Choosing a Racquet

[pkho]

How would you go about choosing a racquet?

E.g. how do you determine what grip size? What kind of head frame? Flex?

I'm curious as I've seen a number of postings in other forum asking about racquet choices but no one has put together a comprehensive article on choosing a racquet.

[alfnorma]

The selection of a racket is much harder than most would think:
first you must pick a price range once this is done then the type of player you are comes next.
you must select from a whippy shaft to a stiff shaft, a whippy shaft is normally for a weaker player as the shaft will help you , a medium shaft for a mid range player and a stiff shaft for the power player, this is normal but there is always the odd one out that has a different selection, also a stiff shaft is very good for singles play as it is usally more accurate, because the shaft does not twist and bend so much.
So if you are and average to good player you should choose a mid range shaft (med-stiff) shape of head is not important, but the racket should have a built in t-joint where the shaft meets the head to stop any twisting of the head,
If you find that more than one racket is ok for you, then I find the best way to pick one is to hold both rackets one in each hand close your eyes and see which one feels the best balance for you, I almost forgot to say that most different models also can have a light head or heavy head, this is done by the maker of the rackets by shifting the weight up and down the shaft to alter the balance, the racket still weights the same but the balance makes it feel heavier or lighter in the head.
ALWAYS try the racket first.

Alf Meads
Auckland
New Zealand