What are some of the best racquets on the market? Here are some of the top tennis racquets to buy right now.
Top Tennis Racquets to Buy Right Now
There are SO many racquets out there, and it is tough to list what is best. It depends on you as a player. If you struggle, you can check out our online course, ebook or consultation service.
There are many different posts on the website (and our YouTube channel) covering our recommended racquets for different players. Here are some important ones:
The Best Racquets for intermediate players
The Best Racquets for Doubles
The Best Racquets of 2022
The Best Racquets for the one-handed backhand
Tennis racquets for kids
Tennis racquets for juniors
The Best Tennis Racquets for Spin and Control
The Best Racquets for Tennis Elbow
The Best Racquets for advanced players
The Best Racquets for attacking players
The Best Power Racquets
The Best Spin Racquets
The Best Racquets for Beginners
As you can see there are LOADS of content around racquets. And we should not forget all the string recommendations we produce:
Everything you need to know about tennis strings
My top 5 strings right now
And there are of course many string reviews on the website to read if you are looking for a good string setup.
But for now, let’s focus on the most exciting racquets available right now. Let’s aim at racquets that can suit a wider demographic and player level.
The HEAD Speed MP Auxetic
The HEAD Speed MP is HEAD’s bestseller. Why? It brings a beautiful blend of qualities such as control, comfort, power, and spin, without any metric being extreme. It is also not a difficult racquet to use with a good-sized head size and a string pattern giving the player some forgiveness. Overall, it’s not hard to understand why this racquet is so popular and suits such a wide player demographic.
You can check out our HEAD Speed MP review here or purchase the racquet from our friends at Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, or Tennis Only.
Yonex Ezone 100
The Yonex Ezone series is all about ease of use. Easy power, decent comfort, some spin but still control on flatter shots. This is our favorite power racquet right now and it does most things well. The Isometric head shape of Yonex racquets allows for more forgiveness but can detract some racquet traditionalists. If you want more control, you should check out the Yonex Percept 100 Review.
You can check out our Yonex Ezone 100 review here or purchase the racquet from our friends at Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe or Tennis Only.
Babolat Pure Aero
This is an icon in the game, made an icon by an icon. The icon is Rafael Nadal and he now endorses the Pure Aero Rafa series. However, we prefer the regular Babolat Pure Aero, which offers good spin potential, despite the denser string pattern of this generation. Like the racquets above, it does most things well. Spin, power, decent comfort, and a fast feel.
You can check out our Babolat Pure Aero Review here or purchase the racquet from our friends at Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe or Tennis Only.
Wilson Shift 99
This is a new line from Wilson and has impressed tennis racquet reviewers worldwide. It combines good spin generation with a slightly tighter 16×20 string pattern (compared to most similar racquets) and offers an excellent feel on impact. Overall, a very solid and likable racquet.
You can check out our Wilson Shift Review or purchase the racquet from our friends at Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe and Tennis Only.
If you struggle with tennis elbow and want to try the best-in-class technology (using multifilament strings is also advised until you get rid of the problem) you should consider the ProKennex Ki 5, which is an arm-friendly racquet offering easy playability and power.
I hope you enjoy the list. Let me know what your racquet is and if you can recommend it to other players!
18 comments
Hi!
I plan to buy new racket but don’t know how to choose. At the moment I play Head Extreme from 2012 or 2011 and it feels pretty good, especially on clay. I have some lead tape on it at 12. But I feel I need a little bit more power.
My playing style is more from defense but when the ball is shorter I like to take my chances and attack. My serve is not so good and at the net I don’t play much. I’m baseline player, I like long rallies!
I play tennis for 7 years.
What kind of racket would you suggest?
Thanks,
Nauris
Hi,
The Head Extreme is not a bad racquet – are you using the Pro or the MP version? The extra weight of the pro will give you extra plow-through and power while the MP (midplus) might feel a bit light which in turns can land your balls short at times.
