As so many of you readers understand all too well…when you’ve started playing around with different racquets, strings and setups – it becomes a never-ending quest. Or perhaps journey is a better word – because at different points in the journey you need to stop and stick with a stick. Right now, that stick is the Tecnifibre Tfight 315 ATP Ltd for me. I use the 16/19 string pattern, but if you prefer a lower launch angle and better directional control, there is also a 18/20 model.

What I like about this racquet is the feel. The sweet spot is small, but it is exact and you know when you’ve hit it. It plays very similar to a Head Pro Tour 630 or PT57A (pro stock code) and for most racquet aficionados – that’s a great thing. Another benefit is that it’s affordable, especially compared to a PT57A which retails around 350-400 euro on the bay and the forum for strings. It’s retailing around 120 USD/euro or less brand new from the tennis warehouse or Amazon. If you think this might be the stick for you, make sure not to buy the later Dynacore edition as it’s not at all similar.

What I do with my Tecnifibre Tfights is put plenty of lead in the head to increase the stability and plow-through. The swing weight out of the box is very low and I really think you need to do this to unlock the racquets potential. I bumped my racquets up to 349 grams with lead at 3,9 and 12 and with some extra silicone in the handle that put the balance point at 31.5 cm. I then string with my go-to string Solinco Hyper-G 17 at 22.5 kgs (51 lbs) and plays great. With the open string pattern I can generate lots of spin, but the flexy feel of the racquet (59 RA) still allows me to have some deft touch on volleys and drop shots.

I’ve heard that a gut/poly combo is heaven in this racquet, but I’ve yet to try it out. Maybe I’ll order some Wilson Champions Choice or Babolat VS + RPM Blast hybrid sets (they’re both excellent!) and start experimenting. Any hybrid string pack involving natural gut is expensive, but it sure is a fantastic feeling setup so I might treat myself soon. After all, it’s soon Christmas.

To summarize, I’ve played with these racquets now for a few months and I’m super happy with them. I hope that feeling lasts. It really works well for my game and the small sweet spot reminds me to move my legs and keep my technique true. If you try the Tecnifibre Tfight 315 ATP Ltd, make sure to give them a few sessions and try adding lead to the head. You should never give up on a racquet until you’ve really given it a proper chance to settle in your hand and head.

What racquets and setups are you using right now? Are you looking for a racquet recommendation for your level of tennis? Don’t hesitate to leave a comment!

It’s time to play a game.

What racquet is 14-time grand slam champion Pete Sampras holding in the picture?

As you might know, Sampras played a heavily leaded-up Wilson Pro Staff 85 (St Vincent) for most of his career, but the above pic is clearly not that racquet!

Loyal readers of Tennisnerd know that this site is very interested in tennis technology and gear, with a specific affection for tennis racquets and strings and we try to bring you fair and insightful information about the gear that is being released every year by such companies as Babolat, Wilson, Head, Tecnifibre, Volkl, ProKennex, Yonex etc. This article looks at what the racquet retailers produced in 2016, what were the big hits and misses and what can we see happening in 2017?

PLAYERS ARE NOW “ENDORSING” RACQUETS

After a couple of lawsuits in the industry, most retailers have shifted their marketing jargon to say that the different professionals endorse racquets instead of the previous strategy (lie) that they actually play with them. One of the key messages of the Tennisnerd posts has been to explain to people that what Andy Murray and Nadal endorse, is not actually the exact same model they play with. In some cases, like with Nadal, it’s not that far off, but in many cases the new model and the racquet the pro uses are miles apart.

Some posts describing this “tennis gear trickery”:

Milos Raonic actually has counter-vail in his Blade pro stock!
Andy Murray uses a Head PT57A (based on the Head Pro Tour 630) not at all a Head Radical Graphene.
Novak Djokovic has a special mould and is not playing a Head Speed Graphene Touch (which is not really close at all).
Roger Federer released his signature model together with Wilson in 2014 called the Pro Staff Roger Federer Autograph and in 2016 the racquet got a beautiful matte black update.
Rafael Nadal has been with the same Babolat Aero Pro Drive Original since 2004.
Gael Monfils does not use a Wilson Blade 18×20 2015, but a Wilson Pro Stock H19.
Stanislas Wawrinka uses a Yonex 95D with plenty of lead, not the Yonex vCore G Duel 97

These are just a few examples of racquets that are marketed and sold by the players, but are not used by the same players. I really respect Wilson’s decision to release autograph models for Roger Federer and Serena Williams (Prince also did for the Bryan Brothers). It is a gutsy move because not a lot of recreational players are going to be happy with 340+ grams, but then you can release lighter models like the Wilson Pro Staff 97 or Wilson Pro Staff 97 LS.

