.jpg)
Doubles Only Tennis Podcast
The only tennis podcast with a focus on doubles. We believe doubles should be more popular and get more coverage than it does, so we’re fixing that. Our goal is to help you become a better player with pro doubles tips and expert strategy. We interview ATP & WTA tour doubles players and top tennis coaches to help you improve your game.
Doubles Only Tennis Podcast
Choosing Racquets, Strings, & the Best Options for Doubles with Jonas Eriksson from Tennisnerd
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Are you using the right tennis racquet? What about strings? Jonas from Tennisnerd is one of the world's leading experts in tennis racquets and strings, having reviewed 1000s of racquets and consulted for ATP & WTA tour pros.
I first met Jonas in Austria at the Head headquarters on a trip with Tennis Warehouse to test out the new Gravity. Recently, we went to SLO California to test more gear with the TW team. I've learned a ton from Jonas and wanted to have him on so you can too. In this conversation, Jonas and I discuss the following.
- Some of the best tennis racquets on the market today for certain player types.
- The head size most club-level doubles players should be looking for.
- What gives a racquet more power, control, spin, etc.
- Why you and the professionals do not (and should not) use the same racquets - even though they look the same.
- How to start experimenting with your strings, including specific recommendations.
- and more...
Follow Tennisnerd on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Get a racquet or string consultation from Jonas here.
Shop tennis racquets at Tennis Warehouse.
Shop strings at Tennis Warehouse.
-----
**Join the #1 Doubles Strategy Newsletter for Club Tennis Players**
**Become a Tennis Tribe Member**
Tennis Tribe Members get access to premium video lessons, a monthly member-only webinar, doubles strategy Ebooks & Courses, exclusive discounts on tennis gear, and more.
**Other Free Doubles Content**
Navigating Tennis Racket Selection
Speaker 1You're about to hear a recent conversation I had with Jonas Eriksson from Tennis Nerd. So if you're not familiar with Jonas and his work, he basically has the best online reviews of tennis rackets anywhere you can find on the internet. I met Jonas at a few different events that were hosted by Tennis Warehouse, one of our partners at Tennis Tribe and Jonas and I got along really well. It was a really fun group. Earlier this year, back in November, we went out to the Tennis Warehouse headquarters. We got to review the new Babelot Pure Drive and some different shoes from Adidas as well as Asics, and I wanted to have Jonas on to talk about his expertise, to talk about rackets.
Speaker 1So we discuss why there is no one best racket for doubles and Jonas goes through a lot of different player profiles with me. So I ask him about maybe a 3-5 player who is a little bit older and in decent shape, but not as fast as they used to be. I ask about the best types of rackets for certain playing styles and I think, most importantly, what different features of tennis rackets do to their playability. So you've got the frame size. You've got the weight. We talk a little bit about swing weight and it can get really confusing, and Jonas does a really nice job of explaining what each of these things does if you increase them or decrease them to your game. And he has a good framework as well for how to start experimenting with different rackets, as well as strings, to find something that is a good fit for you.
Speaker 1So if you've never really tested out different rackets before but you're curious about it, or if you are into rackets and you want to learn more, I think this is going to be a really insightful conversation for you. And, of course, you can learn more about Jonas and read more about all of his super in-depth racket reviews at tennisnerdnet, which I'll link to in the show notes. So, without further delay, enjoy this conversation about tennis gear and tennis rackets and doubles with Jonas Eriksson. Hey, everyone, welcome to the show. Today we have the tennis nerd on, jonas Jonas. Welcome.
Speaker 2Thank you Happy to be here Will.
Speaker 1So we first met a couple of years ago in Austria at the Head headquarters. We were there with Tennis Warehouse reviewing the new Gravity at the time, and then we recently were fortunate enough to go to San Luis Obispo I always have trouble with that name to the Tennis Warehouse headquarters to review some shoes as well as the new Pure Drive 2025. And we had a really good crew out there. It was a ton of fun and I wanted to have you on to talk about your specialty talk tennis rackets a little bit of strings as well today, because it's a really popular topic.
Speaker 1I actually get a lot of questions on this and have, over the last couple years ago, hired a racket technician to help me with this stuff because it's so kind of over my head and not my area of expertise. But I'm excited to dive into this with you and kind of help the listeners maybe get started experimenting a bit with different rackets. So I want to start with the most simple question that we've talked about in the past, that you're going to tell us why. It's actually not a good question what is the best racket for doubles?
Speaker 2Yeah, this question comes up in any category, right? It's like what's the best racket for the one on the backhand, what's the best racket for the serve? And it's obviously like a personal choice, right, like a personal taste. Everybody is very different, like you. Can even look at the pro level Medvedev's technique and Alcaraz's technique. They're both good, they both work top 10 tennis, but they're different and they use different rackets to accommodate the technique that. They're different and they use different rackets to accommodate the technique. That's what they're used to. It's muscle memory.
