we had a brief break for the holidays but we're back now with a video that a lot of you have been asking for we're finally going to answer the question what are the best rackets for different types of [Music] players hey everybody it's luuka from rackets and Runners so a couple things first one obviously we're not in the normal setting I came back home to Hawaii for Christmas so hopefully you enjoy this new location although it's definitely a work in progress two I thought this video would come out before Christmas but obviously it didn't so so Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate and let me know what Tennessee things you all got this year three this is going to be another list style of video I know you like these but we've got some awesome reviews coming soon as you can imagine with the Australian Open just around the corner so January is going to be a fun time but anyways like I said today we're going to discuss which rackets are best for different types of players and of course as usual remember that any of the rackets we talk about here you can check out on our website rackets andr runners.com know in the comment section what you want me to cover next we're going to talk about a bunch of different types of players today so beginners intermediates serving valers counter punchers aggressive baseliners and all Court players and talk about a few different rackets that can work for each one when you talk about beginners it's important to differentiate between someone who's just hoping to go out and hit with their friends versus somebody who's actually trying to improve and eventually become a competitive tennis player because we mostly sell top and racus we're going to focus on the latter and there are three three rackets that stick out as the best for this type of player before we name them though this is what they all have in common easy access to power a big and forgiving sweet spot and all three of these rackets are rackets that won't limit you as you develop better technique the Wilson Ultra 100 L the balot Pure Drive team and the yanx ezone 100 L all have similar playability aimed at making life more simple for beginners who are looking to develop their Strokes they are all userfriendly rackets with their 280 to 285 G weight their 100 S in head size and they're 16x9 string patterns they're also fairly stiff and have thick beams which helps to stabilize them and it makes their sweet spots a little bit bigger and gives a good amount of free Power the difference between these rackets and say something even more forgiving like a babot Pure Drive 107 is that these won't limit you in your development if a racket is too powerful and too forgiving it will also reward improper technique which will have a negative effect on your development remember the goal of these beginner rackets is to help you get the ball over the net yes but also to nudge you in the right direction to eventually turn into an intermediate player I didn't want to get too specific with any one frame in the beginner section because the most important thing there is finding the right type of Racket once you become an intermediate player though this is where you can Target more specific playability because you'll have developed your own style so your racket Choice can complement that more effectively there are three types of rackets that stick out as the most appropriate for intermediate players and we're going to start with power rackets the three rackets we just mentioned in the beginner section are all considered power rackets and naturally if you've been playing with one of those rackets the next logical step would be making your way into the more advanced version of that racket what does more advanced though mean well generally in tennis you want to swing the heaviest racket you possibly can when you're a beginner you can't swing a very heavy racket which is why you were using a 280 or 285 G racket but as you develop your stroke and your tennis muscles you'll be able to move up in weight category this is when you're going to want to move up into the 300 G category this weight will give you more stability more control and ultimately more of everything as long as you can swing it if you enjoy the playability of your lighter ezone pure driver Ultra you can just move up into their 300 G version but at this point it's very possible that you've developed certain Tendencies and that's where you could go look at something else spin obviously spin is a huge deal in tennis nowadays and chances are if you're a solid intermediate you are hitting with lots of Top Spin this is where it might be worth looking into a spin racket the babot pure Arrow 100 and yanx vcore 100 are great spin rackets for intermediate players like the Ultra Pure Drive and ezone they are 300 G with a 100 S in head size so most of those userfriendly properties are still there the main difference with these frames is that they will better complement that spin friendly style and the arrow and VC Cor in particular are great options because they're still fairly consistent which means they won't be too difficult to control now the last category of rackets here in the intermediate section would be allaround rackets I do want to be careful here because you can pretty quickly get into advanced rackets when you start with the allaround or Court label but there's one frame in particular that sticks out is still very user friendly that's also a great all-around racket the head speed MP combines properties of power and spin rackets