Let’s see if we see some signature models for Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray in 2017. I know a lot of racquetholics who would love to be able to buy a PT57A from Tennis Warehouse (myself included)! (Please share this post if you do!)

THE SPIN IS DEAD. LONG LIVE THE TWEEN.

A few years ago the racquet companies were crazy about the “spin effect” racquets and although Wilson still sees some success (I guess) with the Wilson Pro Staff 97S endorsed by Grigor Dimitrov, we haven’t seen a lot of racquets with crazy string patterns this year. Instead we have seen a strong push by the middle-weight tweener stick which is usually specced something like this:

98 inch head size, 16×19 string pattern, 310 grams weight, 64 RA in stiffness, 21′ beam.

One of the racquets in the tweener class that took the tennis world by storm was the much praised, pushed and bought new Babolat Pure Strike that was initially labelled Project One 7 in a clever marketing ploy by Babolat. With their superstar talent Dominic Thiem playing amazing in the first half of the season, the interest around the new Pure Strike (after the failure of the first generation) was a record high for any tennis racquet. It also received great reviews from Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Express and other video reviews such as Top Tennis Training.

Is it a great racquet? Maybe. It’s hard to define great these days with the amount of gear coming out. A truly great racquet would be a Wilson Pro Staff 85 or Head Pro Tour 630 or possibly the first Babolat Pure Drive (Original) but judging from the reviews it might be. There are so many good tweeners out there these days: the Yonex Ai/DR 98, the Wilson Blade 98, etc.

I’m going to be honest with you, I was about to fall for the hype and pick up a Pure Strike myself, but then I just fell in love with the Tecnifibre Tfight 315 ATP Ltd 16×19 and didn’t get the chance to try the new Pure Strike for myself (I did not like the old one!). I’ve heard both good and bad from other players though. I think it has a broad appeal, much like the Yonex DR 98, but I’m unsure if it’s the magic bullet to reinvent your tennis game. But hey, what racquet is?

Head tried to update the polarizing Graphene series with a more touch and, hence, called it just that. Head Graphene Speed Touch MP came out as Djokovic’s endorsed stick and it got decent reviews. Graphene still seems to be somewhat of a “trouble-maker” for Head who used to such a classical tennis brand with the great Zebras, Candycanes, the Pro Tour etc. But the stiffer, tweenier territory was something they had to venture into when Babolat started crushing the market. Most old-school tennis fans miss the soft and precision-based feel, but the new Graphenes have found a fan base, especially the radical line. Being somewhat of a racquet purist, I still look back at the Microgel (the Radical MP was great customized) and even IG series (played the Prestige MP for a long time) as a wonderful line of racquets and having hit with the Graphene Radical for a few hours did not gel with me personally, however, if you get for example a Head Graphene XT Radical Pro, and you’re looking for a modern, crips stick, you probably won’t be disappointed.

So this is where the game is headed, the 98-inch, 310 gram, 64-ish RA, tweener racquet. It’s probably not a good idea to even call it a tweener anymore. This is what the next generation will be using.

I can’t really mentioned new racquets of 2016 without mentioning Tecnifibre, the official ATP partner and the racquet brand I myself currently use. This year they released the Tfight DC series, in a French-inspired colour-way. The DC series is an update from the Dynacore series, which I have a feeling wasn’t a great success for the French racquet maker. It at least didn’t make for any rave reviews and I think Tecnfibre has tried to enter the same segment as everyone else, with stiff/crisp racquets around the 300-315 gram range. Tecnifibre to me has before always given you a small, but extra sweet sweet spot and I think it’s the same with the new line. But when you add stiffness to the frame, any hit outside that sweet spot will be more jarring and that’s why I think the DC line will have a hard time finding a following. For me personally, they struck gold with the Tight ATP Ltd series and should have remained in that ball park of racquets.

So what is the general trend of tennis racquets? Well, they all produce pretty much the same specs but they try different technologies to get the best possible response as well as a feeling of “innovation”. Wilson has released their Countervail Blade line with the intention to reduce shock, Head has added touch (comfort?) to their stiff Graphene, Yonex entered spin territory with their SV (spin vortex!) line, Babolat has tried to even out the flex in their boardy Pure Strike line, and a brand like Pro Kennex keeps playing around with their “kinetic” material which moves around in the racquet to optimize kinetic energy and reduce shock to your joints.

If you look at most these “innovations” and technologies it’s all aimed at reducing the shock of the frame and making sure you can get an easy-to-use, yet powerful frame that still doesn’t give you tennis elbow. It’s a far better trend than the spin effect sticks, but it’s hard to know whether it actually works. Stiffness ratings goes up to give more power and so the racquet manufacturers need to find a way to keep people healthy. Makes sense.