Speaker 2So, best racket for anything? It doesn't really exist. The best racket doesn't exist. Like today, most rackets are very good. So it's about finding what works for you. What do you feel like comfortable with, what do you feel confident with? What works for you in terms of results? Sometimes people just try a racket for five minutes and they're like I hate it, which is fine. You know, if you don't like a racket after the first hit although, give it more than five minutes, you should, uh, you maybe not switch to it, but overall it's like it has to work for you, it has to feel right and has to to play right for you. So there's no best racket, sadly unfortunately so.
Speaker 1If somebody's listening to this and they want let's say they've played with the same racket for five, 10 years, maybe they buy the newest generation, but they want to test different brands maybe, or different different rackets. You gave him one tip there test it for more than five minutes. But how would you have this person start experimenting and testing out different rackets, maybe to find something that suits their game a bit better?
Speaker 2It's complicated because there's so much choice. You're hopefully starting somewhere. You have to start by looking at yourself, like what is my level? Do I have any injuries? Do I need a softer racket, maybe for your tennis elbow, where stiff rackets can be a bit problematic? Strings also factor into this. So you have to start with yourself. Like, maybe record yourself, which is always good to improve to get some data. Like, okay, I'm not so good with my forehand, my back and I'm feeling very comfortable with and also maybe not stray so far from where you are originally, because your muscle memory has set in with a certain racket and if you're going to a completely different racket, it can work out, but it can also feel very different. So, yeah, I would.
Speaker 2I would suggest like reading up a bit tennis nerd, tennis tribe. There are many sites now covering this, youtube channels as well. You can watch the reviews, get a little bit of an idea of racket, so you have a basic understanding. You don't need to go deep, deep and then maybe pick, like, a few models. Unless you have a coach, maybe you can discuss with the coach, but pick a few models. Okay, these four would be good to try. You can get a demo from tennis warehouse, for example, maybe some other brands as well, and then you get a little bit of a sense, because a lot of people they have not tried many rackets. They've maybe played with two rackets in their whole life and so it's very hard to, unless you get like a ballpark of kind of this is where I am, this is what I should try. So that's how you have to start the narrowing down process right. Look at yourself first and then figure out like okay, maybe these four, and then you keep testing okay.
Speaker 1So I want to go through a few uh kind of types of players and we can maybe recommend several racket options that they could start with potentially, or handle it however you'd like. So one is recently I had a call with a 3-5 player. Let's say this 3-5 player is around 50 years old, maybe 45, 50 years old. They're in decent shape. They have started playing tennis again the last several years Maybe they played in high school or something like that and again a 3-5 skill level and they play your traditional 3-5 tennis. They'll serve and stay back. They have to be at the net when their partner's serving or they don't have to, but they choose to. They're at the net when their partner's returning, so kind of an all-around game. But they haven't tested any rackets over the last 30 years what are a?
Speaker 1few rackets. Maybe that they should start testing with.
Speaker 2I would go with the most popular models generally. I would just start there try a Boba Pure Aero 100-square-inch. Try Ionex E-Zone, that's a bit more flatter trajectory. And maybe try a more controlled racket, a Blade 98 or blade 100, just to see, because even at, I would say, lower levels you can still feel more connected to like a control racket. So it's a very personal thing. I mean, most people will say you will get more help from a powerful racket, but for some it's tricky to control because they don't have topspin.
Speaker 1Yeah, I think one thing a lot of people do maybe try to overrate, especially at the club level, is power. So a lot of players are constantly looking to hit the ball harder and I talk about it on the podcast all the time when we're talking about strategy, power is so overrated in doubles, if you're trying to win doubles matches, power is the last thing you should work on. Doubles like if you're trying to win doubles matches, power is the the last thing you should work on.
Tennis Racket Selection for Skill Levels
Speaker 2Really, control and spin and um, you know, overall strategy are so much more important yeah, you should not really work so much on power, also in singles matches, I would say because, like, most matches are won based on consistency. It's all about consistency. That's really where most club level matches are won, unless you're like a 5-5. So I think, take it easy, don't worry so much about your power level, just focus on getting the ball where you want it to go, and build consistency and footwork, and I think then you should should do well okay.
Speaker 1so, so we've got the, the pure era 100, the eone, which is also 100 square inch, and then you said, maybe the Blade 98, the 16 by 19 version, I guess.
Speaker 2Yeah, you can try the Blade 100 as well. Now the 100 is quite, you're going to get a bit more control than the Arrow or the E-Zone, for example. So just try a little bit more feel and control with the Blade.
