How Often Do You Switch Racquets?

by Jonas Eriksson

I’ve been thinking about this a bit lately – because I’ve been in another period of trying out and switching racquets. It’s fun and a pain at the same time. How often do you switch racquets?

Since I like to try and review new racquets from time to time, it’s difficult for me to groove with a racquet and maintain a consistent setup for tournament play. Right now I’m playing around with mainly two racquets and setups: The HEAD IG Radical Pro and the Angell TC 97 Custom 18×20. The IG is very happy with Solinco Hyper-G as the full bed string, while I’m not convinced about the Angell with Angell’s own string Halo 1 (soft poly).

And then there’s new alluring racquets on the market such as the Wilson Ultra Tour, a low-powered frame that begs for some lead tape and a leather grip. It does appeal to me on a lot of levels. But will it improve my game or just be fun to test?

When Roger Federer moved from his Wilson Pro Staff 90 to the Wilson Pro Staff 97 Roger Federer Autograph, things really clicked for him in his game. The biggest impact on his game – he had a bigger sweet spot which resulted in more free power and far less shanks on the backhand side. Of course he introduced other changes to his game together with coaches Stefan Edberg and Ivan Ljubicic like the chip-and-charge technique later called the SABR attack and to attack a lot more on the backhand side (use less slice). But the racquet for sure helped to make these techniques easier.

So the racquet really worked for Federer and it is perhaps the most famous racquet switch in history. And the one that’s improved results the most. On the other hand, Djokovic got a big lift in his game when he moved away from Wilson to his HEAD pro stock PT113B – maybe it’s not so much the racquet as a mental change, or the switch in his diet (to gluten-free), but I’m sure confidence in your gear and what it can do for you is important.

For a happy tennis amateur maybe staying with one racquet isn’t such a key element, but if you care about winning matches, I’m sure it’s smarter to stay with a setup for a while to get accustomed to it and play your best. And this is where my head is right now personally, what will be a setup I can stick to for a year at least and not get seduced by switching to other frames I try?

I thought it would be my Angell TC 97 Custom, but I’m yet to find the string setup to unlock its undeniable potential (haven’t yet tested the Hyper-G). I’m so used to playing the Solinco Hyper-G string that maybe I need to flip the equation around and find a racquet that works well with that string. Right now that is the HEAD IG Radical Pro for me, but will see what happens in the coming weeks. I’ve made a resolution to find a new before the 2018 season and stick to that for a whole year. Let’s see if I can stick to it. I have a few months to test and find the right gear and right now there are many racquets to choose from. We have the new Wilson Ultra series, the latest Babolat Pure Drive (you can pre-order the Babolat Pure Drive now) and the coming Yonex Ezone line.

It will be an interesting journey the coming few months to find a racquet to settle down with for a longer period of time, because constantly switching racquets, which I’ve been doing for a while, isn’t great for your game.

Where are you in your racquet journey right now? What racquets are you testing, using and considering? Let me know in the comments below.

Racquet buying guides

Here is a great racquet buying guide to get you started.
What tennis racquet should I buy?
Top tennis racquets to buy right now
The Gear of the Year 2016
Tennis racquets for juniors
Tennis racquets for kids

If you want to get a new tennis racquet, check out the online shops below:

Europe
Racquet Depot
Pro Direct Tennis

USA/CANADA
Tennis Express
Do It Tennis
Amazon

You may also like

5 comments

Hermann August 14, 2017 - 14:37

Have you tried an gut / poly hybrid for your Angell TC 97? I know gut is expensive but combined with an poly like Head Hawk Rough i’m very confident with that setup in my customized Head Speed REV Pro ( weight length ect).

Reply
Tennisnerd August 15, 2017 - 08:13

Hi Hermann,
No, I’ve yet to try the Angell with a hybrid setup. Good advice! Cheers / J

Reply
Adam dixon October 7, 2017 - 22:25

Hey TN,

For about the last 5 years I’ve been using the Head IG speed Pro (335g).

(Currently have 8grams of lead in handle and Yonex Poly tour Pro at 55 pounds)

I love the racket and have never wanted to change. I’m getting a bit bored of it now and am thinking of giving some sticks in the same range of specs a go.

My question is…. whenever I do research about my IG speed pro it seems as though it doesn’t exist. No reviews for it, nothing. I have wondered if you guys have played with it and would love your feedback on it. Head don’t make them like the IG speed pro anymore.

Any reason why it’s so hard to find reviews for?

Thanks
,

Adam

Reply
Tennisnerd October 9, 2017 - 11:23

Hey Adam,
I actually used to play a bit with the IG Speed Pro – heavy beast!

At that time I felt it was too heavy to swing for me, but that was some years ago so my preferences might have changed.

Good question about the reviews! I assume that it was a quite small target market with a racquet that has such a high swing weight (345).

It’s difficult to think of a similar racquet on today’s market with those specs. There are not a lot of racquets with a weight of over 330 grams unstrung and especially not coupled with a 100 sq inch head. I would probably buy the HEAD Graphene Speed Pro and put a leather grip as well as a lot of lead tape on it to get it up to your desired weight and balance.

Otherwise you need to look into like an Prince Graphite Original or an older frame.

If you like heavy frames in general there is the Wilson Six One 95, the Yonex Duel G 330 grams and potentially an older Tecnifibre Tfight 335, but I’d recommend buying a racquet that feels pretty good and then add weight to make it “perfect”.

Let me know how it goes! Cheers / Jonas

Reply
Adam Dixon October 13, 2017 - 13:10

Thanks for your reply and for your feedback!

I’ve just bought the new Wilson six.one 95 (European exclusive colour way) frame. What worries me most is the 18×20 string pattern. I’m hoping I don’t lose my access to spin that the Speed IG Pro allows. I’ve also got off of eBay an older 16×18 Wilson six one 95.

I was talking to a mate and he thought that maybe the Head Youtek IG Speed Pro wasn’t released in America? Similar to the new Six one 95. He might be wrong.

Love the website, Cheers guys.

Adam

Reply

Leave a Comment