HEAD Extreme Team L

Okay, you might dig or not dig the avocado-style cosmetic, but the HEAD Extreme racquets are good. The HEAD Extreme Team L is the lightest racquet in the line-up and has a generous 105 sq inch head size. In my opinion, you don’t need to go larger than that, even as a beginner. Check out our HEAD Extreme Team L review here. You can purchase the racquet at Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, or Amazon.

Wilson Clash 108 V2

The Wilson Clash is a great line for beginners thanks to its focus on comfort and ease of use. The 108 is the largest head size and is forgiving and light to swing. You can check out our Clash V2 Review here. You can purchase the Clash 108 from Wilson, Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, Tennis Only or Amazon.

Yonex Ezone 105

The Yonex Ezone is a great line focused on giving power with good dampening and a large sweet spot. The 105 is between Ezone 100 (which is also great) and Ezone 110. We think it’s fine for beginners to lower-level intermediates to go for the 105. Check it out at Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, Tennis Only or Amazon.

Versatile racquets

The intermediate category in tennis is huge and depends on your play style, physical ability, and if you’re a strong intermediate or somewhere in the middle. Since these depend heavily on personal style and taste, we will give our general recommendations. For in-depth help, we recommend a consultation.

Prince ATS Tour 100P

This is a great racquet with a good feel and comfort and a nice blend of spin and power. It’s overall an excellent racquet for a wide group of players. You can check out our Prince ATS Tour review here. The 98 is a great choice for more advanced players. You can find these racquets at Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, and Tennis Only.

Wilson Blade 100 V8

The Blade 100 is not as controlled as the Blade 98 and not as powerful as a Wilson Shift, but it plays with great control, feel and comfort. You can check out our Wilson Blade 100 V8 review here (link to YouTube). You can purchase the Blade 100 at Wilson, Amazon, Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe and Tennis Only.

Dunlop CX 400 Tour

This racquet is often overlooked and it’s now at a lower price point. Easy to swing, connected feel, it is very hard to find issues with it. Check out our Dunlop CX 400 Tour review here. You can purchase it at Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, Tennis Only, or Amazon.

Another racquet worth mentioning in this category is the HEAD Speed MP, which offers a nice blend of abilities, similar to the racquets above. And it comes with a pro version for players looking for more control.

Spin racquets

If you hit with a lot of spin and like your racquet to accentuate your playing style, there are racquets made for that type of game style.

Babolat Pure Aero 2023

The latest Aero introduces better dampening and a denser string pattern for control on flatter shots. Both are good things! This racquet should appeal to players who like to create a lot of spin on the ball while still maintaining control. If you prefer a more open string pattern with a higher launch angle, check out the Pure Aero Rafa. You can purchase the Babolat Pure Aero 2023 at Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, Tennis Only, and Amazon.

Slightly more advanced players can try the Pure Aero 98, which is also excellent.

Wilson Shift 99

The Shift is a new line from Wilson with racquets that try to balance spin and control in a quite innovative way. Despite a 16×20 pattern, a 99 sq inch head size and a 23.5 mm beam, the Shift 99 packs a punch and offers good spin. Most players will agree that this racquet performs great. Check out our Wilson Shift 99 Review. You can purchase it at Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, Tennis Only, Wilson and Amazon.

There is a Wilson Shift Pro for more advanced players.

HEAD Extreme MP

The spin category is full of good racquets because it has been a focus of the racquet companies in recent years. In the end, I picked the Extreme MP because I feel like it has a better feel and control than many other racquets in this genre. The VCORE racquets from Yonex are not bad options, but we felt like they were a bit too lively in the latest generation. You can check out our Extreme MP review here. You can purchase it at Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, Tennis Only, and Amazon.

For more advanced players, we are big fans of the HEAD Extreme Tour.

Prince Ripstick 300

This racquet puts a smile on your face with its ability to spin the ball and generate a generous amount of power. Thanks to the O-ports it is also relatively comfortable. Check out our Prince Ripstick 300 review.

You can purchase the Prince Ripstick 300 at Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, and Tennis Only.