I’m a racquet traditionalist so I prefer the low-range of the mid-plus head size (95 inch) and would rather increase the racquet’s weight and improve my technique to get power instead of buying a stiffer racquet. I think it keeps my technique true and doesn’t allow me to cheat on my footwork.

But each tennis player to his or her own. It’s easy to see where the racquet companies are heading anyway.

STRINGS AND THINGS

Tennis racquets are going tween-ish and strings are going spinnish. It’s quite logical really, when you have strings giving you optimal bite, why do you need a 16×15 string pattern? It just makes for a ridiculous launch angle. We have seen more advancements in tennis strings than in tennis racquets the last ten years and the main hero has been the polyester string. This doesn’t mean that a lot of pro players and amateurs are still using natural gut (I just bought a Babolat VS Touch myself), especially to hybrid with, but most players are going all poly.

My own personal go-to poly string came out last year and it’s called Solinco Hyper-G and it gives you a spin-friendly and relatively durable performance without killing your arm. It was said to be created for American tour pro Donald Young, but it has become a best-seller used by a lot of pros and amateurs.

In the tennis string business we see a few challengers trying to innovate the business, which is always fun. Last year, Diadem came out with a really good string called Diadem Solstice (there is Pro and Power) that I play-tested extensively and really liked. The new thing about Solstice strings is that their star-shaped which really does improve the spin potential. Their new offering, Diadem Elite XT got decent reviews too, but, like with so many other polyester strings, seemed to suffer from durability.

If we talk about string shapes and adding spin, Gamma released a string they call “Ocho“, which, as the name implies, has eight sides for MASSIVE spin production. However, Gamma Ocho is a multifilament string, not a poyester which makes controlling the power of it a big issue. But it does take the cake when it comes to comfort.

A poly that is supremely comfortable is the new ISOSPEED Cream which is like hitting with a pillow but still gives you decent spin. It’s not maybe the string for you if you’re looking for feedback and pinpoint control, but if you like a poly with power and comfort it might just be the “Cream”.

Isospeed also has another interesting string out which is more of a spin-maker. It’s called Isospeed Pyramid and is remarkably soft for a shaped co-poly string.

Other decent strings that have come out this year is the Kirschbaum Pro Line Evolution which plays rather similar to the Solinco Hyper-G and the Laserfibre Vorso which is probably more suited to advanced players. Another string brand I really like is Weisscannon, with great strings like Mosquito Bite, Silverstring, and the massively spin-friendly Ultra Cable.

Talking about new strings, I can’t forget to mention RS Tennis which is Robin Söderling’s tennis brand that has made some waves in the industry with great tennis balls as well as an excellent string with RS Lyon. Not many weeks ago RS Tennis released their new string called RS Paris (another title that Robin Söderling won) and it’s supposedly a slightly more powerful and spin-friendly string than Lyon. I have yet to try it so hope to give you a full review, but RS Lyon has been a go-to string for me and I’m now testing it in a hybrid with the Babolat VS Touch natural gut.

In short, there are soooooo many strings and string brands out there now that your head is spinning more than the ball trying to choose between them all.

THE NEXT YEAR IN GEAR

What are we going to see from the tennis companies next year when it comes to racquets and strings? It’s usually hard to predict, but being a tennis gear junkie, I’m going to try.

I think the comfort trend will continue both for racquets and strings. Players are becoming more and more aware about their bodies and with the massive swing speed required in today’s modern game and racquets getting lighter and stiffer, racquet companies needs to find a way to soften the shock to our joints.

So we will see more tweeners that pack a punch yet have a softer feel. We might not see lower stiffness ratings, but we will see different dampening technologies like Countervail hit the market.

We will probably see the same thing for strings. I don’t think there will be huge strides around durability, but finding a mix of comfort, control and spin will be the magic ingredient.

I realize there is time to do a post about racquet technologies such as Countervail, Graphene, Spin Vortex and more. There has been a bunch of “funny” ones through the years. But that is one for another time!

This is a typical question I would get from players beginning to grow an interest in tennis racquets. This question as well as what is the difference between a pro stock tennis racquet and a retail one?

The answer to this question is essentially: no, a pro stock racquet is not better than a retail tennis racquet. Why? Because pro stock racquets are most often customized versions of older existing retail racquets! And racquet customizations are highly personal and a racquet that is customized to fit for example Stan Wawrinka or Novak Djokovic won’t likely fit your tennis style or level of play.

This is an important thing to understand. You need to play with what is best for your game, not what is best for a pro player. Pro player racquets usually have very high swing weights (they are heavy and not as head light as even fans of heavier racquets would like) and are therefore quite difficult to play with. If you can effectively swing a 360 gram racquet with a 370 swing weight effectively for hours, well then you could probably play well with a pro racquet. But if you need a little less weight to get that racquet head speed on the ball – well then you need to look for a racquet that is suitable for you.