Speaker 1We're talking about head sizes and control with the blade. We're talking about head sizes. So I wanted to ask, I guess how do you recommend people think about head sizes? So if somebody hasn't experimented with rackets a lot and they've been playing with a, let's say, it's like a 97, 98 square inch racket that maybe they had in high school back in the 2000s or something, how do you recommend they maybe upgrade to something a little more forgiving, or should they stick with that 97, 98, uh square inch frame? What do you recommend for head sizes?
Speaker 2I think always trying going a bit larger in head size, unless you're already maybe at 100, because I think 100 you're going to get a lot more like sweet spot size and a little bit more help and forgiveness, especially in doubles where you have to have quick reactions and a 97 or a 95, which is a lot of the older rackets can really feel like if you have to have really fast hands you're missing just a little bit outside. It's super demanding, quite unforgiving. So I think, especially for doubles, which is pretty fast moving, I think like 100 square inch head size should be the starting point and then if you need like control, you can go down to 98. And if you need even more help you can go to 137, which is a big bubble which you so cleverly recommended no, I'm joking but like. Then you can go up a bit beyond the 100.
Speaker 2But I think 100 is the starting point. That is the main head size these days. And then you go 98 for more control, or you go above for even more power, even more forgiveness. But 100 can give you like a bit of like best of both worlds. You can have a control 100, you can have a powerful 100, you can have a spin oriented 100.
Speaker 1Yeah, that makes sense, I think. So I've had this theory about like my own game and I want to test it with you. Tell me if you agree or disagree. So I played with the speed pro for um, I don't know, four or five years and then tried switching to a 98 racket, but I'm not on the court that much like. I'm on the court playing tennis once a week on average, maybe because I was downgrading to a smaller head size and I'm not playing enough. I'm just missing that sweet spot a bit too much, since I'm not playing enough tennis, so I had to switch back to the Speed Pro, which immediately I enjoyed more than what I was using previously.
Speaker 1So it seems like maybe a smaller head size. You have to play a lot of tennis and really like have that kind of hand-eye coordination and that I guess finding that that smaller sweet spot down does that make sense.
Speaker 2Yeah makes a lot of sense. I think a 98 is more demanding than people think. I think um, like 100 is, is going to be more forgiving. The head size is going to help you. Of course it depends on how you drill the strings. If you want to be super technical, but without going super technical, if you're not playing um like three, four, five, six times a week and only one to two, I think playing with a 98 is just gonna hold you back a little bit.
Speaker 2I think that that's really where maybe you you can lose some points or you have some shanks and stuff, because a 98 is pretty demanding to to play tennis with and uh and I definitely think there are enough control oriented like in between rackets, like the head speed or the blade 100, as I mentioned, where you get a little bit of everything you know. So if you're not sure about what you want to go 98, or you want to go heavy power then you can go in between. So that's that's where I would recommend you start in the middle and then you can branch to different directions after that, depending on your preference.
Speaker 1So I want to start with a new player profile here. So let's think about a 4-0 player. So they're a little bit higher level than that 3-5, still maybe intermediate and they're in their 30s. They're very fit, they're athletic, they're fast, but they like to get to the net a lot. So they probably need something a little more maneuverable and something with good control at the net. What are several rackets for that type of player?
Speaker 2Yeah, if you're pretty athletic and you can generate some good pace, I think you can maybe start with a 9-8. I mean, you can still play 100, like the 100 Speed Pro, like you're using. The head speed pro is controlled racket. Like it's 18 20 string pattern. So then the string pattern takes care of a little bit of that. And you have another example in the onyx percept 100d which is like 18 19 string pattern, but overall like one super popular racket, like there's two very popular control rackets.
Speaker 2Like you can start with the blade, as I said, 98. A lot of people like that one. And you can also try a radical mp from head. If you want to try different brands and if you want a bit more power than that, you can try like a yonex eson 98. So you're within the 98 region at 4-0. You should. You know, depending on how athletic you are and and how fast maybe you're learning the game and how much you're improving, I think 98 can work. But I would say there's a lot of people who are like too macho to go to 100 as well. So I would say there are plenty of 100-square-inch rackets that can work for a wide audience.
Speaker 1Do you ever come across? I play some of these people in, uh, usta leagues or tournaments or I have, over the years, these kind of old school players. They might be in their like 50s or 60s and they, uh, they just serve and volley on everything and get to the net on everything. They basically never don't use a continental grip. Um, and a lot of them I find have like a 95 square inch head size that they grew up with in the nineties or something like that. If there's anybody like that listening to the show, do you recommend that they try something a little bit more forgiving or do you feel like I don't know? Do you ever like run the this type of player and have recommendations for them?
