When you start playing tennis, it can be tricky to distinguish a good racquet from a bad one. There’s a lot to get to grips with, from brand and weight to strings and sweet spots. What’s more, how do you know a racquet will be well suited to you and how you want to play? Tennis has a steep learning curve in terms of its equipment and its terminology, so we’d like to offer you a hand (that isn’t fore, back, or in any direction, really).
Below, we’ve assembled a list of the best beginner-level tennis racquets, and written a helpful guide that will walk you through some racquet terminology and help you determine which one is the best fit for you.
First, let us say up front: don’t let that steep learning curve put you off. Getting your first tennis racquet should be an exciting thing. It may even end up being something you’ll treasure and look back on for years to come. Plus, the stakes really aren’t that high. Beginner racquets are usually cheaper, so you won’t be flushing too much money down the drain if your first racquet isn’t perfect. In fact, consider failure a success here. If you get a beginner racquet you don’t like the feel of, you’ll know exactly what to avoid when you graduate to your second one.
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Before we get into things, we’ve supplied a glossary of tennis racquet terms down at the bottom of this article. Tennis racquet terminology can be full of jargon and hard to grasp, so we’ve tried to make it all as simple for beginners as possible. If you struggle to understand any of the terms we use in our racquet reviews, have a look for an explainer down below. They’re good buzzwords to understand going forward, and will help you to understand the technical aspects of tennis racquets.
Most racquets today either have graphite frames or include some sort of carbon fibre composite. Other materials, such as aluminium, titanium or fibreglass, can also be found in some racquets, especially beginner ones, as they help to add more easy power.
Chances are, you probably have a brand of tennis racquet that you’re attracted to coming in. Whether it’s because of a brand your favourite player uses, or because a coach has recommended one, people find their racquet brand camp pretty quickly. The truth is, most big racquet manufacturers use the same type of technology and, these days, you don’t find many bad ones. Of course, some brands are better at some things than others, but it’s up to you to figure out which feels right for you.
Wilson is leaning more into high-end racquets these days, and Head has an amazing all-round selection. While Babolat is an extremely popular brand the world over, its racquets can be total Marmite depending on who you ask. Some players love them for their spin and power, while others can’t stand them because of their stiffness and lack of feel.
On the other hand, Babolat racquets are stiffer, but they’re also some of the most user-friendly and very forgiving racquets for new players. Speaking of Babolat, we’re still testing out a few racquets it’s been kind enough to send us, so be sure to check back here soon for our recommendations.
There are definitely racquets out there that will make your life harder if you’re prone to injuries such as tennis elbow, but the majority of beginners’ racquets are designed to be easy on your arm. The short answer is, no, don’t shape your entire decision around fear of tennis elbow, because the truth is that a lot of the problems that create tennis elbow are to do with your swing technique and the musculature of your lower arms.
If you know for a fact that tennis elbow is an issue, stick to a racquet with a lower stiffness rating, and ask your local stringer for strings that won’t make the issue worse.
It used to be the case that every racquet came with male and female models. Sometimes, that’s still the case, but most brands have consolidated their ranges into light models, mids and heavier “pro” variants. This is a much better solution.
You don’t need to worry about buying specifically for your gender, especially with beginners’ racquets. They’re all forgiving, they all tend to be easy on the arm. If you’re looking for a lighter variant, take a look at the stiffness rating and weight in our “Key specs” at the bottom of each short review below.
Price: £60 | Buy now from Decathlon
Artengo is a lesser known brand of tennis racquet that’s made by Decathlon. Its somewhat lesser reputation compared to giant brands such as Head, Babolat and Wilson isn’t any indication of quality, however, as this solid beginners’ racquet demonstrates. It’s light, and offers brilliant feel for something under the £100 mark. With comfort this great in a beginners’ racquet, you’ll have the freedom to try a wide range of shots, and you’ll be able to pick up on the different sensations of each. It might sound silly, but feeling the sensations of each shot in tennis is hugely beneficial when you’re starting out, because it will train you to make small adjustments as and when needed in the future.