There are so many good racquets and strings on the market right now and if you start “low” you can always add lead tape and silicon to find the specs you like. And remember – a racquet is just the platform for you to find your holy grail specs. There are so many things that influence how a racquet plays such as the strings (you can choose multifilament, poly, natural gut or a hybrid!), where you add the leap tape, what grip you choose, the shape of the grip (with some racquets you can even change the pallets on the handle to customize the grip shape) and much more. So don’t give up on a racquet just because you’re not playing your best with it. Experiment and see if you can improve it.

I must add here that there are some pro stock racquets that are VERY hard to get and expensive once you do. Here are a few players (the fantastic four) and list to respective articles where you would need to do some searching to get that exact racquet or spec.

Andy Murray – Andy Murray plays a pro stock racquet from Head labelled as PT57A and it is basically a 20-year-old model called Head Pro Tour 630 in a 16×19 string pattern. When you get a pro stock racquet, it comes in the form of a lighter hair pin (the racquet in raw fom) which is then customized to the players specs. Read more about Andy Murray’s racquet here.

Novak Djokovic – Djokovic doesn’t use a Head Graphene Speed Touch MP although that is a decent racquet in its own right. Novak Djokovic’s racquet is something as mysterious sounding as a PT113B – which is the code for an old Head Radical model from the early 2000. It is really a 95 sq inch racquet and that’s why it a bit odd that he endorses a 100 sq inch racquet.

Rafael Nadal uses a Babolat Aero Pro Drive Original (not the Babolat Pure Aero) and that’s not too hard to find on eBay or racquet forums.

Roger Federer is the only guy who uses the signature model he advertises – the Pro Staff Roger Federer Autograph. He likely uses a customized grip and some lead, but the frame is the same. Read more about Roger Federer’s racquet here.

As you can see there are a few guys that use hard-to-get racquets. But are they better racquets? Maybe for them, but like I said, a racquet is a personal thing – and you need to find what is right for you. Not an ATP touring pro with thousands of hours on the courts.

There has been pictures posted online about Rafael Nadal’s new haircut and lots of speculation around a hair transplant of some kind since he’s had a few visible bald spots for quite a while. I would put this topic in the category of: “Who the eff cares?”

When you see Nadal swinging a blacked-out Head-shaped racquet however, you start to take notice – especially if you’re a tennis gear-head. Rumours immediately started on Nadal trying out a new racquet to change up his game for the 2017 season = new hair and new stick might equal success, right?

Just look at this stuff from Twitterer and Rafa fan Lizzy P Rose:

Still here pic.twitter.com/V0ZCuea0Mz

— Lizzy P Rose (@lizzyprose) November 22, 2016

Loads more stills to come pic.twitter.com/R3TWbkc6e3

— Lizzy P Rose (@lizzyprose) November 22, 2016

But then there was also this – from a video not taken long ago:

Nadal is clearly swinging his trusted Babolat Aero Pro Drive Original in the paint job of a Babolat Pure Aero in the above pic. If you are curious about Rafael Nadal’s racquet, I suggest this post. So the hitting session with the Head-shaped racquet is either a serious test to try a new racquet for 2017 or purely just to try something new for fun. I truly doubt we will see Nadal with a new racquet when the season starts, however the haircut can definitely be confirmed, whether it’s a transplant or just a change-up – yeah, well, who cares?

Let’s just hope we see Rafa back healthy and re-energized ready for some more vamos tennis!

I had heard so many good things about pairing my Tecnifibre Tfight 315 ATP Ltds (16×19 string pattern) with natural gut mains and poly string in the crosses that I simply had to try it. My usual setup is with my favourite poly string Solinco Hyper-G 16L at 22 kg, but if you’re a gear nut you will want to test just for the heck of it. The Tecnifibre Tfight 315 ATP Ltd has many times, in my view correctly, been compared to the famous Head PT57A pro stock (as used by Andy Murray, Gilles Simon and many, many more pro tennis players) or Head Pro Tour 630, racquets I’ve previously owned in different iterations, and the PT57A with its low stiffness rating is definitely butter with natural gut in the mains and poly crosses.

So I ordered a set of Babolat VS Touch Natural Gut in 1.35 mm gauge (the longer life you can get out of a natural gut string, the better). It is by no means not a cheap string, no good natural gut string is, but if you want maximum comfort, tension maintenance and feel, you don’t have many better options. Since I play with a decent bit of top spin I don’t want to go all natural gut and the question was then what string to put in the crosses. I’ve previously tried Babolat RPM Blast (hybrid set) and Luxilon Alu Power Rough (Wilson Champions Choice) and I did like them both, but I was worried that for example the Luxilon Alu Power Rough saws into the gut string too much (as shaped and textured strings will do) and I’m not a huge fan of RPM Blast after which I feel die after like eight hours of play. I didn’t even want to try the Solinco Hyper-G in a hybrid because it’s basically going to murder the gut in no-time, so I went with my second poly string choice – the RS Lyon.