If you don’t have any arm issues and need more power – I would suggest you check out the Babolat Pure Drive. It offers lots of power and spin and is really easy to use. I wrote a post on the latest edition: https://tennisnerd.net/gear/racquets/racquet-review-babolat-pure-drive-with-fsi/3783
If you like to stay with HEAD, the Head Extreme IG Pro is a really good racquet. You could also check out the new MxG 3, which is a very powerful new racquet on the market: https://tennisnerd.net/gear/racquets/head-mxg-3-5-racquet-review/5501
Another one I would check out is the Wilson Burn CV 100 which is powerful but has a nice, dampened response: https://tennisnerd.net/reviews/wilson-burn-with-countervail-review/4394
Let me know how it goes! Good luck on the court.
Cheers / Jonas
Hello Jonas,
Any tips on what racket(s) or string setups to try given my history below? Medium swing length, progressed over the years from flatter ground strokes to more shapely topspin throughout the periods below but am not an extreme topspinner.
– Beginner/Intermediate: 2006 – started off on Lite version Babolat Aero
– Lower Intermediate: 2012-2015 – Pure Drive Roddick (loved the mega power for serves)
– Higher Intermediate: 2015 – Head Graphene XT Radical Pro (RPM Blast) – started off with Radical Lite – skipped MP.
– Higher Intermediate/Advanced: 2017 – current set up as above one strung at 58 one at 62. No customisations.
Also tried original Babolat Pure Strike 2 years ago (the original ‘black’ one – and liked it but it didn’t quite have the power of my current set up or at least that’s what I thought at the time). Only other racket I have tried was the Babolat Aero Drive which felt like a blunderbus to a scalpel!
As an experiment I dug out my Roddick 2012 Pure Drive last week (with very old RPM Blast strings probably around 56 tension) and could not believe how much more ‘easy’ power/ ploughthrough it was still generating … not good for improving my technique as you can get away with flatter shots that stay deep (which I’ve moved away from) but still, I’d forgotten how much serve power it can generate.
I want to try and get a bit more power back (particularly for serves – although it might be a string tension/type change) and was about to try some of the following rackets:
– retry the Babolat Pure strike (which version would you recommend VS Tour 16×20?) and the Babolat Pure Drive Tour
– the Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph (2016 – black one)
– or try a few different heads e.g. Mx3G (when available), Head Graphene XT Extreme Pro – any others?
– was looking at the Yonex range too.
An advice greatly appreciated..
Hi Martin,
Thanks for your comment.
Nice to see your path of improvement. Seems like you’re a focused and keen tennis player. The sport is much more fun this way!
Back to your question. You’ve played with some stiff/powerful setups so it doesn’t seem like you have any arm problems. This is good news.
Power is a seductive and I’m on a bit of a “power trip” myself at the moment where I’m testing the new Babolat Pure Strike 16×19. Judging by your history of racquets I think you’d really like that stick. I’ve been enjoying it a great deal and are currently using it with a leather grip and strips of lead at 3 and 9 which lands it around 340 grams and a balance of 32 cm.
The Pure Drive Tour and the Roddick is pretty much the same racquet. but if you really liked the Roddick this might be the stick for you. My issue with the Pure Drive is that I get too much power and I prefer really being able to “hit out” so it wouldn’t work for me, but if it’s power you want I think this can do the trick.
The Wilson Pro Staff RF 97 plays nice but is a very heavy racquet so unless you are ready for 355 grams strung – I wouldn’t go for this one.
The HEAD MxG 3 is interesting, but I would really recommend leading it up a bit to get more stability (counterbalancing it in the handle of course).
Yonex racquets are great. I still have my customized Yonex Ai 98s in my bag although I play with the Pure Strikes. It’s hard for me not recommend the Yonex DR 98 and I’ve heard good things about the Yonex SV 98 too.
So you have some interesting options ahead of you. If you have the opportunity to demo racquets where you live I would start with the Pure Strikes and the Yonex DR 98 and take it from there.
Let me know how it goes and good luck!
Cheers / Jonas
Many thanks – much appreciated…
Hi,
I want to buy Head PT630 /PT57A.
Can you guide me?
I currently play with Wilson RF97, 2016 but find it stiff.
I am 47 yrs old(90 kgs) and ex-boxer, so racquet weight is not a problem.
Please advise.
Regards
Karan
Mumbai
India
Hi,
Yes, the Wilson RF 97 is rather stiff. Check out eBay and prostocktennis.com and you might find a PT630 at a good price!
Cheers / Jonas
Hi Jonas
I played with the Head Youtek Radical Pro for several years until they were recently stolen. I’m now in the market for a new racquet.
