When you play tennis, having the right tennis racquet is important. While junior racquets are available most adults should use an adult-sized tennis racquet. Before discussing how to chose the right racquet, you should be aware that some tennis racquets are just not well-suited for beginners.
Tennis rackets designed for advanced players with heavy handles and light heads (the woven part of the racket) as well as ultra-light tennis rackets aren't good for beginners to learn to play. Aside from these two extremes, there are many choices available for the beginning tennis player.
Tennis racquets are generally classified in three ways, as beginner, tweener (intermediate) and advanced racquets. You can usually rule out the advanced racquets and save that browsing experience for once you've learned to play the game and feel that a better racquet can improve your score. For now, start with the beginner tennis racquets.
If you looked at prices of advanced tennis racquets, don't be discouraged. You never have to pay hundreds of dollars for a tennis racquet unless you want to. You can start out playing tennis with a decent beginner racquet that costs between $20 and $30. Usually these inexpensive racquets are made of aluminum. While some advanced players can't use aluminum racquets because they hit too hard and aluminum is too flexible, beginners just learning the techniques of the tennis swing should be able to use an aluminum racquet with no problems.
If you're confident in your learning abilities and think you'll quickly out pace a beginner's aluminum tennis racquet, then invest a little more in a graphite tennis racquet. You probably won't find one for less than $70 or $75 dollars, with high end rackets costing as much as a few hundred dollars.
The weight and balance of the racquet is an important consideration, too. A racquet that's too light tends to let you absorb almost all of the impact of each return or serve, while a heavier racquet offers some shock absorbing properties to your arm. A racquet that's too heavy can quickly cause arm muscle fatigue, though. Look for a tennis racquet between 10 and 11.5 ounces, as a happy medium.
How the tennis racket is balanced, whether the handle is heavier or lighter than head, depends on your playing skill, too. Advanced players like light heads they can maneuver more quickly. But a beginning player would do best by using a tennis racquet that's close to evenly balanced.
Beginner's tennis rackets will come pre-strung with moderate tension, and this is a good place to start, so don't even worry about custom stringing. But do consider an oversized tennis racquet with a head size of up to 115 square inches. Unless you're a great athlete who will quickly master basic tennis techniques, you'll want to start with an oversized racquet that has a bigger contact area But don't go above about 115 square inches to avoid a tennis racket that's so big you can't control your swing.
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