According to the court owner my old racquet is fully dead, he cant understand how I was hitting anything, that my strings are begging for mercy and the frame would be too light even for a little kid lol. Now I got myself the pure drive 2025, and oh boy the owner was right

Finally took my Ezone 100 Tour on court last night, and oh my god. Feels like I'm seeing colour for the first time. Forehands? Big. Backhands? Also big. Arm soreness? What arm soreness? Felt like I coulda kept hitting all night! The serve? ...Well I'm still figuring it out but the ones I made were also big! I understand why they're nigh on impossible to get now, it's a completely different experience.

TLDR: That Yonex EZONE is a pretty nifty racket.

For the sake of everyone's privacy I'm going to keep it slightly vague.

I had no idea who he was during the match. He looked to be late 60s early 70s. Seemed to be in decent shape (age appropriate). After a couple games it became clear he was like a brick wall. If you hit to him, it was coming back. And the finesse was incredible. The ball was either at your feet, or a beautiful angle.

After the match, I looked him up. Turns out back in the late 70s/80s, he was an All-American in college, won a few ATP doubles titles, and had deep runs at Grand Slams.

Pretty crazy to run into a tour pro in a USTA league!

Have you ran into a former high level player in your USTA leagues?

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.

On free courts in Griffith Park, Los Angeles there’s a guy who ties up a court for hours teaching a series of students. The general rule is if people are waiting for a court only one more set can be played and then it’s handed over. There is another sign saying teaching is strictly prohibited. Understandable that teaching isn’t allowed on free courts, it is massively unfair to everyone else. I guess this person has gotten away with it because no one is checking on it.

Do you think this should be reported?

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.

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 :)

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.

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.

So, I've put on many, many, many overgrips, but I recent found some fun thrift store racquets that need a whole new replacement grip.

I've never put on a new grip in my decades of playing tennis. Watched some YouTube videos, so I'm sure that will go fine, but here's some wrapping under the old grip.

Is this supposed to be removed? Does the one on the left have some weight as part of this wrap?

Does anyone staple their grip ala the factory one?

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?

I’m a 3.0 and play 2x a week with my much more skilled husband. He plays doubles in standing for-fun-only meetups with neighborhood friends …and they want me to sub. What do I need to know to hang with them? Basic etiquette wise, strategy wise- anything you yourself would have wanted to know as a doubles newbie.

Note: not all of them are in fantastic shape so their games tend to be slice-a-thons to compensate for reduced mobility lol.

If you want to include hard-learned lessons that you can look back and laugh at for the rest of us to be entertained by- I encourage that.

I'm pretty new and have a generic walmart racquet. Checked the weight on my food scale and it's 290g. Is that too light? I just don't want to get used to swinging with an unusally light racquet and then move up to a real racquet and have issues adjusting.

I’m a 3.5 adult who has been playing for years and currently plays recreationally 1-2x per week but am not seeing improvement. I am considering finding private lessons - I know they are super expensive but am thinking it might be worth it. I’m sure it depends on instructor quality, but has anyone had success (or not) with those?

So I’m a recreational tennis player, I have been playing tennis for about 6 months and been practising my serve for almost a month now. The problem is that my serve is inconsistent especially on the left side. I have attached videos of my serves that went in and also out. I know at my level I’d probably be better off with a simple serve for consistency and should aim for a proper full motion later on(?) but I’m really keen on learning the full and proper motion of tennis serve. I normally do flat on my first serve and slice on my second.

Can you guys point out my mistakes and give me some advice to help me serve consistently and use it as a weapon? Thank you in advance!

How does a solid performance at state/sectionals affects one's USTA/NTRP rating?

This question is likely to trigger those who judge people who ask questions about ratings.

I'm not obsessed with my rating. But I do enjoy trying to understand the sphinx that is the USTA algorithm. I realize this is lame. I should only love the game for the game and not care about ratings and algorithms. I know, I know.

Also, I do not think I am awesome at tennis. I am objectively not awesome at tennis.

Just curious if anyone has a sense of how one's post-season record factors into the overall rating formula.

Thanks in advance for not dragging me or judging my lame questions!! 😆

Doing part of my honeymoon in Seattle in August (full days on Fri-Sun). Are there any places that run a live ball drill (no instruction just play) that I can just show up to and rent a racket. Thanks! Level is 3.5

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?

Casual Rec player starting tennis again (~ 6 months now) from a 15 year hiatus. I play tennis for fun, I am not playing ranked matches but strive to constantly improve.

My ideal version of tennis is rallying with friends - hitting around 8-10 shots between us and then trying to finish the point from there. Occasional doubles points as well along with weekly tennis clinics (drills and games such as king of the court, etc).

Bought an Ezone 100 for myself and content with the performance with poly tour pro at 52lbs. I am able to hit deep, powerful shots (that often go long) and have a lot of confidence at net. Of course, I would love more control. However, after playing with it for a few months, I find myself really missing the joy of being able to feel your shot - something that makes me addicted to tennis. Currently, when I hit the ball I can barely even feel any connection. After hitting it’s so hard to tell from feedback whether the shot was good or not - I need to visually watch the ball to see where it ends up.

I am asking for any recommendations for either strings for my current Ezone or other rackets that may provide me with that joy of actually feeling connected to the shot again. Nothing is wrong with the ezone performance but just missing that raw connection to hitting. I know 15 years ago I had a prince racket that felt amazing that way.

Below is some information about rackets I had demoed before buying the ezone 100 and other string setups. The caveat being I have no control or knowledge of the string setups for these demos, so I understand they may behave differently than my opinions:

Pure drive 100: loved it! But at least the way the demo was strung (tried both rpm blast and hyperg) after 1.5 hr of play I definitely felt some arm soreness. Decided not to push my luck

Wilson blade 100 v10: absolute gem and so whippy and maneuverable. Felt more connected to the ball than the ezone but could barely get ground strokes past the service line. Could be a string issue with overly high tension.

Speed MP: felt sluggish in comparison to the other rackets. Shots felt kind of dead like hitting the ball with a board. Again could be a dead string issue with the demo. I think it was rpm blast.

Ezone 100 with hyperg at 54lb: way too high of tension for me. Felt no ball pocketing whatsoever in comparison to my now content 52lb PTP

Below is a list of rackets I have on my shortlist:
Retrial of head speed MP
Prince tour 100p
Prince tour 100 (either 290 or 310)
Technifibre Tfight 300

What are others that I should add for a trial to feel more connected? Any alternative string recs for the Ezone 100? Perhaps higher tensions multi or synthetic gut?

I’ve used the Nike vapor pro 2s for years and stockpiled a backlog of them. After burning through them all, I finally “upgraded” to the vapor pro 3s. After two matches, the eyelets holding the bottom laces ripped through. One small design change and now these won’t work for me at all.

I play on hard courts and slide frequently. I love the feel of these shoes, so I’m looking for something similar, but will hold up better like the vapor pro 2s did.

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?

I have a couple of strings in my closet and I would like to hear if you have tested these on the PA and what your thoughts are on those concerning feel and performance

Solinco Tour Bite Soft
Solinco Hyper G
Luxillon 4G
Head Lynx Tour

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.

Bought a head gravity pro 2019 from ebay. It plays good, feels good, Font etc checks out, but the color looks washed out on the red side if i compare it to my gravity tour 2019. Has anyone seen this before or is the raquet fake etc. How to know for sure?