Choosing Rackets for Senior Players
Speaker 2yeah, if they're open to that, like I think a lot of people are kind of stubborn with the racket choice, right, like um, they're. I mean my father, he plays with the 95. My stepfather he plays with the 95, encode 1618. It's from 2001. Maybe it's a great frame but it's unforgiving and he tests everything I have. Almost now I'm trying to like push him to test. Now he doesn't want to test anymore because he gets confused and he plays more than I do. But, um, so sometimes you're so stubborn you just want to hold on to this, like I.
Speaker 2This feels good, it feels at home, because tennis has such, a, you know, personal feeling to it. A frame can have a really personal affection to it as well. But overall I really think your game can take a step up with some more help from the frame. Like I think we're seeing this on pro level and we should see this also on the rec level. Player I've had friends or pretty good players, maybe a bit more than 4.0, but they play with like a 6.1, like the Pro Staff Classic. You know that edberg marketed back in the day and many pros used and he switched to like an arrow 100, which I talked about before, and he's like it's crazy how much easier tennis is today. You know it's, it's, it feels so much easier. So I definitely think you need to try to demo at least and consider like giving a try, giving it a proper try, not like trying five minutes, but actually proper trying. It will help you, in my opinion.
Speaker 1What about for senior players? So I know I have some listeners who are in their 60s, maybe even 70s, and they're like a 3035 player. They're not as mobile as they once were. They're at that level of doubles. There's a lot of lobbying, um, it's a little bit slower paced game. What kind of specification should they be looking for? And then, if you have any racket recommendations for them, I think going oversize is pretty good.
Speaker 2I think they can still play with 100 if it's light enough and stuff like you can get like uh many different brands that are covering the 100 range range. But if you're looking at going oversize, like I tried the head speed team, for example. So if you look at some models, they they call the lighter models team um, bubble, that also does this. They're not quite as light as the head team rackets, but so one of the rackets I tried which was my favorite, I think, light racket. This is 270 grams, it's probably 9.6 ounces I'm not sure exactly about the ounce conversion, conversion there. But super nice, feel 105 square inches, easy to play. But like you have this kind of addictive, addictive sensation, you can place the ball pretty well as well. So I think, like going up towards oversize, I don't they the range is usually like up to 106 107. Then you get to oversize. Like 105 is still a mid plus by some, uh, some I don't know who made that rule, but that's how it is uh. But like going up 105 to 110 I think is pretty good, even to 115, and and see how that plays. There's like bubble up, pure drive 107, which is a like very nice racket on at the net, super stable, you get some good pop on serves and it's lighter so it's easier to swing. You know, I think you need a little bit of help to get that movement going, but it all depends on your physicality. But if you feel like, okay, I have a shorter swing, I need a racket to do more.
Speaker 2There's a famous one called the head ts. Is it t I s six? The head t I s six. That's you see everywhere. It's like you can I probably can buy it at dick's sporting goods or somewhere right like it's 89 or 99 bucks and it's like a massive head size and it looks like a squash racket with how the strings work. But it's easy to play and, uh, and it's like if you have a short swing, if you're just bunting the ball and you get to the net like you can play with this racket. So I think giving yourself a little bit of grace and and some some help from the frame is it's important the older you get. That's what I'm trying to convince my father to switch, but he's not doing it. So I don't know it's sometimes people are stubborn so what about?
Speaker 1uh, you mentioned the weight of the racket. Um, how does that factor into our decision making? If we're trying to start experimenting, what you know? If I'm looking at two different rackets, one weighs a little more. What is that going to do for me? What is that going to do for my game?
Speaker 2yeah, this is a tricky topic. Most people love heavy, heavy rackets. Like we did a video on the tennis nerd youtube channel like why heavy rackets are better what's kind of a provocative statement that I don't believe in myself 100. But my friend danny was like I have to play with he's german, so the heavier the better. You know, like you have to be a man, stuff like this, right? Um, joking aside, like some people just love a heavier racket. They love how it feels they're going to have a bit more stability and usually if you have a smaller head size, you need more weight on the frame because otherwise it's going to become completely unstable. But the larger the head size gets in the racket, the lower the weight can be, so you can actually get stability from the frame itself, like it helps you.
Speaker 2We talked about the big baba, which was like super light, uh in if you look at the static weight. But lots of weight was in the hoop because the hoop is so big, right? So I think the most important factor in tennis rackets is like where the weight is placed. So if there's loads of weight in the head of the racket, that's going to make it cumbersome to swing and that's a factor called swing weight, if we get into technical terms, and that's something you should consider because, like, you can have a racket that looks very light on paper but the swing weight is quite high, so it's still like a hefty racket to swing. You hear it in the word swing weight, right, so that that's quite important. It's like picking a golf club, you know it's, it's um, it's something to consider. I would say, like if you really got used to playing with a certain weight, it's going to be tough to maybe reduce it or increase it in a big way.
