When it comes down to playing at your highest level, the correct tennis racket is definitely one of the most important things that can help you out.

Having played with almost every major racket out there on the market, I have analysed and determined which are the best tennis rackets out there currently on the market for each type of player, whether beginner or expert, this buying guide is for you!

Before we begin, please note this is a guide for adult tennis rackets, if you are looking to see what the best options are for your child, please see our guide here!

4 Main Factors in Determining the Best Tennis Racket for You:

Unfortunately, in tennis there is no ‘one shoe fits all’ in terms of equipment, everyone plays differently, so everyone will also find themselves playing better with some rackets instead of others.

Depending on how you play, you will always have to consider 4 major aspects when purchasing a tennis racket:

AMAZING DESIGN/COLOURS ≠ AMAZING PERFORMANCE

1 – Tennis Rackets Head Size Instructions:

In tennis, the larger the head size of your racket, the more power you can generate behind your shots, but only to a certain extent. The larger the head size, you will also have to generate more twist in your wrist to be able to move it as effectively as a smaller head size.

Larger head sizes on tennis rackets are good in terms for players who want to miss less, due to the larger center of the racket as well as the fact that it can be a bit more forgiving of mishits. However, with this said, when it comes to lower shots which might require lots of topspin to get over the net, the increased effort required by the player to twist their wrist can become a bit annoying.

The best head sizes would usually vary between 98 and 100 sq inches.

Some people will debate on whether having a lighter tennis racket or a heavy tennis racket is best for your game, as you can generate more power with a heavier racket, but can you always handle the weight of it during tight moments.

An optimal tennis rackets weight is dependent on the player themselves, how strong are you physically? You should always aim to play with a racket which weighs at the maximum of your capabilities in terms of being able to play for an hour or two (or more dependent on your activity level).

I would recommend the following weights for players (unstrung weight):

How the weight is distributed on your racket will also heavily affect how you play the game, depending on whether the racket is head-heavy or head-light.

A head-heavy racket is a good racket if you want to hit the ball with extra power, because all of the weight is moving towards the top and can give more power behind your shots. However, it is harder to manoeuvre around and can end up hurting both your wrist and your elbow in the long term.

Head-light rackets are the best because they allow you to still generate some power, although marginally less than a head-heavy racket, but they will allow you to have more control of your game and ability to move the racket faster.

When it comes down to choosing the perfect string pattern on a racket, one thing is important to consider: How much spin do you play with?

If you are a spin-aholic, then a string pattern of 16 x 19 is probably best because it is looser and will allow you to give more movement to the ball as there is more space between the strings.

If you prefer to hit flat shots and not vary the height of the ball too much, then a 18 x20 pattern will do the job for you.

Best Tennis Racket Recommendations for 2022:

Now that you have a general overview of what racket specifications can be best for you when it comes to purchasing the best racket, here are our best tennis racket recommendations for 2022!

This one is best for female adult players due to its larger head size of 103 sq inches.

Although a large racket in terms of sq inches, the Wilson Pro Staff Precision 103 provides players with a nice degree of manoeuvrability for a fast and lightweight shot movement. The Wilson Pro Staff Precision 103 is made for players who love to take the ball on the rise and early the chance to play attacking and most importantly PRECISE tennis.

The Wilson Blade Feel is the optimal racket for either new players to the game of tennis, or for the occasional player looking to perfect their mechanics.

With a 103 sq inch head, the Wilson Blade Feel provides both the stability for players looking to hit their shots more reliably due to its larger head size and margin for error due to its bigger center of the racket.

This racket will always help you out when it comes to improving because of its ability to help you play fundamentally well, and it is also very affordable!

Babolat Pure Aero & Babolat Pure Strike Range

Personally, the Babolat Pure Aero range is my favourite range of tennis rackets out there. Although each racket is subtly different, there are a few key themes that are important to this racket, power of shots and ability to generate topspin.

The Pure Aero range is optimal for the type of player who loves to play from the baseline, whether aggressively or defensively and make their opponent work for every single shot. The Babolat Pure Aero range offers a comfortable racket as well as a racket which you can control the ball with and more than likely ensure your ball will land in due to its heavy top spin.

There are a few versions which are good in this range, and they each have their subtle differences, but the underlying effect is the same:

The latest version of the Babolat Pure Aero goes back to its roots in 2013 to give players more comfort in hand, allowing players to hit with deadly power and a strong level of topspin.

With the new and improved senser string pattern, the Babolat Pure Aero really allows you to swing more for the fences with more control compared to its prior 2019 version, an upgrade which was requested heavily by the players on the ATP and WTA Tour.

The very nice white, yellow, grey, and black colour mixture is a very cool frame and brings some great patterns on the court.

With the new Flex inserts dampener technology, you can also take this racket on without a dampener if you are a more advanced player as it does not give too may vibrations upon impact, but if you still want to reduce the vibrations, please visit our best tennis racket dampener review here!

