate depth with the Pro Staff, which is really heavy on the arm at 350 g, I have to prepare early, swing fully, put my weight behind the ball while completely following through till the end of the swing. This is not entirely the case with the Defyer. The balls are flying long if I swing the Defyer with the same swing style I have as the Pro Staff. With the Defyer, I have to reign in my swing and just feather the ball and not fling the racket violently in order to control it.
• Slightly more forgiving. In terms of forgiveness, the Defyer still rewards proper form and technique. In late shots, you will still feel it in your arms if you missed the sweet spot. Although I would say, the drop-off in power for out of sweet spot hits with the Defyer is less when compared to the drop-off in power for out of sweet spot hits with the Pro Staff. The forgiveness aspect is more noticeable in late shots. With the Defyer I can still keep the ball in play since it is much easier to swing as compared to the Pro Staff which I feel like Thor's Mjolnir.
• Less feel. In connection with the forgiveness aspect of the Pro Staff, there is high drop-off in feel with the Defyer. This is because the Pro Staff feels raw and connected, while the Defyer has a lot of technology for power and dampening. Although there is a drop off in feel with the Defyer, I feel that I am still connected with the ball and I can still control where I want to place the ball, albeit not in the same degree as with the Pro Staff. With the Defyer, it didn't seem that Wilson sacrificed feel for power and spin, which is important for me since it's easier for me to control the ball flight when I feel connected to the ball.
• More access to spin. The Defyer has a more open mains string pattern towards the center whereas the Pro Staff has a more tighter mains string towards the center. Moreover, the string I've used with the Defyer and the Pro Staff is a shaped string. Thus, its easier to access spin with the Defyer. With the Defyer, I noticed that the ball might fly long but it will dip at the last second due to spin.
• Less stable at the net. In terms of volleys, it still is the Pro Staff that is better when you play around the net during doubles, or if you play a serve-and-volley playstyle. The Defyer feels less stable when I volley. I don't want to add additional rackets to the 3 and 9 to mirror the PWS system of the Pro Staff, as it will be counterintuitive to my switch to a lighter racket if I add any additional weight for how heavy the Defyer is.

Note that these are my personal, initial experience with the Defyer 98 Pro. I could be wrong that I could have solved my physical issues with proper strength and conditioning, and that I have merely given myself an excuse to buy a new racket (hehe). But, so far, I am loving the Defyer 98 Pro as someone who switched from Pro Staff 97.

Hi, I don't really know how the ranking system works. I'm not even sure if this is enough for someone to be able to tell. But I'd like for proficient players to tell me if they can draw a vague estimation perhaps. For reference, although this was while just hitting, I'd call this one of my better rallies if it were to occur in a game.

I've played sporadically for about 2.5-3 years now, with maybe 4 months of coaching (1 session per week).

A week ago I just realized I had no reason to use 98 when most pro/high level players use a 100. I mean 100 offer more benefits than a 98 especially if you are just a recreational player.

More power? Nice.

Bigger sweetspot? Nice.

Easier to play? Nice

But its only 2 sq difference, does it make that much of a difference? Should I just go buy ezone 100 and replace my 98 or stick with what I have.

Guys my racket is a t fight iso 300 i actually like it and developed pretty well into the racket, i would say im a 90% baseliner game, only go to the net if really need it or to loose the point by going as a mistake. I just have this to options available as a great price in my country and i dont wanna loose the oportunity if it would help my game. I struggle with keeping the ball in sometimes, playing in a heavy wind place its quiet unpredictable but overall i have a solid baseliner game, still developing the serve as a weapon.

I’m 27 and just started learning how to play tennis. Here is a little video of my backhand. Any tips and tricks are welcome :)

I have been playing for about 2-3 months now. I have a friend who’s been helping me and we play consistently with a small group probably 3+ times a week. I am 9 months post op from a knee injury(so this was a slowww start into tennis) and there is a ‘timer’ for how often/how long I can play, although it has gotten better.
Anyways- Does anyone have any advice for absolute beginners? I have a Wilson racket I found for free and been relying on youtube videos.
What’s worth the money in the beginning? I can serve probably 1 good one out of every 20 tries, any advice on getting more consistent? Also, any advice for anyone playing with bad knees on what helps them with recovery after tennis?