Speaker 1You want to keep within the parameters of your existing racket, but overall, I think the trend of going down in weight is generally something we're going to keep seeing, and for a good reason because it's easier to play with, easier to swing. So for swing weight, if it's a higher swing weight it's more difficult to swing, is that right? Yeah, and then so players who need a higher swing weight are going to be like pro players, right? Like they're physically fit, they have faster swings. Is that kind of how that works?
Speaker 2yeah, if we go into the pros, like um, the older guys, like the old guard now kind of retiring slowly we talk about djokovic, he's on his last years, uh, being coached by marie who retired earlier this year they're both in the 360 370 range. Uh, this is so they. That's pretty high. So if we look at like you can almost convert it to grams, but not quite, but that's, that's a very high swing weight. But then you go down to Alcaraz, for example, he's close to 330. That's strong swing weight and Sinner is 340.
Speaker 2So the younger generation is going down, they're swinging faster so they can generate enough power anyway, while the older guys they had higher swing weights because they get more power and don't have to swing it as fast and don't have to swing it as fast, you know. But the issue if you have a high swing weight as a club level player is that if you're late on the ball it can start like bothering your wrist, maybe getting a tennis elbow. The weight can become a cumbersome thing, right? Also, getting it on serve is usually more tricky. A heavier racket is trickier to serve with than a lighter racket, I would say.
Speaker 2Because you can whip a lighter racket faster through the air.
Speaker 1Okay, so it's not necessarily the case that if I'm physically stronger I should go with a higher swing weight. It's also about timing and technique and things like that.
Speaker 2It's always about timing and technique. I mean, you can see, like I play with a lot of juniors, I play five, six times a week, right, so I play with some juniors. Like I play with a lot of juniors, I play five, six times a week, right, so I play with some juniors, um, and like they look small and maybe not so built up, like they're maybe 14, 15, but they can still generate loads of power thanks to technique and footwork, like that's where a lot of power comes from. So I wouldn't look at it like, oh, I'm a muscly guy that goes to the gym, I need to play with a 400 gram racket or a really heavy racket. Uh, it's more about like how is your footwork and your technique? Like what, where is this coming from? And I would not try to play with professional tennis specs for club level players.
Speaker 1That's generally an advice I have yeah, we're gonna get to some pro questions here in a second. Uh, I wanted to talk about, I guess, doubles, like specific shots. So volleys are super important in doubles Volleys and doubles are different than singles volleys Generally, a lot of times you're closer to the net, you're kind of just knocking the volley off without a whole lot of swing. Are there any specific? If we are more of a doubles net player, are there any specific rackets or specifications or things we should be looking for? Uh, that might help us more at the net with those volleys.
Speaker 2Yeah, it's an interesting thing because the bigger head size you go uh, the more forgiveness you have. So you can be a bit like you don't have to be ultra fast on getting the racket in position, but you're obviously going to get more control if you play with a smaller head size. I think overall, if you look at high-level doubles, most players seem to play around 100 square inches. Also, on top level, I think most players play with 100 square inches. There are many exceptions to this, but at least the majority and I think not having it a too heavy racket, because when you need fast reflexes at the net. So if you're playing a net, play as a singles player, you can maneuver the heavier racket because you don't have to have super fast reflexes.
Speaker 2But in doubles there's more unexpected things that can happen, like you know the guy you're at the net and you can suddenly get smacked towards your body, right, and you just need to react quickly.
Mastering Tennis String Selection
Speaker 2So you need like a little bit of two things like somewhat light racket but still stable. That's generally the two things you would look for. You want to look for like a stiffer racket that has a bit more stability inherently but it's still light enough so you can maneuver it right, and that's different depending on the player. But those are the two things I would think more about as a doubles player than as a singles player, because the forgiveness will also help you on two things like serve you're going to help with a stiffer rack, you're going to get more power, but also the stability on the returns with this, with the slightly higher stiffness, I think, because service and returns, as we've talked about on my podcast, for example, is so important doubles even more maybe than in singles sure, okay, and that higher stiffness will be a little bit harder on, like the elbow and shoulder though as well in most if you've had some injuries okay.
