Category: Tennis Racquets

Expert advice about tennis racquets from Racquet Network in Calgary.

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Yonex Anti-Vibration Technology

REDUCED VIBRATIONEvery racquet manufacturer deals with the issue of unwanted and potentially unhealthy tennis racquet vibrations in a slightly different way. However, most create a break in the kinetic chain somewhere between the string bed and the player’s arm in order to interrupt the vibrations before they get to the player’s elbow.

Babolat ™, for example, places a Cortex system above the handle and just below the throat on several of their high-end frames while Wilson ™goes even further by separating the racquet’s loop from the rest of the frame with their famous Triad technology.

The problem with this method is twofold. First, creating a physical break in the continuity of the frame creates an unpredictable flex point. Second, physical breaks in continuity can lead to a loss of racquet head feel or “touch” for some players.

With this in mind, Yonex ™ takes a different approach to vibration dampening in their Ezone Ai tennis racquets. Rather than creating a physical break in the frame’s continuity, they have adopted a variation on the “solid feel” technology built into their high-end badminton racquets.

First, Yonex places eight shockless grommets at the bottom of their tennis racquets. Then, to reduce vibrations even further, they fill the racquet handle with Quake Shut Gel. The result: a 50% reduction in vibrations compared to conventional tennis racquets.

To get an idea of how much of a difference this makes to players with tennis elbow, take a look at the video above and note the two bottles of water. The bottle on the right is experiencing fewer vibrations because it is sitting on pad made of Quake Shut Gel.

This approach to vibration dampening is not new to Yonex. All of their world class Japanese-made badminton frames feature Solid Feel Core technology which is virtually the same thing. By adapting this technology to tennis frames, Yonex has given the Yonex Ezone series of tennis racquets exceptional anti-vibration capabilities without breaking the kinetic chain and sacrificing frame stiffness.

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The Other Side of the Net

Tennis HandshakeIn an average year, Racquet Network staff sell racquets to more than 2000 customers. Some know exactly what they want when they walk through our doors, but most do not. Most need some help.

In order to ensure that we are connecting customers with racquets that are properly suited to their needs, we ask a series of questions that focus on frequency and style of play. The frequency questions are easy for most people. Most customers tend to have a good idea of how often they will be playing with the racquet they are buying.

The more difficult questions are those related to the customer’s style of play. Most people haven’t really thought about how they play. Are you an attacker or a defender? Are you a pounder or a placer? What are your biggest weapons: serves, serve returns, volleys, drop shots or something else?

They way you play matters. If your game is based on a big serve, you will want a racquet that helps you serve even bigger. If your game is purely defensive, you will want a racquet that enhances defensive shotmaking. Whatever your game — tennis, squash, badminton, pickleball or racquetball — the racquet you choose must fit your playing style.

An equally important consideration is the opposition you will be facing on the other side of the court. In tennis, for example, if you are playing an opponent who hits hard penetrating ground strokes or punishing first serves, you will want a stiff frame to counter with. Why? Because the last thing you want when you are playing a pounder is a soft frame that flexes on contact and sprays the ball in unintended directions.

The same is true for badminton players. You may want to play an attacking style, but if you are part of a drop-in group and half of the players are better than you, you will probably be attacking half of the time and defending the other half. In this case, you might be wise to choose a balanced racquet that allows you to play both styles. Or you might choose to have two racquets in your bag: one for attacking and one for defending.

Think of your racquet bag as a tool kit. If the only tool in your kit is a hammer, you will have to treat everything like a nail. But if you have a hammer, a screwdriver and a pair of pliers, you will be better equipped to deal with a variety of tasks.

New players tend to buy one racquet and use it for everything. The same is true for professionals who are able to impose their game on opponents regardless. In between these levels you will find some smart players and some not-so-smart players.

The not-so-smart ones buy the same racquet or the same category of racquet over and over. Look in their bags and you will often find a half dozen racquets in different colours and styles all of which do exactly the same thing.

Smart players, on the other hand, have a variety of tools in their chests. At the very least, they will have one racquet for attacking and one for defending. The smartest will have a variety of frames customized in a variety of ways to use against the opponents they play most often.

Choosing the right tool for the right job is essential for most advanced intermediate players. In games where the margin of difference is often only a couple of points, anything that gives you an advantage — or takes away an opponent’s advantage — is worth taking a look at.

