Choosing the Perfect Racquet

In tennis, it is essential that you have the right racquet according to your skill level as well as playing style. If you have the wrong racquet, you will likely have problems with improving your game and really ensuring that you can play the best game possible. A good racquet should help you improve slowly, while a poorly matching racquet can cause you problems with playing, much less improving. If you are working with a good coach, they should be able to give you some tips on selecting the perfect racquet for your individual needs, however in the meantime there are some basic guidelines that you can follow to help you until you get the best advice from your coach.

If you are just an occasional player or if you look to start playing it would be a wise decision to purchase what is called a power racquet. This is a racquet that is designed to give more control and support in how the racquet is handled. This works perfectly for those with just beginning skills because it helps to compensate for the lack of skills that you have currently. By providing a much larger head, you have a much greater area that you can hit the ball with. This is very important for those who are not always the most accurate with their swings. In addition, a power racquet provides a much heavier head, which is effective in helping to give more actual power when you are swinging the racquet; this allows greater force to hit the ball, which will provide a much stronger return.

The next racquet that is good for intermediate players is called a tweener racquet. This tends to be much lighter than a power racquet and it provides you with a choice of a large or a small head to allow you to move between the two depending upon your exact skill level as well as how well you can play. If your accuracy is good you can use a smaller head, if you are still working to hone your accuracy skills then a larger head will be a good idea even with this racquet style. The good news about tweener racquets is that they are much longer than a power racquet. This will allow you to learn more control as well as power from your own strength and skills, rather than just what the racquet provides you with.

Your next step up the ladder is called a control racquet. These are typically much heavier and provide a much smaller head size than a power racquet and many of the tweener racquets. Before you move onto a control racquet, you need to have some fairly basic skills established first. A control racquet will generally allow you to have more control during your game, but at the same time, you are losing some of the power that a power racquet game you to start with. This makes it highly important that you are capable of providing enough power in your swing to handle the ball appropriately. If you are not strong enough to handle it without a power racquet then you will need to avoid a control racquet for a little while.

If you are just starting to play tennis you should always seek the advice of your coach before you actually purchase a racquet. If you have been playing a while then you should wait until your coach tells you to change to a new racquet. This will allow you to use the racquet that is best suited to your particular skill level. While your skill level does come into play, it is also important to ensure that you pick out a racquet that is appropriate for you based upon your size, for example someone who is only 3 or 4 feet tall would need a shorter racquet than someone who is taller. Always take your time selecting a racquet to ensure that you are using the most appropriate racquet possible.

Choosing the Perfect Tennis Shoes

As you can imagine tennis is a very high impact sport, this alone creates a huge need for a good pair of highly appropriate shoes that are designed to last a long time and ensure that you have the durability as well as comfort that you need. If the shoes that you choose are not good for your skills then you are going to be looking at very sore feet and legs, potential problems with your back, a less than stellar game and massive discomfort. This is simply not acceptable during the middle of a match. You do not want to be uncomfortable so the need to have a good pair of sturdy shoes is greatly important.

You should first always ensure that you know the exact size of your foot. This is not a case of guessing that your size is approximately an eight is good enough. You need to know the exact size, without this information you could purchase the wrong size, which could cause your feet to be pinched, or could cause blisters if the shoes are too large. If you are not positive on the shoe size that you wear you need to see a professional at the shoe store to determine your shoe size before you do anything else.

Your next step is to determine what type of foot you have. The three major types are ideal, pronated and supinated. Depending on the exact type of your foot, your choice of shoes will be impacted. Not all shoes are suitable for all feet types. If you have a supinated foot then you should not pick out a pair of shoes that are designed for the ideal foot type. You need to know exactly how you stand on your foot in order to know the type of feet that you have. An ideal foot would wear the shoes evenly all across the bottom. Someone with a supinated foot would wear the shoes on the outside heavily, while the inside of the shoe was virtually untouched. A pronated foot would wear heavily the inside of the foot and often the arch area is badly worn as well. A pronated foot typically has a much higher risk of injury so having the proper shoes is not a luxury but a requirement.

Once you have determined shoe size and foot type you can then move onto finding the shoes that are most suitable for you based upon style and comfort level. Many tennis players decide to wear a particular brand of shoe and only wear that brand. This often happens simply because they find a brand that fits their foot well. You should always stick to the brands that fit well before you start looking at new brands simply because you know how well the brand will perform.

If you can afford to purchase them, you should also look to purchase brand name tennis shoes. While a lesser known brand is the perfect opportunity to save some money, they are not likely to be as comfortable nor last as long, which will ultimately make them a very poor decision. Tennis is a sport where you are on your feet the entire time you are playing; this combined with the sudden movements means that shoes is not an area where you should be pinching pennies.

You also need to look for a pair of shoes that provides a great amount of lateral support. This is what will help prevent your ankle from twisting as you run back and forth sideways across the court. If your shoes offer no lateral support, you are increasing the risk of a sprained or twisted ankle. Always ensure that you have plenty of lateral support before you purchase the shoes.

Your last consideration should be finding a pair of shoes that are lightweight. Remember you will be moving quickly across the court so you need to ensure that you have plenty of energy, heavy shoes will weight you down and make it quite difficult to move as fast as you need to move. However, a good sturdy pair of lightweight shoes that provide ample cushioning and lateral support will be your best investment.