Speaker 2Yeah, in some cases I would say, but it depends a lot on the string. So if you're, I think the string is even more important because if you're like suffering from tennis elbow type stuff, you should generally try to maybe go off the polyester string. If that's what you're using, maybe try a gut or a multi-filament string, like, I mean, old school strings. You can even try these strings that are like half poly, half multi, which is like technofiber triax, for example, so you can use the strings to reduce some of that. The issue with the stiffness from the racket Not all stiff rackets create issues for players with elbows and stuff. It depends a lot on the dampening technology, including the frame where the mass is placed on the frame. So there's a lot of like technical issues there. But overall I think like you need like a little bit of stiffness to help you with the stability, especially at the net.
Speaker 1You know I think that helps and you just mentioned so this is a good transition. You just mentioned that strings might be even more important than the racket. A lot of listeners and I find this with a lot of club players earlier you said a lot of players have only played with one, maybe two rackets in their whole life. But I feel like with strings people know even less. I feel like a lot of people will go to their local pro and say, just string it with whatever you want and they don't really think about it. So how should we start experimenting with strings? If we want to try to maybe find something with more spin or more forgiveness or comfort or power, what should we think about there?
Speaker 2This is a tricky. It's a large topic because there's many different strings, but they're mainly two types, right, so you can go if you don't have any arm issues. If you want more control, you can try polyester strings if you're not already playing. Most people these days play with polyesters. I would say, um, that's the most common string. Usually they have funny colors. Sometimes they're silver, but sometimes they're red, yellow, orange, whatever and um, there's so many different strings. There's softer polyesters, which will give you a bit more power, but they don't last as long. And there's stiffer polyesters that really like hold tension better, they can stay longer in the racket, but they can have a little bit of like issue with creating power and can be a bit hard on the arm. So those those strings would generally be strung lower right. So there's many factors you can play around with. You can choose the different strings, you can give it to two different strings so you have a hybrid setup and you can change the tension.
Speaker 2So I think like if you go back 10, 15 years, one of the biggest issues that creates tennis elbow and stuff like this is like people stringing the rackets too high.
Speaker 2I think that's still going on.
Speaker 2So I generally advise people to consider going down, like you know, a few pounds, four pounds, six pounds.
Speaker 2See what happens because, like, if you're playing a polyester, the string works better and kind of harder in a way. If you're stringing it lower, you let the string do more, so there's more pocketing in the string. Bed sweet spot expands a bit and you're going to have a little bit more of that like spin, like slightly higher launch angle, like the ball goes up a little bit but the ball then dips down, which is kind of like addictive spin. So, unless you're playing with a multi-filament or a gut string, I think going down in tension could be a game changer for a lot of people, even if you play with the same string, like you play with this string for five, ten years, whatever, but maybe dropping but maybe dropping the tension if it's a polyester could be something that really helps you. Yeah, but, overall, like start, maybe here you can buy it by three, four different strings and try, you know, because it's not as much of a cost as a racket is.
Speaker 1For sure. Yeah, that's funny you say that. I remember this is like 15 years ago. At this point almost In college, I strung my rackets. I think it was like 61 or 64 pounds or something like that. I was using a synthetic gut and a poly hybrid and now I'm down to 51. I've even experimented in the 40s a bit. So for somebody listening who has, let's say, they've been playing with poly for a while, maybe they're not, their tension's okay, maybe they're in the low fifties or high forties or something like that, but they're starting to have elbow issues. What are some of the better? Maybe soft polys or hybrid setups that they could try out?
Speaker 2Yeah, yeah, you can always try adding like a multi-filament or a gut string to your already existing string. So instead of doing the whole bed in the same string, let's say you're playing laxanol power, which is one of the most popular strings but also a very stiff string that can create arm issues. And if you still like the string, you can put gut, which is more expensive but holds tension better, or a multi-filament like wilson n, yonex, rexis, babola XL there are a bunch of them. You can put that in the mains to get even more power, even more comfort, or in the crosses just to mute a little bit of that harshness. So the string that is in the mains is the main ingredient If you see it as a dish right, so you put the mains the main ingredient, the crosses are like the sub-ingredients. So if you have a softer string in the mains, the main ingredient, the crosses are like the sub-ingredients. So if you have a softer string in the mains, you're going to get a lot more power and some good comfort, even if you use your standard poly in the crosses. So I would start maybe doing a hybrid and if that is still like an issue for your arm, you can try like a softer polyesters. Yonex, polytor, pro Yellow one is usually quite soft. Wilson Revolve Spin is very soft string. If you talk about the popular brands Tourline, it's like an upcoming brand that makes pretty soft strings in pretty nice colors as well.
