I get some questions from time to time about racquets and strings for beginners and lower-level intermediates.
I have a few thoughts around what you should look for when it comes to racquets and strings for beginners or lower-level intermediate tennis players. Check out my thoughts in my vlog below and also read our page on the best tennis racquets for beginners.
What should you be looking for?
I would look for the following attributes:
Head size: 100 sq inches or more
Weight: 300g (10.58 ounces) or below
Length: 68.6 cm or 27 inches up to 69.5 cm or 27.25 inches
Beam: Thicker than 24 mm
String pattern: 16×19 or 16×18
The key thinking is here is that: it is better to grow out of a racquet than into it. Start with something that feels relatively effortless. As your skills develop, you can either customize it or look for a new one.
Good racquets for beginners
The Wilson Clash series of racquets are all solid choices unless you go for 98 or Pro models.
Anything HEAD S is good. For example, the HEAD Gravity S, which has a lower stiffness than other choices like Speed S or Extreme S.
Babolat make some beginner-friendly frames such as the Pure Drive Team or Pure Drive 107.
If you like oversize frames for extra forgiveness/power, check out the Prince Legacy line.
Worried about arm issues, anything light from ProKennex is generally a good choice like the Ki 15 (260), which is light but still offers decent stability.
Yonex has their Astrel line focused on beginners, but I think an Ezone 100L could do the trick for example.
If you want to stand out on the court, a Lacoste L20 could be an interesting frame that offers excellent playability for players new to the game.
Summary
I hope you find something useful in this post/video. You can buy any of these racquets through one of my affiliates Tennis Warehouse, Tennis Warehouse Europe or Tennis Only and I get a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Thanks for reading/watching!
I recommend staying away from stiff racquets and those that are head-heavy. When I started playing tennis ~25 years ago, Head Titanium frames were very popular. I bought a Ti S2, could hit the ball hard without much skill, but got horrible tennis elbow and almost quit the game entirely. After months of physical therapy, I was advised by a local tennis shop to try a heavier, more flexible, head-light Pro Kennex frame (7G) and the tennis elbow did not recur. I’ve since moved on to even more flexible, more head-light Prince frames. I don’t like the unpredictability of the Wilson Clash frames, but I do think they’d be great for arm preservation for beginners.