but in a package that is still fairly controlled because of its soft and thin beam there really is no area where the speed doesn't perform well so especially if you find yourself wanting more control than what you're getting from a spin or power racket it could be a fantastic option now we are going to cover other fantastic all quart rackets here in a bit but the speed is great because it's still 300 G has a 100 sare in head size so it is very user friendly remember that intermediate means you're still developing as a player you can be very addicted to tennis at this point which means you'll be interested in a bunch of other rackets but it is best to stay in this more userfriendly style before you become a true Advanced player okay once you're an advanced player you'll have developed a certain style there are many different styles of tennis players and adapting your racket to that style can be crucial in getting the most out of your game we'll start with serving volley rackets because it's a bit of a Dying Breed but some people still ask about it so let's discuss the best Servin volley rackets used to be heavy and headlight small head-sized rackets the high weight made them stable for voling and then the headlight balance and small head size made them super maneuverable a to get to the net and then B to react at the net we're talking really small head size here like so small that it doesn't exist anymore sis used an 85 and feder who's not a true Serv and voler but definitely mixes it up from time to time used a 90 for most of his career those are gone I'm sorry but there are some great rackets that still fulfill most of those criteria pretty well the yanx VC 95 is great mainly because of its small head size but also thanks to its very quick aerodynamic profile the feel is a bit muted which isn't ideal for net play but it is still stable and precise so it's up there with the best then you've got the Wilson Pro Staff 97 which is a little bit heavier than the VOR and also 2 square in bigger so it's definitely not as quick but in terms of feel precision and stability it's noticeably better it has a traditional thin box beam and a fairly stiff Flex so if you want that classic point and shoot control of older Pro staffs it has most of it just with a little bit more userfriendly of a response of course if you feel like you can handle the very Hefty weight of the rf97 everything I just said about the Pro Staff 97 also applies just in a more stable and Powerful package the Onyx percept 997h is also a fantastic option and takes the cake for the one I consider the best for Serv and volley play it has very similar specs to the Pro Staff 97 except of course the fact that it's 330 G instead of 315 which just helps with stability and that headlight balance means that it's still fairly maneuverable despite that high weight now the reason I rank it higher than the V core 95 is because of its new dampening technology Servo filter vibration dampening mesh is the main reason for why I said feel is a bit muted on the VOR and that's gone on the percept and Servo filter makes for a more precise and well-defined sweet spot which is great when you're serving volum a counter puncher is a defensive-minded player who plays high percentage shots waiting for an opponent's mistake counter punching can often mean playing long points from the Baseline so the key here is to pick a racket that is consistent and controlled before anything else consistency and control are characterized by a tight string bed and also a soft thin constant beam you don't need to go for an 1820 here but I'm going to stick to 1820s because they are simply more consistent than anything else but keep in mind you will be sacrificing a lot of spin with them let's start with the head Prestige because the best counter punchers in history have used the head Prestige or a racket very similar to the Prestige so it would be a disservice not to at least mention it the prestige Pro is the ultimate control racket with its small head size super tight string bed and soft flex but there's no denying that it has very little else going for it so unless you want just pure control and nothing else there are better options the Wilson Blade 1820 is a much more modern control racket with its more forgiving and Powerful feel but you will still get that great consistency you need for counter punching now the two frames we just mentioned have a 98 squ in head size which helps with control but it also does make them a little bit more punishing and difficult to use the reality is when you're being pushed around the court you could do with a little bit of help from your racket but up until recently the best control rackets haven't been great at that well now there are two 100 in 1820s that are very good at just that the gravity Pro and Speed Pro are special rackets because they are consistent and controlled 18x 20s but that 100 square inch head size makes them more forgiving and gives them a bit more free Power and spin than you would expect between the two two go for the gravity if you want more control and the speed if you want more power and spin the speed is definitely pushing the limits a little bit here in terms of control but as long as you're not used to the consistency of something like a Prestige you'll be fine that being said the gravity Pro is the best counter punching racket right now surprise surprise remember power and spin rackets like the Pure Drive or pure Arrow are great at what they do but the goal of a counter puncher is to never