Speaker 2But you can also, if you're really feeling like, okay, I need to give my elbow a break but I still want to play, like I still want to play tennis. I really recommend trying a multifilfilament string like do a full bed. I tried it the other day and you can still play pretty decent. You can still generate spin. That's how people played in the 90s until guga quarton came with the big banger, all the power and 1997. I think that changed a lot of the tennis scene. But you can definitely play with a multi still. Uh, there's some really good ones out there. So you can experiment to see until your elbow gets a bit better. Then you can maybe go back on the poly train.
Speaker 1But but be careful you mentioned the yonex polytour pro and you said the yellow version is a good one. So so does. Are there like different colors that play differently within the same exact like family of string?
Speaker 2Yeah, so the additive of the color right makes the string slightly different, and that's generally also the case with racket.
Speaker 2So if you paint a racket black, it's going to be playing a bit different than a blue. I mean something maybe some notice with the new East, with the East zones, like the outgoing version of the East zone is that they had the blue one, but then they released the aqua night, which is a black version, and it plays slightly stiffer, like if you, if you are sensitive to this stuff, if you play I could test hundreds of rackets, you know um, then you, you feel it, you know, you feel like, okay, this is a bit stiffer. And the same with, with uh, strings. So if a string it's generally this case like the deader, the color like, so it's black or dark gray, you're going to have more control. The string is going to be deader in itself. It's going to like, have less liveliness to it, you know. But if you go like yellow or bright green, the string, as its color, funnily, is more lively, so it has more elasticity. It's going to give you a little bit more of a trampolining and we're talking percentages, but still it's noticeable, right.
Pro Doubles Racket Preference Analysis
Speaker 1Interesting. Yeah, I'd never heard that before. That's wild. So let's move on to some of the pros. So talk to us about. I know this is pretty um common knowledge for some people, but I know a lot of people don't understand this. So the pro players are not using the exact racket that they're, I guess, endorsing um talk about the process that pros go through to get rackets made and what are they actually playing with.
Speaker 2Yeah. So if you think about it logically, like if you're a professional tennis player and your livelihood is winning tennis matches, you wouldn't want to risk that every two years by getting used to a new racket every time, right?
Speaker 2So every two or three years, sometimes four, the racket companies will release a new version. They might have tweaked something inside the racket which is called the layup, so the layup of carbon, or they might have changed even the structure of the racket, which is the mold of the frame, which will make it play quite significantly differently, right. So in some cases it's a small change, in some cases a big change. The blades, for example. Version 8, version 9 was a small change. You could probably switch in between them with just a slight difference. But if you go like yonex v core, the 21 version versus the 23 version was quite a big difference, like it's the very different on how the racket gave you like more spin or more power, less control. So the pros don't do that. They have their model. Obviously they can try new things and some pros change. I consult some pros also, like if they want to change rackets, what they should change to. But they usually get their rackets painted in the new paint.
Speaker 2And that's the thing where I talk about the paint and the color, because sometimes the pros feel like the racket plays differently with a different color, even if it's the exact same thing underneath, and that sometimes it's perceived, sometimes it's actually a little bit different, but, um, and they obviously playing millions and millions of shots, they have really sensitive arms, they know exactly where in the string, but they hit every ball.
Speaker 2They're they're professional. So, um, obviously they want the racket to always be the same, always have the same like, if they can like, maybe they have different string tensions, but the racket structure and the mold is always like, supposed to be the same, otherwise they can really feel every small little thing. So they get them, get them customized to their liking by the companies and painted to make the consumer, such as you and me, feel like oh, okay, so he's playing with the new, uh, the new blade or the new e-zone or or radical. So I should also get that, because my favorite player is playing with that. But he is not. He's playing with another model painted to look like that okay, got it.
Speaker 1Um. So I wanted to move on to some pro doubles. So I think you know I've never studied this, I'm not sure if you have like how rackets differ on the pro doubles tour versus the pro singles tour. Is that something you're familiar with?
Speaker 2yeah, I've looked into that. Uh, it's not wildly different, but I have noticed like that they tend to like a little bit stiffer frames overall. That's what I said about that. I think that makes sense. I think also their head sizes on average are a little bit larger. They're more hundred square inch rackets. I do see um pros using like racket. That could be used on the tour but like on the singles tour as well. But overall I think, also a little bit lighter, so to have more maneuverability and to be a bit more ready to just touch the ball. In singles you're going to have a bit more time so you're running in between the shots. You have more time to get also into a rally and get used to something or get into a groove. Doubles can be so quick like it's not really a game where you get a lot of chance to groove with a racket. So I think you need a bit of a lighter frame overall. So the weights are a little bit lower on the doubles tour in my research.