Used by players such as Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime, it is obvious why their shots have so much power now on TV 😉

The Babolat Pure Aero Rafa is known to be one of the most powerful rackets in the tennis world, This is a great combination of the three elements of the game of tennis, power to ensure your shots are going deep enough and making your opponent struggle, topspin to allow you to make your ball harder to return in any direction and to also give you that margin of safety when returning tough balls, and control to allow you to place the ball where you want it to go and dictate play your way.

With the Babolat Pure Aero Rafa you have everything you could look for in a racket if you love to play from the baseline for the majority of the time in your game.

This is MY OWN PERSONAL RACKET OF CHOICE and I always find that I am able to really dictate play when using this racket, but it also gives me some a bit of an edge when having to play defensive because of the exceptional spin that gives me the ability to stay into tough points.

With the natural power of the racket, it also gives you an extra bit of attack when serving in a match and coming into the net and volleying.

It is a great racket for the balance of attacking tennis and defensive tennis.

Babolat Pure Aero Rafa Team

For the Rafa fans and people who love to play like Rafa, but also think that the main Babolat Pure Aero Rafa is a big too light for the amount of power they would like to generate, then the Pure Aero Rafa Team is the racket for you.

Similar to the Babolat Pure Aero Rafa, this racket brings you an additional 15g of weight (unstrung) to a total of 300g, much better for the intermediates or advanced players out there. Similar to the main racket of the range, this racket provides you with incredible amounts of both power and topspin on court.

However, one upside of this racket is its ability to give you that extra bit of kick behind your shots due to that extra natural power of the racket itself.

Babolat Pure Aero Rafa Lite

If you are looking to purchase a Babolat Pure Aero Rafa but are believe that a lighter racket is best for you, perhaps due to strength issues or just due to the fact you are new to the game so you want to start with a lighter racket, the Babolat Pure Aero Rafa Lite is definitely the place to go.

As mentioned in the previous rackets, the Babolat Pure Aero Rafa Lite provides great power and topspin performance. Albeit slightly less with this version, the racket can still be deadly on the court!

As a beginner it can definitely help with teaching you how to play with spin, control, and as you improve your game to a more intermediate or advanced level, you can be confident that you can succeed with the fundamentals this racket has taught you.

When it comes to the Babolat Pure Strike, Babolat decided to create a racket which still gives you a fairly strong level of power and spin, but less than the Pure Aero range.

The Babolat Pure Strike 100 and 103 is made for players who want more control behind their shots, focusing on placement, rather than speed or bounce. Used by the likes of Dominic Thiem, this racket is optimal for players who are looking to play with topspin but need to make their first step into this range. It is also useful for players who already play with heavy topspin but who want to increase their control of the ball.

With ita 103 sq inch head, it is optimal for players looking to learn as it allows for a strong margin of error. They also have a 100 sq inch version for players with a bit more experience.

The range is optimal for players at any level for the game.

As one of the most popular tennis rackets in the entire world, the HEAD Radical MP has come out with an even better 2022 version for you! The radical is a great tennis racket for players from all levels who admire the ability to hit with power, but also have great control and feel over the ball.

When it comes to the HEAD Radical MP this is made for players of all levels as it is a lighter version of their HEAD Radical Pro (which is made for advanced players). The HEAD Radical MP tennis racket will allow players to have great rackethead speed and power, whilst also being able to improve on their control and feel of the ball.

With a 16 x 19 string pattern and a 98 sq inch head size, the HEAD Radical MP is definitely a racket which can help you both start playing tennis, but also works as you continue to improve your game to an intermediate or advanced level.

This is the perfect racket for a player looking for a great blend of control, power, and spin.

The Dunlop SX Team 260 is a great racket for many reasons, most notably because of its spin. The Dunlop SX Team 260 is a sturdy racket which allows for a lot of spin and margin upon contact of the ball, allowing players who like to take a lot of risk off their spin, or even beginners/intermediates who aim to improve their game through the extra spin this racket gives.

The Dunlop SX Team 260 is definitely a similar racket to the likes of a Babolat Pure Aero or even a HEAD Extreme racket, but one thing is sure, it is definitely CHEAPER and more AFFORDABLE to the occasional player or someone who expects to only use this racket as a gateway to a Babolat Pure Aero or HEAD Extreme in the future.

As we conclude this list of the best tennis rackets, I hope I answered some of the questions such as ‘what is the best tennis racket?’, ‘what tennis racket should I buy?’, and ‘what is the best tennis racket for me?’.

Personally, as mentioned above, the Babolat Pure Aero Rafa is the best one out there, just because of its amazing power (allowing you to not have to overhit), its high level of spin (which catches opponents out a lot of times), and the control/feel you get on the ball (allowing for great placement).

However, there are many more tennis rackets out there and hopefully this guide has allowed you to understand how to select the best one for your game!

If you have any questions or would like to contact us, you can email us at contacttennissection@gmail.com or visit our Instagram page and DM us!

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