HOW LONG WILL IT LAST?

I strung the Natural gut in the mains at 26 kg and the RS Lyon at 24 kg. Yesterday I hit played a pretty tough two-hour match against a pretty equally matched player + a 15 minute hitting warm-up and this is the result of the string bed in my Tecnifibre Tfight 315:

Pretty decent, right? There is one or two notches that showed up after only the 15 min warm-up:

But otherwise the string bed remained relatively unharmed. I want to add that I didn’t use coconut oil or any lube to extend the life of the gut. It came straight from the stringer.

I will now keep track of how long it lasts and updated this post with information on the durability. I’m pretty confident though that if you don’t hit the ball very hard or with a lot of spin, you’ll get great lifespan out of this string.

HOW DID IT PLAY?

Like I already mentioned before, you get a fantastic experience from a natural gut string (also as a hybrid). You really feel how the ball sinks into the string bed and how the string snaps back into place after a hard shot. You get a little bit more power and I really feel my slice a lot better than with my go-to poly Hyper-G. The spin wasn’t as massive with a shaped poly (but it is close – so don’t be afraid you’ll suddenly go all flat), but I don’t need a massive launch angle on my shots anyway and I did feel I got great control from this setup.

It was simply two very enjoyable hours of tennis that the hybrid of Babolat VS Touch and RS Lyon gave me and I hope I will get a few more hours before it snaps. I truly recommend to at least treat yourself to a set of natural gut strings once because if you hybrid you will be able to string two racquets or one racquet twice (duh). It’s not cheap, but it really gives your tennis that premium feel and you end up being even more jealous with guys like Andy Murray or Roger Federer who gets freshly strung hybrid sets for each training session and match.

Recommended! 

My lead and string set up right now in my Tecnifibre Tight 315s.

One of the most popular racquets among promising juniors and more advanced players of late has been the Wilson Blade series. Wilson has managed to find that nice blend between control and power in a racquet that is relatively easy to play with but also not too harsh on your arm, which could be the case with a Babolat Pure Drive for example.

Most popular racquet models are updated every two years and a few months ago Wilson released their new Blade line – this time including Countervail technology. Countervail is meant to reduce shock and according to sources top three player Milos Raonic is already using Countervail in his Blade pro stock racquets.

Countervail is vibration-cancelling technology that is also used in Bianchi bicycles. Whether it works well in tennis racquets is quite hard to identify, although play-testers does talk about increased comfortability despite a higher RA (albeit only one point, Countervail Blades are at 65 while the previous version was at 64).

I used the previous version of the Wilson Blade 98 (18×20) quite happily for about six months until racquetholism set in and I went to the Prince Textreme Tour 95. The only real issue I had was that it felt somewhat stiff at times and I do wonder if Countervail would reduce that feeling. I did try a bunch of strings in the previous version: Solinco Hyper-G, Luxilon 4Gs, Diadem Solstice Pro, and the racquet played without major difference which means it is a pretty happy ride no matter what string you use as long as you string it low (22-23 kg is my max tension).

Since the previous version played so great it must have been difficult for Wilson Tennis to find a way to make it better. Maybe more users had the concerns about stiffness that I had and they were looking for a way to dampen the harshness? No matter what, from what I hear from people using the Countervail version of the Wilson Blade 98, Wilson succeeded in making it a more muted racquet. Whether you like feedback or more comfort is up to you, no matter what – the Wilson Blade 98 line is one of the best racquets out there and it’s nice that they give you an option of string patterns to choose from: 18×20, 16×19 and the lighter S version with 18×16.

Another difference that I’ve heard is a slight bump up in swing weight. Since the Wilson Blades aren’t heavy racquets, I think this could easily be counter-weighed with some lead tape, but it’s still good to keep in mind. The higher swing weight makes the racquet slightly more difficult to swing, but definitely more stable so that’s also a decision for the user to make.

If you’re interested in the older version of the Wilson Blade 98, it’s still available in some racquet retailers or on Amazon.

For you one-handed backhand lovers or fans of good tennis technique and all-round skills, Tommy Haas is a great guy to watch. Sadly, he’s been having injury issues for large chunks of his career and at 38 years old a comeback might not look likely, but he’s commented that despite his commitment as the tournament director of the BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells): “I’m not completely retired. I want to try and get fit.” He said his intention is to play a few tournaments in 2017. Let’s hope he does.