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VCORE TOUR F 93 “Best Performance Frame”

YONEX VCORE TOUR F 93 TENNIS RACQUETYONEX USA MEDIA RELEASE
3 MARCH 2015

The VCORE Tour F 93 has been selected as the racquet with the best high-performance frame in Tennis Magazine’s 2015 Racquet Guide, published in its March/April issue.

Testing was comprehensive, with many samples of each racquet sent to a panel of diverse playtesters, ranging from tennis coaches, former players, and racquet technicians. With racquets strung to the respective manufacturers’ standards, playtesters examined the racquets in areas such as power, control, comfort, manoeuvrability and playability. Playtesters also received evaluations from playing partners, students and customers to form a well-rounded opinion on the racquets.

“This frame is about precision and control,” praised the review, “Nowhere was that more evident than at net, where the small head size, easy handling and superb feel at contact made for great volleying.” The slightly larger VCORE Tour F 97 also received a mention in the category of high-performance frame.

Read the full review on Tennis Tuesday here: http://issues.tennistuesday.net/02-24-2015/p/8

Members of Team Yonex ™ are seeing remarkable results with the VCORE Tour F. In the recent Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, rising Croatian tennis talent Borna Coric (VCORE Tour F 97, POLYTOUR SPIN) played an outstanding match against Australian Open runner-up Andy Murray, which the teenager seized in straight sets.

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VCORE Si 100 “Best for Feel”

YONEX VCORE Si 100 TENNIS RACQUET 3
YONEX VCORE Si 100 TENNIS RACQUET 3
YONEX USA PRESS RELEASE
8 MAY 2015

Yonex ™ VCORE Si 100 Named “Best for Feel” in UK’s Tennishead

The VCORE Si 100 was named “Best for Feel” in the June issue of UK tennis magazine Tennishead’s 2015 Racket Reviews.

The review praised the racquet’s strong focus on spin, and its potent sweet spot due to the dense feel of the string pattern. It also praised the frame’s specific engineering towards both spin and power. “There’s no better feeling,” lauded the article.

With a unique grommet pattern that increases string movement, the VCORE Si puts that extra edge of spin needed to shock opponents on the court.

Angelique Kerber has sealed two recent victories at the Family Circle Cup and Porsche Tennis Grand Prix with the racquet.

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How Tight Should I String My Racquet?

Head MX Fire Pro Tennis Racquet
Head MX Fire Pro
The first thing that you have to consider when you break a string on your tennis racquet is whether or not you should restring it at all. If, for example, you paid less than $50 for your racquet, it may be better to toss it and just buy a new one.

Depending on where you take your racquets for maintenance and the quality of string you use, the price for stringing can range anywhere from $25 to $40. So restringing a racquet that cost less than $50 new is generally not a good investment.

Once that decision is made, you then have to consider the type of string you wish to use. That decision will be based on many considerations including your playing level, the number of crosses and mains on your racquet, whether or not you suffer from tennis elbow and so on.

Your stringer can help you make a decision about the kind of string you should use. Alternatively, you can use the Internet to do some research and make a decision on your own.

Finally, you arrive at the question of tension. How tight should you string your racquet?

The answer to this question depends on how you want your racquet to perform. If you want a racquet that provides stability and power, you will want to string it one way. If you want a racquet that provides touch and control, you will want to string it another way.

Every racquet has a recommended range for tension. My Wilson [K]Surge, for example, has a recommended range of 55-65 pounds. The low end of this range will create a string bed with more give. The high end of this range will create a tighter string bed.

Beginners and intermediate players who play infrequently will usually choose to string their racquets at the low end of the range because they want their strings to absorb much of the energy upon impact with the tennis ball. They also want the power that looser strings seem to offer.

Looser string beds are more forgiving than tighter string beds. So stringing their tennis racquet at the low end of the range allows players to get away with more misshits and other mistakes.

Many advanced and expert players, on the other hand, prefer a tight string bed on their tennis racquets. Players at this level have enormous control over their swing speed. They also have superior directional control and don’t make as many errors as beginner or intermediate tennis players.

For the rest of us, who are somewhere in between the beginners and the experts, the best tension is also somewhere in the middle. Find the label on your racquet indicating the recommended tension for your racquet and then instruct your stringer to string it somewhere in the middle.

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