Types of Tennis Racquets

To better understand why I’ve selected and recommended the tennis racquets in this article, it’s helpful to understand the different types of tennis racquets. They are as follows:
- Power
- Control (players)
- Tweener
- Modern players
Let’s do a quick review of each racquet below to highlight the differences and the type of player that will benefit from each.
Power Racquets
As the name suggests, manufacturers have designed this category of tennis racquets to provide players with easy access to power. To accomplish this, you’ll typically find these racquets have the following attributes:
- Large head size
- Stiff frame
- Open string pattern
- Lighter weight
The larger head sizes increase a player’s margin for error when swinging, which, combined with the stiff frame and open string pattern, return more energy to the ball and provide easier access to power. At the same time, the lightweight frames make them easier to swing and handle.
This combination of attributes ensures they’re a popular option for beginners and an older generation of tennis players who still enjoy the game late into their lives but need something lighter and easier to handle.
You may also hear these referred to these as game improvement racquets. A reference to how this type of racquet can help take a player’s skills from beginner to intermediate.
Control (Players) Racquets
On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have a selection of tennis racquets that emphasize control and are often called players racquets.
The following attributes are frequently shared as part of this category of racquets to help provide players with more precision:
- Smaller head size
- Flexible frame
- Closed string pattern
- Heavier weight
The above features combine to produce a frame that delivers more control to players while requiring a finely tuned technique to generate power, aided by the frame’s weight.
Of course, the smaller head size reduces a player’s margin for error, and heavier racquets are more demanding for an inexperienced player to maneuver. As a result, I don’t recommend control racquets for beginners.
Earlier, I mentioned that Roger Federer’s racquet typically isn’t an ideal choice for beginners. That’s because it’s one of the heaviest control racquets on the market that will tend to frustrate a new player and generally is a better option for players to consider once their skills develop.
Helpful Tip
Many new players read the description for control racquets and quickly conclude that buying a control racquet will solve all their problems and keep the ball in the court.
It’s important to note that while the design of a control racquet will enhance a player’s ability to control and direct the ball, it’s typically not a difference that a beginner will detect as it’s nuanced.
Tweener Racquets
At first glance, the name of this racquet might throw you off, but this is a common category of tennis racquets that strive to provide a balance between power and control racquets, i.e., somewhere in-between, which is how they get their name.
As you’d expect, their attributes tend to fall somewhere in the middle:
- Mid-sized head
- Balanced flex, frequently with a lean toward a higher stiffness rating
- Open string pattern
- Mid-range weight
All in all, you’ll tend to see a broader mix of attributes associated with tweener racquets as manufacturers tweak them to appeal to a variety of different styles of play.
With that said, I tend to see adults consider power racquets as an option, while younger players who are just starting tend to gravitate toward tweener racquets.
The truth is, they can be a fantastic option for both groups of players and provide a terrific starting point while allowing players to grow into them.
Modern Players Racquets
For years, the control or players racquet was the go-to choice for many advanced and professional tennis players.
However, with the rising of polyester tennis strings in the 90s and early 2000s, a new kind of tennis racquet emerged, which is now often referred to as a modern players racquet.
Here are the attributes that you can expect from this style frame:
- Mid-sized head, although often slightly on the smaller side
- Balanced flex, frequently with a lean toward a higher stiffness rating
- Open string pattern
- Heavier weight
In many ways, the modern player’s racquet is a slightly heavier version of the tweener tennis racquet, usually with a 98 or 100 sq in head size.
These frames deliver excellent spin while having plenty of mass for the stability needed to hang with heavy-hitting players.
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