In this video produced by HEAD, Tommy Haas talks about a new racquet that he’s testing. In the video it looks like the Head Speed Graphene XT MP, but I know that for most of his career Haas has been using the HEAD PT57A, which is the pro stock version of the old Head Pro Tour 630. I actually owned a few of Haas actual Head Pro Tour 630s from 1996. Here are a few photos:

You can see Tommy Haas’ initials on pic 2. This was racquet number 5. I had number 4 and 5.

Above pic: Tommy in 1996

So the question is obviously if Tommy still uses the Head PT57A or if he will re-join the tour with the Head Speed Graphene XT or some other more modern frame. We all know he loves tennis and wants to do it, but his main adversary has been his body and specifically his shoulder so let’s see if it allows him to play one more year before he puts the racquet on the shelf and possibly focuses on tennis behind the scenes.

Other players using the Head Pro Tour 630 (PT57A):

Andy Murray (16×19)
Gilles Simon
Pablo Cuevas
Guga Kuerten
Thomas Muster
Sebastien Grosjean
Arnaud Clement
And many more…

The tennis racquet trend is starting to take the growing number of tennis elbows more seriously and recent models are definitely moving towards “less shock” (which is also something I talked about in this post called Gear of the Year). Wilson Blade with Countervail is one such option, where Wilson Tennis has managed to maintain the characteristics of the hugely successful Blade line and made them more comfortable and dampened.

HEAD tennis has received a lot of criticism for the Graphene technology, which has turned the classic feel of Head racquets into a more modern and stiffer line. I don’t have any insight into the Head sales numbers, but I’m pretty sure the Graphene racquets haven’t been bestsellers such as their classic Prestige line or the legendary Head Pro Tour 630. Customers have complained about harshness and smallish sweet spots and that’s why Head now launch their “Touch” models, with the idea of creating a more comfortable feel.

The Graphene Touch line consists of four racquets: Head Graphene Speed Pro, Head Graphene Speed MP, Head Graphene Speed S, and Head Graphene Speed Lite.

Read more about The Head Speed Graphene Touch line here.

Play-testers talk about a more muted and softer response than the previous Speed line. This is very similar feedback to the Wilson Blade with Countervail line, where some players think it is the best Blade yet and some find it too muted. This is usually a personal decision – what are you looking for in a tennis racquet? Comfort or feedback?

Regarding the line, they’re all pretty much 100 sq inch racquets that weigh around 315-290 grams. The pro model is slightly heavier and has the more control-oriented 18×20 string pattern while the others have 16×19. They are all 100 square inches and that is definitely becoming the new norm for tennis racquets.

What I find funny with HEAD’s marketing is the following:

In the above ad HEAD proudly claims that Head Graphene and Head Graphene XT technology has won a “staggering number of prestigious tournaments” and below Andy Murray, they have pictures of Novak Djokovic, Marin Cilic and Tomas Berdych (TGK 260.2 pro stock). None of which actually play with Head Graphene technology. They all use Head racquets, but pro stock versions based on 10-20 years older racquets! Just click their names above to read what they really play.

Head should be proud to have all these great players using Head racquets, but telling people they use the latest technology is simply wrong. That’s why I want to urge all racquet companies to release the actual racquet moulds of the top players as “Autograph versions”. Wilson did it with the Wilson Pro Staff Roger Federer Autograph and I don’t see why companies like Babolat, Head and more can follow suit.

I think you can easily charge a bit more if what you sell is the actual racquet model the pro plays with. And you can sell more light-weight, easy-to-use models and call them “Novak Djokovic Signature Edition Light” or something.

I’m sure there is nothing wrong with the Head Graphene Speed Touch line, but please don’t insist that it is what Djokovic is actually using.

If you don’t care about what Djokovic plays with (which I guess you shouldn’t)…buy the Head Graphene Speed Touch at Tennis Express and a few cents go to Tennisnerd:

Buy here

Wilson Tennis is using the Holiday season to release some new products. Beside the new Wilson RF Legacy All Court ball, they are soon releasing the new Burn line (took over from the Steams) with Countervail. The Wilson Burn racquets (including the FST update) were a relatively stiff line of racquets but the reviews talked about a relatively comfortable feel for strung RA ratings around 70(!). The Burn 95 (extended length) and especially the Burn FST 95 received some great feedback from customers and play-testers.

Now Wilson is putting the shock-reducing material Countervail into the Burn line and giving them a cleaner look with orange lines on the side, very similar to the green of the Wilson Blades and the red of the Wilson Pro Staffs. The Wilson Burns with Countervail will be on pre-sale from December 22nd and will likely be in your hands around the time of Australian Open.