Power racquets

Power racquets give you the maximum amount of speed in the weight and head size class. It usually means a stiffer racquet with a thicker beam. Compared to the spin racquets, these give more power but often have denser string patterns for more control on flatter shots.

Yonex Ezone 100

This is a great power frame as it combines power and a forgiving sweet spot with good dampening and surprising directional control. Check out our Yonex Ezone 100 Review here. You can purchase it at Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, Tennis Only, and Amazon.

Many advanced players prefer the Yonex Ezone 98 or even the Ezone 98 Tour for more control.

Dunlop FX 500

Dunlop racquets can easily be overlooked as you don’t see them as often on the tour, but the latest FX series performs well in terms of ease of use, good power, and better comfort than the predecessor. Check out our Dunlop FX 500 review. You can purchase it at Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, Tennis Only, and Amazon.

HEAD Instinct MP

The third choice was tough. The Wilson Ultra 100 V4 didn’t quite convince us. The Babolat Pure Drive is popular, but we find it a bit too stiff. The Tecnifibre TF-X1 is fun, but a bit too lively. But the Instinct is still around and it’s still a very solid racquet. Good control, above-average comfort, high level of playability. And…not least, a low price point. Check out our HEAD Instinct MP review. They have updated the cosmetic since then, but the design is the same. Will we see an Instinct with Auxetic tech? That remains to be seen.

You can purchase this racquet from Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, or Amazon.

Control racquets

There are loads of control racquets on the market. Some require a high level of player, some are a bit more forgiving. Remember that you can go for the same racquet line, but try a heavier or larger head size from the same racquets.

Yonex Percept 97

Sadly, the demo racquet we got was below spec, which we mentioned in our Yonex Percept 97 review. But once we added some weight to it to get it up around the listed specification, it played great. Quite forgiving for the head size, but with good control and stability. There is much to love here for control fans. And for you who want a similar feel but more forgiveness can check out other racquets in the line such as the 100 or 100D. There is nothing wrong with the heavier versions, like the 97H but they are not for the faint of heart.

You can purchase this racquet from Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, Tennis Only or Amazon.

HEAD Radical MP Auxetic

Not sure whether to place this in the versatile category or the control category. It’s somewhere in between. But thanks to its control and user-friendliness, it’s been my racquet of choice for the last year. If you want more pinpoint precision and feel, you should probably go to the HEAD Prestige Pro, but it’s a lot more demanding. The Radical MP does nothing exceptionally, but everything pretty well.

Check out our HEAD Radical MP review. You can purchase the Radical MP from Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, Tennis Only or Amazon.

Wilson Blade 98

You cannot have a control racquet list without including the Blade 98, as it is one of the more popular control racquets of all time and for a good reason. It offers a good feel, comfort, and control. Pick which string pattern suits you best, 16×19 or 18×20.

Check out our Wilson Blade 98 Review. We believe the 16×19 version is the best one for most players. You can purchase the Blade 98 from Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, Tennis Only, Amazon or Wilson.

Tecnifibre TF40

Tecnifibre have made some excellent control racquets of late. The best one in our humble opinion is the TF40. It offers impressive control, feel and playability. The grip shape is more rectangular than you what you might be used to, so worth testing before you buy if possible.

You can check out our Tecnifibre TF40 Review here. Like with the Blade, we enjoyed both 16×19 and 18×20 versions. Both the 16×19 should have a wider appeal. You can purchase the TF40 from Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, Tennis Only, or Amazon.

Solinco Whiteout 18×20

Solinco are more famous for their strings, but they have recently launched a few excellent control racquets called the Whiteout series. We have not tried their XTD (longer) version, which many rave about. We did however enjoy the standard length Solinco Whiteout 18×20 a lot. A very solid, well-dampened and reliable response.

You can purchase the Solinco Whiteout 18×20 from Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Only, or Amazon.

Comfort racquets

If you struggle with tennis elbow, shoulder pain, or wrist issues, it’s important to play with a comfortable setup (if you can play at all, make sure to do all the necessary rehab, strength, and conditioning to get into playing shape). You can read more about tennis elbow here.