I enjoyed the combination of control and power from my old racquet which I have not been able to replicate with other newer model Head racquets.
The Head Graphene Touch Speed Pro seems to come close., though it has more control and spin than power. But the stiffness of the frame wears out my arm after 90 minutes of playing.
It has been quite some time since I last tried a different brand of racquet. Would you have any suggestions?
Hi Amish,
The HEAD Youtek Radical Pro was not an easy racquet to swing, but offered good plow-through and control. Since the racquet you are used to had such a low stiffness rating, it’s not easy to find a modern equivalent. If you’re intent on 100 sq inch racquets – these are a few I would check out:
Prince Textreme Warrior and Textreme 100P are modern, arm-friendly racquets that could do the trick. Especially the 100P should fit you.
I’m a bit surprised to hear that you find the Graphene Touch Speed Pro stiff since it has a rather low stiffness rating and muted feel. I’ve heard many good things about the first iteration of the HEAD Graphene Radical Pro – could potentially be a bit stiff for you however, but it is a nice feeling racquet!
I would also check out Volkl V-sense 1 Pro and Yonex DR 98 (this has a slightly smaller head, but a good-sized sweet spot).
Another option is to try and find a used HEAD Youtek Radical Pro on eBay or other used sites?
Good luck and let me know how it goes! Cheers / Jonas
Could you answer me, are there many differences between Head Graphene Touch Speed MP, Graphene Touch Extreme MP and Graphene Touch Instinct MP? The specifications are practically the same…
Hi,
Agree a hundred percent that it is very confusing for consumers. My take on it is like this:
Extreme MP is very stiff/powerful
Instinct MP is medium stiff/power (the racquet I like the least of the bunch personally)
Speed MP is more controlled and flexible, but not like old Prestiges.
Both Extreme MP and Speed MP played quite nice to me, but I did get some arm pain with a stiff poly in the Extreme MP and I rarely suffer from arm issues.
Cheers / Jonas
I started out with a a Wilson HyperHammer 6.2, a 110 sq inch racquet. My coach then gave an old Wilson ProStaff nCode SixOne to try out, and it had great feel and also kept my technique from deteriorating. It was 95 sq in and 333 grams. I like slicing, and was wondering what you would suggest. I am trying out Yonex eZone DR 98, Babolat PureStrike and Wilson ProStaff RF autograph edition
Hi Andy,
The nCode Six One 95 is an excellent racquet! You can get a new Six One cheap today if you want to get the same feel. Otherwise I think your demo list makes sense if you’re completely open to what racquet you should have. The difference in weight between the RF97A and the DR98 and Pure Strike is quite big however. For a similar feel to the nCode the RF97A comes really close. Good luck! Cheers / J
The RF97A ended up hurting my hand after a few minutes. I tried a bunch of different racquets from Head, Yonex, Wilson and Babolat. I liked the Yonex eZone 98 (not the DR), now I am trying Babolat Pure Aero, eZone 100 and Volkl V-Sense V1 MP.
Of the ones I tried so far, I still like the nCode Six.One 95 and Yonex eZone 98.
Hi, I plan to buy a new racket to replace my Wilson Prostaff 97 (315g). I’m looking for something similar but with a little more control and flexibility. The Graphene Touch Pro Speed ??Head, is a good option ?, or the previous version Head Speed ??XT pro ?. Or the Yonex VCORE pro 97 (310g) ?. Thank you very much!
Hi,
Of the ones you mention, the VCORE Pro 97 310 (or the previous version) or Wilson Blade 98 18×20 could be good options for you. I also believe the HEAD Graphene Touch Prestige Tour (I have one for sale, by the way) is a great control-friendly and comfortable option. Hope you find something you like! Cheers / Jonas
I played the Head Graphene Touch Radical MP, Speed MP and Extreme MP. I felt the Extreme MP wasn’t that good. I liked the feel of Speed MP more but it had Babolat Addiction 16 strings, while the Radical MP had a different string and a far more muted feel.
I will most likely go with Speed MP. I don’t think strings will make enough of a difference to change the muted feel of the Radical MP
Hello,
What would you recommend for a beginner/intermediate player between the Prince Textreme Warrior 107 and the Head Ti.S6?
Thanks in advance
Ryan