Countervail did dampen the response of the Blade line which will hopefully save some elbows and wrists, but it did also mute the feel which is not to everyone’s taste. Will the same thing happen with the new Burns? I would assume so and we’ll see what players think about it. I think it’s clear that the racquet manufacturers is starting to seriously think about reducing shock and injury and I think that’s a good trend. If you look at the heavier and more flexible racquets of the early 2000s, the number of injuries were much lower. The game is getting faster, more physical and the manufacturers need to take that into account with low-weight (faster to swing) racquets that still doesn’t make your arm fall off.

The new Burn line with Countervail will consist of three racquet models:

• Burn CV 100S
• Burn CV 100
• Burn CV 95

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The Belgian tennis manufacturer Snauwaert is back in business with new racquets, strings and balls and I’m ready to take both the Grinta 98 and the Vitas 100 tennis racquets to the court in a play-test. I will also be testing their strings, Black Beam, White Beam and Sunny Core to see if their products offer the same quality they did back in the 60s, when they were quite popular among professional players and had Mikael Pernfors, Vital Gerulaitis, and Brian Gottfried as sponsored pros.

This is how Snauwaert explains it in their press release:

Spaniard ex-world number one Carlos Moya has been confirmed to join Rafael Nadal’s team for the 2017 season. Exciting stuff! This means Nadal is jumping of the bandwagon of pro players adding legendary players to their coaching staff (Federer and Edberg, Djokovic and Becker, Murray and Lendl and so on). Since they’re already quite close friends and Rafa prefers to keep things in a tight circle, I think this is a good decision. He also needs an extra boost of energy to get more confident after an injury-heavy 2016 season.

I hope you all remember Carlos Moya and his massive forehand. He was one of the first players to jump on the Babolat bandwagon and helped make the Pure Drive famous. Babolat writes on their website:

LAUNCH OF THE FIRST BABOLAT TENNIS RACKET FRAME RANGE

1994 marks a new turning point in the history Babolat. After more than a century exclusively devoted to strings and accessories, Pierre Babolat, the Chairman at the time, gambled on launching a range of rackets. Babolat goes on to become a complete equipment brand for players. Carlos Moya was the first to win with our rackets.

As readers of this blog knows, often what a pro player endorses and uses are two separate things. In Moya’s case, it was similar to Rafael Nadal, in the way that he used the Original version of the Pure Drive, called the Babolat Soft Drive (lower stiffness ratings than today’s Pure Drives, but lacking any advancement dampening technologies). I don’t know how much lead he used, but a fair bit, although his racquet was definitely not as heavy as Federer’s or Djokovic’s for example (around 360 grams). To get the that massive forehand whip on the ball, he needed something slightly lighter.

The latest report I have is that Moya is playing with the same string as Rafa: the Babolat RPM Blast. The RPM Blast is an excellent string when you have the opportunity to play it fresh, but quickly loses its spring and gets quite harsh on the arm. I wouldn’t recommend the Babolat RPM Blast to recreational players, but only pros who restring often or in a hybrid with a natural gut.

Moya is not new to coaching tennis players. He previously coached Milos Raonic, who did some great results under his tutelage and now it is only logical that he joins the ranks of Nadal as the Spanish bull makes a final push in his career.

“Toni Nadal called me and to be honest it was great to receive that call,” said Moya. “To be able to help Rafa is something special for me and I am sure that together with Toni, Francisco and the rest of the team we have a great common project. Rafa is a special player and above all a great person and friend on which I have a lot of trust and confidence that will be able to continue winning important titles.”

It will be interesting to see what Moya can bring to Nadal’s game. I think for sure a feeling of camaraderie that will hopefully inspire him to go for another slam. Most pundits think that it is less and less likely that we will see Federer or Nadal hoist a grand slam trophy over their heads again, but who really knows? I think 2017 is the last chance for both players. One slam each maybe? Nadal takes the French and Federer wins Wimbledon and everyone can relax.

Roger Federer is one of the strongest personal brands in the world (not only for sports) today. He reached the top position of the Forbes Fab Top 40 and is affiliated with other powerful brands such as Nike, Wilson, Rolex, Mercedes-Benz, Credit Suisse and Moët & Chandon. The Roger Federer brand is valued at $37 million a year.

Federer is turning 36 years old in 2017 and his massive fan base worry that this might his last full season on the ATP World Tour. He hasn’t given a firm date on his retirement himself, but once he does shelf his Wilson Pro Staff Autograph RF 97 racquets, a whole tennis world will weep (a lot of fans literally) and the tour will need to look for a new star to fill his Nike Vapor Tour 9.5s.

What Federer has become is nothing short of a phenomenon. He is a fantastic player with both the results and the racquet wizardry to prove it, but he also so revered as a person and even managed to win the GQ Most Stylish Man of the Year award.