miss and those things that make those rackets more powerful and spin friendly also take away from a little bit of their consistency an aggressive baseliner is somebody who stays around the Baseline but plays with powerful spin-friendly ground strokes trying to shorten points and hit big Winners they'll also hit the occasional drop shot or aggressive approach shot and they're not nearly as afraid to get to the net as a counter puncher would be for example we're talking guys like alcaraz or cner alcaraz is maybe a little more all Cordy but you get the gist still the powerful Baseline groundstroke is the bread and butter shot here and for that you're going to need a racket that is precise and confidence induced in inherently powerful and spin friendly because that's how we control our powerful ground strokes nowadays combining power Spin and control might seem impossible but over the last couple of years we've seen massive developments in this new frame style that I like to call Modern players frames and the best three are the yanx eone 98 the babot pure ARA 98 and the head extreme tour these are players frames because they still have fairly small sweet spots so control is quite good but then they have modern elements of power and spin which sets them apart from rackets like like the prestige or the blade the extreme is very spin friendly with its aerodynamic shape open string bed and big spin grommets and the ezone is quite powerful with its thick hoop but then has a unique flexible feel and control with its very thin throat those two rackets are great but the pure Aro 98 is in its own tier in this category we all know how good an arrow spin is but because this one's a 98 it's on another level in terms of rack Ahad speed through contact the power is also very impressive it's a fairly stiff racket but there's something about this Arrow shape which just add some rigidity to the frame which translates to more power onto the ball then you look at the control and while it's far from traditional as long as you're using this racket properly so with the racket face parallel to the ground and hitting with tons of Spin The Sweet Spot is actually quite precise and has very good feedback so it has that good modern control allc Court players are very versatile which kind of means they have the highest ceiling of any type of player because they're still very good no matter what situation they find themselves in Roger feder is an example of a f fantastic allc Court player huge serve punishing ground strokes great defensive play and then touch shots and volleys that are amongst the best all time even if you look at jokovic he started as a grindy counter puncher and he's still probably the best at that but it's been his development as an all Court player that has pushed his game to the next level basically becoming an all Court player can really help your game I should take my own advice and while it's not the racket that makes the player there are some frames that can definitely help along the way as you would expect you want something well-rounded here a racket that can help you grind with control if you need to but that can also vary your shots for power and touch and then Precision with volleys at the net the head speed MP was great for intermediates looking for a good all-around Racket and it's also great for advanced players looking for an allc quore frame we've talked about its good power Spin and control but it's the constant beam and auxetic layup that gives it great feel especially for a 100 which is what you want for touch shots and volleys the techn fiber tfight 305 is another fantastic option in this category and just generally a super underrated racket by the way it has a pretty tight string bed so plenty of control but also more spin than you would expect from an 18 maner and because the swing weight is so high it has plenty of power if you want to go for a big winner feel- Wise It's about as good as it gets techn fiber rackets are all foam filled and foam fil rackets are kind of the cream of the coper feel so you'll love it for touch shots the little issue that I have with the T fight and the speed for their all corded is that they're both on the slower side which is really ironic for the speed and maneuverability and Racket quickness are great attributes to have when you're trying to cover the whole Court this is what makes the Wilson Blade 98619 incredible and the best allc Court racket right now it has fantastic control we all know that but it's that great control combined with the more powerful shape and string bed that makes for a racket that instills a lot of confidence when you're going for big powerful shots on top of that Technologies and recent blades have helped make the racket more spin friendly and they've been lowering the swing weight which helps make it move quicker through the air basically everything about the Wilson Blade is geared toward performing well around the court so there you have it I know there are some categories we didn't cover especially rackets for one-handed backhand players but I have a terrible one-handed backhand so I don't know how to formulate an opinion on the matter maybe you guys can let me know what you think in the comments I know this was another long video hopefully you enjoyed it next week is going to be a review on a brand new racket so get excited but for now remember that if you want to demo any of the rackets we talked about here today you can visit us in store or you can check them out online at Retson runners.com