Hi all, I have a Yonex Vcore 95 (2023), the sand-beige one. It's a grip 3, and I really want to get one more but in the original red/blue color. The thing is where I live, I just can't get a good used one, and there is only one store that has a new one for $140. I'm considering buying it but they only have it with grip 4.
I wonder if there's anything I can do to get that 4 as close to a 3 as possible, maybe with a basic grip replacement that is thinner or something? Never actually played with a racket that's not grip 3 so I don't even know what the difference feels like between 3 & 4.

Does anyone have an advice on this?

Just wondering how they compare… enjoy the shift (pro version tho I liked both) but didn’t stick with because I couldn’t wrangle the serves mostly.

Planning to try the defier eventually but surprised no one has compared these directly yet in this sub so thought I’d ask outright…

Played everyday for the last month, now need to help to see improvement. 6 months into tennis and my forehand has hit a roadblock. Any advice is helpful, finding myself missing many in the net. TIA!!!!

Hi! Been lurking this sub a little recently and thought it might be nice to get some recommendations because up until now my setup has just been based off the preferences of friends that also play.

I am a recreational player that would self rate around 3.0-3.5 for women. I try to hit 2x/week 1:1 with a couple different women and 1x/week 1:1 with a guy friend. Worth noting the guys I’ll hit with are significantly better than me and tend to hit the ball with a lot more pace than the women I hit with. I think it’s helped me in incremental improvements with generating more pace myself.

I learned to slice fairly recently and my overall game play is more diverse now. I use western grip and generally hit pretty spinny shots that have a lot of net clearance but I’ve been working to flatten that out more.

Anyway that’s just some context to say I think for a casual female hitter I hit with decent pace and ball positioning. I currently use an Ezone 100 and Yonex poly tour rev strings 17g at 53lb.

AI was saying I should consider lower tension and a hybrid string setup. I’m wondering what you guys would recommend?

After almost a year of being fearmongered by the internet and avoiding the Pure Aero 98 2023, I finally said YOLO and got one on sale for around $230, since it was quickly running out of stock everywhere and I always wanted to play with it (in my country racket demoing is not a thing).

HOLY CRAP do I wish I had gotten it sooner, it feels like my shots now come out exactly as I imagined them, and I cannot understand how everyone says it "destroys your arm" or "ruins your wrist", I felt no pain at all after 2h of hitting.

Hello! I am a 2.5-3.0 player and I've recently started taking lessons to try and actually improve my game.

My back hand is somehow better than my forehand. With my forehand, I struggle immensely with hitting in front of me and "through" the ball.

My coach had me change my grip to a more western style to help with spin but I can't seem to get the windshield wiper motion AND hit through at the same time. So, I either have a spinny weak shot or a blasted flat shot that goes long.

Do you have any tips or drills I can use to make sure I'm hitting in front and still creating some spin?

Hi all,

I am a complete newbie (mid 30's Male, 174 cm) to the world of tennis. I started my classes a month and a half ago. I got myself a Kuikma Graphlite from Decathlon (106 in2, 265 g unstrung) - https://www.decathlon.in/p/8807657/adult-beginner-tennis-racket-tr-easy-graph-lite-blue, which I thought would be a good beginner's racket. After playing a while, I realized I was not improving my game/accuracy/power etc, and when I tried one of the trainer's racquet (Fischer make, 295 g, string - Babolat RPM Blast 47 lbs tension), I felt my play improved tremendously. I had a similar experience with another racquet of similar weight with Solinco Hyper G string. Based on this observation, a junior trainer offered to do stringing for me with the RPM blast set to 48 lbs. After playing today with the restrung racket, I have started feeling pain in my wrist and upper arm joint. I initially thought perhaps this is due to a new string. However, upon closer inspection, I noticed the string which he actually used was rather the cheaper one - Babolat Pro Last. I am quite annoyed he would do this, perhaps to pocket that extra money? leaving the money aspect, can the kind people here tell me how can I go about choosing a more appropriate string for the racket that I have now? Its only in the last two weeks, I realized the 265 g unstrung racket is probably not giving me enough power, and want to upgrade myself to a better one soon. But for the next 3-6 months, is there any use extending the usage of this racket if I change the string to something more appropriate?

Hey everyone, been playing about a year now and still can’t get my serve consistent.

Watching myself back, my contact point looks too low and out in front instead of a full reach overhead. Pace feels good, but I’m racking up way too many double faults.

Please tell me if you think I’m doing something else wrong (i probably am). Any tricks that fixed this for you would help a ton.

Took a tumble while playing the other day and scraped my racket pretty badly. It's now scuffed like this all around the frame. I think it's just cosmetic damage, don't see any cracks or anything.

Is there anything that can be done about this or does my racket just have some battle scars now?