So with all Federer’s success on and off the court, can he come back for another slam to add to his tally of 17? This is really the main question of 2017. Most fans believe it, most experts are doubtful. Federer is usually labelled the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) and doesn’t really need to win another slam to prove it, but the fans crave more success and it somehow feels fair to most of the tennis world for the Swiss legend to get another big title under his belt before retirement. He has been close with two Wimbledon finals in 2014-2015, both times beaten by Novak Djokovic.

It will surely be one of the interesting stories to follow as we count down to the next tennis season. And while we do we can watch Federer practice, as he aired his Dubai practice with Lucas Pouille from Dubai via Periscope.

By the way, what do you think about the new Nike Court collection? I use this myself and really like the wear, although the design can get a bit “busy” in some iterations.

Roger Federer practices live via Periscope with Lucas Pouille in Dubai.

If you want to use the same gear as Roger, besides the RF 97 Autograph racquet he has also released a signature series of tennis balls as well as a line of tennis bags and of course the above mentioned Nike gear and shoes.

Personally, I find the Federer Autograph a nice racquet, but a little bit too stiff for my taste. I do like the Nike Vapor Tour 9.5 shoes as well, but prefer the durability and stability of the Asics Gel Resolution 6, I do use the Wilson Elite RF tennis bag and find it great, but have heard that there might be some durability issues depending on usage (but I guess that goes for all bags).

I’m sure we will see more and more Federer products. Just look at the ambitious Roger Federer Collection at Nike.com and buy tennis related Federer products at Tennis Express – there seems to be almost no limits for the most powerful personal brand in sports.

It is obvious that the Federer brand is here to stay. Let’s just hope that Federer as a player stays with us for at least two more years as well. Judging by today’s practice via Periscope, he sure looks ready for a new season and it’s obvious he still is keen to work hard and fight even harder to remain a force on the ATP tour.

It’s the eternal question really (especially for us racquetholics), but for people who don’t collect or care deeply about tennis racquets, this is mainly a question of getting the right stick for your game. It can be a lengthy and potentially costly process ending pretty much nowhere, so it’s good to start in the right direction.

Choosing a tennis racquet to use can be high science but it can also be relatively simple and a lot of tennis gear sellers have tried to guide potential customers using different methods. This infographic from Tennis Express is a decent enough start.

First of all you need to ask yourself the question of who you are on the tennis court. What is your level of play? Are you fit? Do you need to bring power or tame power?

I’ve already written extensively on the subject here in a post called Choosing a tennis racquet as well as a Gear of the Year guide (2016) to name a few, but it really never ends since the racquets fall out of fashion as well as supply and new ones with new technology enter the market. Right now, the trend in the market is to focus on stiffening (increasing in power) yet vibration dampening technologies such as Countervail (Wilson), TexTreme (Prince) or Graphene (the new Touch line by Head), but who knows what’s next?

I think no beginner is really helped (unless a young child) to be playing with a frame below 300 grams, simply because there isn’t enough mass to get the ball moving in a significant way. Better to start there and then you can either use lead tape to get more mass on your racquet if that’s what you want, or tinker with tennis strings.

Since I’ve written extensively about this topic and play-tested hundreds of racquets, I will now open up for Q&A. So if you’re curious about what frame will fit you, write a comment under this post about your level (posting a link to a video of your play would be helpful of course) and playing experience and I will try my absolute best to recommend you a racquet and string combo that can work for your game. If you prefer, you can also send an e-mail to helloATtennisnerd.net and I will try my best to give you a solid recommendation.

Right now for competitive play, I use a Tecnifibre Tfight 315 ATP Ltd 16×19 strung with Solinco Hyper-G, but I’m always play-testing new racquets and strings. On my list for testing right now is the Snauwaert line of racquets and strings as well as Ytex strings.

What are you playing with right now and what is your next tennis buy? Please write in the comments below.

American up-and-coming tennis player Steve Johnson is moving from Babolat to Yonex. This gear move was revealed by professional racquet customizers P1 through their Twitter account with the following post:

It is an interesting move both for Steve Johnson (who had a breakthrough year last year with his first title in Nottingham and a string of good results landing him at #33 in the ATP world rankings) and Yonex, who obviously are trying to get their feet more firmly planted in the US market. Johnson was previously a Babolat Aero Storm user, but will now apparently be endorsing the Yonex VCORE SV series. A racquet switch can be both good and bad and even though it might play tricks on a player’s mind to start using a new racquet, it is quite hard to say no to the pay-check of the big racquet manufacturers.

Johnson and Yonex will surely hope for some kind of Wawrinka+Yonex effect which took the Swiss to three grand slam titles after moving to a Yonex VCORE 95D. If they will manage to produce good results together? Time will tell. It will be interesting to follow the Johnson+Yonex combo in 2017.