[Tennis] Learning to play

W

whazup911

So my friends and I recently started to play tennis, but we haven't played in a couple of years (since highschool).

Currently we are using some old rackets a few years old that makes a weird high pitch noise, rather than the low solid tone, and we are using the orange Penn balls to make it easier for us to distinguish our own balls.

Any TWer pros out there that can give us some recommendations when it comes to rackets and types of tennis balls?
 
I like prince racquets. Granted once you get to a certain dollar amount it is hard to distinguish between racquets but I think dollar for dollar prince puts out a better racquet than Wilson, Head, Dunlop, Fischer, and Gamma in the sub $120 range.

I never have put much thought into what balls to use... Most the ones I have are Penn... i Think penn 6. :shrug:

I love summertime, I spend hours at the courts until the lights kick off on us after my music lessons. I hang a paper with an open challenge to all my students to beat me in tennis and normally have someone to play every single night.
 
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The sound probably has more to do with your strings than your racket. If you haven't had it restrung in the past year, do it.

As for rackets, find a place that allows you to take them out for a week to demo them and try a few out. It's all personal preference.

The tennis balls... if you can tell a difference between tennis balls of different brand, then you have got to be a tennis god. I don't think anyone can tell as long as are they new/fairly new. Don't use super old balls, they are cheap, buy a ton.
 
dubs said:
The sound probably has more to do with your strings than your racket. If you haven't had it restrung in the past year, do it.

As for rackets, find a place that allows you to take them out for a week to demo them and try a few out. It's all personal preference.

The tennis balls... if you can tell a difference between tennis balls of different brand, then you have got to be a tennis god. I don't think anyone can tell as long as are they new/fairly new. Don't use super old balls, they are cheap, buy a ton.
Click to expand...

people with better balls have more control
 
Psyc said:
people with better balls have more control
Click to expand...
It's true.

Get your rackets restrung, new balls, and if necessary, over-grips for your rackets. It's surprisingly important to have a proper diameter grip.

The proper way to measure it is to grip your racket with one hand, and if you can just fit your index finger from your other hand into the gap between your fingers/palm with a closed grip, then it's just right.

If not, get an over-grip and adjust accordingly.
 
I can't hit with the new tennis racquets. I'm used to playing with the old, heavier huge oversized frames.

Meanwhile I don't understand how people generate power with the super lightweight ones and still manage to keep the ball in play.
 
You can't go wrong with Head... The Prestige is a great racket.. very solid and controllable...

it really depends on your style of play...

I found that Dunlops are the cheapest balls, but they last a long time...

For strings, get some comp nylons... they have a good feel and last a long time.. everytime i used gut or high spin strings, i'd bust them within 30 minutes.. that's why i use comp nylons.. strong and you don't lose a lot of spin control
 
Livingdeath said:
I can't hit with the new tennis racquets. I'm used to playing with the old, heavier huge oversized frames.

Meanwhile I don't understand how people generate power with the super lightweight ones and still manage to keep the ball in play.
Click to expand...


Lots of head speed and spin... The new rackets are lighter, but pack a big punch..
 
Write your name on your balls with a black permanent marker. Add your phone number too if you want to throw your balls at random women. Sometimes, they'll take a look at your balls. If the girl is good at metal work, she might even ask you to come over and bring your balls and you can make a racquet/racket together.
 
I have a racket that was pretty expensive when I played in high school, but found that I preferred the weight and feel of a $40 racket rather than a $200 one. I ended up buying two of the cheaper racket in case the strings broke on one during match day...and I still have them now, 8 years later.

It's all personal preference...don't let a price tag fool you into thinking that you'll like it more if it costs more.
 
i bought like a $200 racket 3 years ago.

kind of stupid b/c i was just playing around.

if i were you i'd spend the money on some private lessons. tennis is a highly technical sport. sure you can hit the ball around and it will go to the other side, but you're just going to plateau if you don't know the exact mechanics.

i decided that this fall im going to take lessons and learn tennis correctly. im going learn from scratch and learn all the basic fundamentals. hopefully i dont have too many bad habits.

edit: check out the amazon deal of the day
 
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AS for the rackets, they were $40~ rackets as well.... so I really don't see the point in getting them restrung, so I'm trying to opt to get a new racket with solid built instead.
 
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