Weighing in at only 265g, with a swing weight of only 235g, the TR500 Lite feels like a total featherweight compared to the 300g high-end racquets we’ve tested for our best racquets roundup, but still generates solid power and spin. We’d especially like to recommend this racquet to anyone who is particularly worried about their elbows. Importantly, the TR500 Lite is also nice and forgiving, with a generously sized sweet spot – exactly what you want from a beginners’ racquet.
Key specs – Head size: 102 square inches; Weight: 256g (unstrung); Composition: Carbon fibre, graphite; Stiffness rating: 65
Price: £25 | Buy now from Decathlon
Maybe you’re a beginner that doesn’t know if tennis is really for you, but you’d like to give it a try. Or maybe you’re just operating on a strict budget. If either of those sound like you, this is a solid little option. The Head Radical range is one of the most popular lines of racquets in the industry, and this budget option is a nice way to ease you into racquet selection.
We won’t lie: usually if you buy this cheap, you’ll buy twice. But sometimes, the best way to know what you want from a tennis racquet is to recognise early what you don’t want and buy accordingly if you want to continue with the sport later.
This racquet is suitable for male or female beginners and will give you everything you need while starting out. Its composition features aluminium, which will offer nice power and durability. Recreational players have nothing to lose with this one.
Key specs – Head size: 102 square inches; Weight: 275g (unstrung); Composition: Aluminium, graphite; Stiffness rating: 65-70
Price: £100 | Buy now from Decathlon
This is one for the strongest and most athletic beginners out there. The Artengo TR990 Power Pro+ packs some ridiculous heat for a racquet of this price. If you’re transferring to tennis from another sport or you just love the feeling of coming out on court and blitzing the ball as hard as you can, this may be a match made in heaven. Be warned, though, for anyone worried about their forearms, elbows or wrists – stay away. With an unstrung weight of 300g, a hefty swing weight of 295g and a stiffness rating of 70, tennis elbow is definitely more of a risk here. Artengo has used a high modulus carbon here, which makes it feel like more of a bat than a racquet.
What’s truly unique here is that it’s a slightly longer racquet than the other beginners’ racquets on this list. Racquet length usually doesn’t come into the equation all too often because it’s almost always the same. Occasionally, though, you do get longer racquets that, thanks to their increased leverage, offer you more power. So with all this added up, you’ll start to realise why we’ve dubbed this racquet a bulldozer for beginners. Sometimes to the detriment of control and forgiveness, this racquet absolutely crushes the ball.
If you have the muscle to control it and aren’t worried about injury, give this one a crack. What we can say for certain is you’ll have a load of fun using it.
Key specs – Head size: 100 square inches; Weight: 300g (unstrung); Composition: High modulus carbon, graphite; Stiffness rating: 70
Price: £80 | Buy now from Tennisnuts
Aspiring to sky-rocket through the club ranks and make some serious progression? Sounds to us like you need a weapon that will help you along the way. We can recommend this great racquet from Head. Designed with motivated beginners in mind, the IG Challenge MP provides great access to power and spin. As you develop your technical skills, you’ll continue to get more and more out of this racquet, and that’s ideal. At the same time, you’ll also benefit from a generous sweet spot coming from the 100in² head size, and your arm will have the freedom to swing without worry of strains or sprains thanks to an unstrung weight of 275g. Its stiffness rating is a memory foam-like 66.
Most impressively, this is one of the only beginners’ racquets you’ll find that has a fully graphite composition. While the other materials can make life easy, sometimes starting as you mean to go on can help you to develop skills early. Any second or third racquets you buy will be easy to transition to after using the Challenge MP. After testing the Head Boom MP, this racquet would serve as a blissful stepping stone toward it.
And not that cosmetics really matter, but the paint job on this one is particularly nice for a racquet under £100.
Key specs – Head size: 100 square inches; Weight: 275g (unstrung); Composition: Graphite; Stiffness rating: 66
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