The best competitive tennis rackets
Tennis racket technology is changing rapidly, making it difficult to keep up with the racquets that best suit your game. We’ve researched the top racket brands to find the 6 best competitive tennis rackets.
Whether you play singles and return strong groundstrokes from the baseline, or you play doubles and like to serve and volley, in this article you will find the best tennis racket for you.
Generally, when you buy a racquet, you have to decide whether you value power, control or something in between. Finding the racquet that best complements your level and style of play requires careful consideration.
Contents
- 1 The best competitive tennis rackets
- 2 What type of player are competitive tennis rackets for?
- 3 The best competition rackets of 2023
- 4 Professional tennis rackets on offer
- 5 What is the best competitive tennis racket?
- 6 Why is it so important to choose your tennis racket well?
- 7 Competition rackets of professional tennis players
What type of player are competitive tennis rackets for?
If you're short on time, use the links below to quickly find the best deals on competitive tennis rackets. You can be sure that we only choose the best products...
⇒ Babolat Pure Aero Racket
⇒ Babolat Pure Drive Racket
⇒ Wilson Pro Staff Racket
⇒ Head Graphene Racket
Advanced players play regularly. They control shots with placement, spin and power. They also serve with effect and power. In addition, they master the topspin and slice, which is crucial for certain points of the match.
A general rule of thumb is that advanced rackets are smaller than beginners’ rackets, which gives them better control for a faster tennis game.
If you've been playing tennis competitively for years, you probably already have a good idea of what kind of player you are. Advanced players have more strength, better endurance and more control than lower level players. If you are at this level, you can handle heavier rackets and smaller heads. However, just because you can use smaller and heavier rackets doesn't mean you should. In the end, the racquet you should play with is the one you feel best with.
The best competition rackets of 2023
Professional tennis rackets on offer
What is the best competitive tennis racket?
#1 Babolat Pure Aero 2023
Made popular by Rafael Nadal, this Babolat racket has spread throughout the tennis world in recent years. Babolat has launched now a 2023 edition. It is for the great swingers who want to control the point from the baseline with more effect and power.
The frame is 100 square inches for a larger hitting area and is also built with aerodynamic technology to cut through the air. All this helps to generate more speed from the head of the racket and therefore more effect on the ball. The recommended string tension is in the low 50’s so you can create tons of power in your service as well.
This racket is ideal for background players who want to spin their opponent off the court with groundstrokes or hit powerful serves to get aces. We do not recommend this racket to network players or players who need help controlling it.
#2 Wilson Pro Staff Racket
If you play a lot of tennis and are able to generate your own power, this could be one of the best competitive tennis rackets for you. Some of the best players in the world use this racket to control the point from anywhere on the court. In fact, Roger Federer uses a heavier version of this same racket.
The smaller frame and surface (97 square inches), of this Wilson racket, give it a smaller area to make contact. But if you play a lot and can hit this point consistently, the stringing pattern (16×19) gives it a great feel and effect. The frame is designed for optimal touch and control. In addition, the weight of the racket, of 330g, allows to generate enough power for strong and skilled players.
This racket is ideal for advanced players who play a lot of tennis and want precise control. You will see that it has great mobility and that it can be used at all times to play in singles and doubles.
#3 Babolat Pure Drive Racket 2023
We consider it to be the best racket on the market. It is widely used by beginners and advanced players, especially by those background players looking for more power, effect and sensation. This racket is used by many professionals such as Garbiñe Muguruza or Fabio Fognini
The 100-square-inch frame makes it slightly larger than many advanced rackets on the market, giving it a better feel. This also means that it can be a great option for beginners. The wide frame and stringing pattern give you the best combination of power and control in tennis. This is the perfect racket to hit controlled ground strokes from the baseline for advanced players. In addition, you do not have to sacrifice mobility if you are a net player in doubles, as it is still relatively light.
This racket does not have as much control as the other rackets on the market if the sweet spot is lost. However, there is no racket with more control that does not sacrifice power or effect.
#4 Head Graphene Tennis Racket
This is our only Head racket on this list for advanced players, but it’s a good one. The Graphene 360+ Speed Pro is an ideal racket for those looking for something balanced.
The 18 x 20 stringing pattern will give you great control over your strokes. As the size of the head is 100 square inches, you can generate good power and effects also from your background strokes. High-level players, both intermediate and advanced, will love this racket used by Novak Djokovic.
Head came out with a new edition for the year 2020. It is almost identical to the previous version with a different paint.
Why is it so important to choose your tennis racket well?
Tennis racket weight:
It is important to choose a racket that is neither too heavy nor too light. The correct weight balance is key.
To give you some guidelines:
Heavy racket – weighs more than 11 ounces (312 grams)
The medium-weight racket – weighs between 9.8 and 10.9 ounces (278 to 309 grams)
The superlight racket – weighs between 9 and 9.4 ounces (255 to 266 grams)
In general, heavier rackets produce more power, less torque and better control. Lighter rackets are easier to maneuver, but present challenges to match the power of a competitor who is playing with a heavy racket.
Racket head size:
If you have good hand-eye coordination, you can get a racket head smaller than 100.
A racket with a larger head size is more forgiving when it comes to making a consistent connection with the ball, but is not recommended for advanced players.
Mango size:
The size of the handle of a tennis racket is measured by the total thickness of the handle.
A racket with the right grip size will not only improve your performance on the court, but will give you a much more comfortable experience.
In the same way that you wouldn’t learn to ride a bike that’s too big for you, the same principle applies to the grip of your racket. If your grip is too large, it requires you to exert more force to hold and try to maneuver the racket. This results in fewer stellar matches, plus potential hand, wrist and arm injuries.
Racket sizes range from 4″ (or 101.6 mm), typically used for juniors, to 4 1/8 to 4-3/4″ (123 mm) for adults.
Ease of maneuver and comfort are the keys to choosing the right grip size of the racket. If you’re between two sizes, opt for the smaller grip size to avoid having to deal with the extra energy and strength that larger grip sizes require.
The size of the grip directly affects the grip, or the way you hold the racket. There are several types of grip (or angles at which the racket is held) that give rise to different strokes that affect the effectiveness of the stroke and the control of the ball.
There is always a lot of information about the different grips and the results you get from each one, now you can start to see how important it is to choose the right tennis racket.
We have found that 4 1/4 is a common grip size for women and 4 3/8 is a common grip size for men. When purchased, a 2 represents 4 1/4 and a 3 represents 4 3/8.
Choosing the right racket also helps prevent possible injuries (blisters), muscle tension and cramps in the hands, wrists, forearms and elbows.
If you take into account the four factors above when choosing a tennis racket, you will already have a huge advantage over the competition!
Competition rackets of professional tennis players
Below you can select in our gallery and get real information about the rackets used by the most important professional players . This will give you an idea of how to choose a competitive tennis racket suitable for your game.
Some tennis products we recommend:
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Or if you prefer, you can have a look at our tennis blog.