I would say that the string and tension are more important for a tennis elbow than a comfortable racquet. You can play with a comfortable racquet, but the wrong string and tension might still lead to issues. Excellent comfort strings are multifilament strings like HEAD Velocity MLT, Tecnifibre Triax, Babolat Xalt and Wilson NXT.

If want to play with a polyester string, consider a softer one or at least a tension lower than 50 lbs.

Wilson Clash 100 Tour

The Wilson Clash is a good comfort line of racquets. The 98 offers more control, while the Tour is more forgiving and suits a wider demographic of players. You can check out our Wilson Clash V2 racquet review to find out more.

You can purchase the Wilson Clash 100 Pro V2 at Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, Tennis Only, Wilson and Amazon.

ProKennex Ki Q+5

ProKennex have a specific system to reduce shock called Kinetic. You can read more about it in our ProKennex Ki Q+5 review. If you shake the racquet, it makes a sound like a maracas, but does not affect playability or feel.

You can purchase the ProKennex Ki Q+5 at Tennis Warehouse and Tennis Warehouse Europe.

Volkl V1 Evo

Volkl are pretty good at making arm-friendly racquets with high playability and the V1 Evo is one of more shining examples. It’s one of those racquets that does most things well, but like most comfort racquet, it can create a little bit of a catapult effect in the string bed.

You can purchase the Volkl V1 Evo at Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, Tennis Only, or Amazon.

Fun racquets!

What on earth is a category called “fun racquets”? Well, this is here for players who like a racquet that stands out but is perhaps not the best choice in match play. For you who just want something extra fun in the bag for when inspiration strikes.

Babolat Pure Aero Rafa Origin

Have you ever wondered how you would play if you had Rafa’s racquet in your hand? Well, unless you can get your hands on Nadal’s actual racquet, the Babolat Pure Aero Rafa Origin is as close as you can get. It hits the ball with impressive force and has the stability of a tank. Not easy to swing over a full match, but for a fun hit, this one is high on the list!

You can purchase the Babolat Pure Aero Rafa Origin at Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe, Tennis Only, or Amazon.

HEAD Prestige Classic 2.0

A blast from the past! The HEAD Prestige Classic was the choice of players like Goran Ivanisevic and Marat Safin. Now it’s reintroduced to the market and it’s still going strong. Sure, a 90-inch head size won’t be the most forgiving, but I think a lot of players will get surprising amounts of power out of such a small head size. And the feel and control is, of course, sublime! A must-try. You can check out our HEAD Prestige Classic 2.0 review here.

You can purchase the HEAD Prestige Classic 2.0 at Tennis Warehouse, and Tennis Warehouse Europe.

Wilson Pro Staff 85

Another icon was brought back a while ago. With players like Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, Stefan Edberg and Jim Courier using this frame, it is by far the racquet with the most Grand Slam titles to its name. You can check out our Wilson Pro Staff 85 review here.

You can purchase the Wilson Pro Staff 85 from Tennis Warehouse and Tennis Only.

Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph

This is such a popular racquet among club players. But the fact is also that it’s a very demanding racquet and can lead to timing issues and tennis elbow when used by weaker players. Still, it’s an icon used by an icon and a beautiful racquet to hit with a bit from time to time. It’s kind of a celebration of Roger’s amazing career and is practically the racquet he used for the last five years of his career.

You can read our Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph review here. I have noticed that this is very difficult to find for sale online. Maybe Wilson is planning a new cosmetic for this racquet in 2024? Time will tell!

The RF97A is still available through Tennis Only as far as I can see, which makes me curious about a possible new version.

Summary

We try to test pretty much every mainstream racquet that comes out. We always do so with an open mind and we try to include a team of play-testers to get different opinions. Based on all that, we have selected these recommended racquets. There are many to choose from in the list, but if you’re looking for power, spin, control or comfort, there shouldn’t be an overwhelming amount of recommendations.

If you’re unsure about what would suit you, it might be worth investing (50 bucks) into a Tennisnerd consultation to get a list of useful racquets based on your game, style, and level.

We will create a similar page for strings and other products because this is one of our most common requests.

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