Speaker 1That kind of makes sense to me. I feel like in a singles match. When you watch singles on TV sometimes you'll see Sinner especially like a Medvedev, like playing from so far back behind the baseline and that just doesn't happen often on double. In doubles If it does like you're lobbying from way back there, like you're not trying to rip a passing shot from that far back. So I'd imagine if you're playing from that far back behind the baseline you do need a bit more weight to help you generate that same amount of power, whereas in doubles you're never hitting that shot. Um, you're never trying to rip it from 10 feet behind the baseline, because it's just not a high percentage play.
Speaker 2No, there's like a far less like trying to rip shots overall, like to and be more aggressive from the baseline. I mean, you're trying to obviously find a, an angle, or find like a place to lob or or or think on your feet, but you always have to be fast and it's a lot more obviously volleys like even like half volleys a lot more reactions. Players are closer to the net, they're more in the you know um that middle ground where you shouldn't be really like that. That's what happens. So they need to react faster and it's a completely different game in many ways, right.
Speaker 1I guess endorses Prince when I go and watch him from up close. I mean, his racket looks so thin and he's got those little O-ports that Prince is known for, which is kind of weird to see from a professional player, because I don't know if Isner had that or not. I know he played with Prince for a while as well. You're shaking your head. No, so I guess isn't or did not have that. Um, what is grenoyers playing with?
Speaker 2uh, from what you can tell, I think he's playing with one of the older exo series, so like it was a popular model that prince made which was which is quite flexible, but they made different generations. I have two pro stocks belonging to a pro in about one of the bags in my wardrobe over there, but it's it's very like good on feel. I would say it's like so once. I think those rackets with the ports have a lot of string movement. So the idea with the port is that the string should move a lot and give you partly good comfort. And they still do these rackets like. They haven't done more aggressive versions of them called ripsticks now in the last few years, uh, but but they're supposed to give you like, quite nice spin, quite good sensation.
Speaker 2Strings don't last that long in these rackets compared to maybe regular grommets, but for the pros that's not an issue. You get them very strong every before every practice anyway. So this is an old oport, probably an uh like a hundred square inch X03 racket which is super popular. I've sold like I had a bunch in my racket stack like and I've sold them to pros like people who are 150 ATP. They like oh, I've seen you have that, can you, can I buy you know?
Speaker 2because, they're hard to find, and Prince they don't really sponsor players, so I'm not sure if it's his personal stack or if prince send him still, but but they don't really have like an ambassador endorsement budget anymore as far as I understand.
Speaker 1Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. Is it just me, or is it a much thinner racket than most others?
Speaker 2like it's, uh, it's probably not like like crazy thing. Like there are some like gravity pro is 20 millimeters, uh, and some rackets are around 21 like blades and stuff. But but this can be like 19 to 20 millimeters, but it like it the whole bracket is is very thin, so the profile of the racket makes it look, even with the o-ports as well, obviously makes maybe a visual um like illusion, maybe it being even thinner, right, but these are rackets made for feel, like, like heavily based on, like the feeling, and once you get into that feel it's kind of tough to switch because it's a very strong personality in a racket, I would say.
Speaker 1Interesting. So a couple of players who didn't play together this year but did the past couple of seasons Wesley Kulhoff and Neil Skubski. They both used the Prestige, which is, as you know, a control-oriented racket. For sure, I like it a lot at the net, actually, and one thing I noticed is when Head came out with their newer models, they stuck with the older version, the all red version. I don't know if it was two or three versions ago, um, and it was like a brighter red. Uh, do you know when players are doing this, is it because they hit with something and like, didn't like the paint, or is there some other potential reason for that?
Speaker 2that's a very good question actually. Um, like, I'm a huge fan of the red prestigious from 2019. That was my match racket for years, right, and which is a long time since I test everything. That's new, but it has a very magical feel. However, head could simply, with what they do for other pros, just send them a blacked out, like what the new 2023 prestige looks like, and send it to wesley, for example.
Speaker 2Uh, so I don't know. Sometimes it's like I don't like the cosmetic. I want to stay with this for the racket brands. It's not something they want. Like. This happens sometimes. Like even tiafa had a hard time switching to the percept cosmetic. He was happy with his old one.
Speaker 2You see it among doubles. Uh, usually when you're ranked high enough, you will get a pro stock racket. They will arrange for you the new cosmetic. They will send it out well ahead of time. You will get a bunch of rackets over a year. Uh, sometimes they draw like a line of like okay, you're top 400 in singles, then beyond that, you're not getting like pro stocks easily. Uh, depends on the brand, depends on on things. But, but these guys should get their their top like top 10, right, top 20 doubles players. They should be getting frames. So maybe it's something personal then like maybe it's like oh, it's my lucky cosmetic, I still have these rackets. I don't like how the new one plays, because it plays slightly differently in my head or in actual fact. So it's usually something very personal to the player and it's kind of frustrating, I think, for the racket companies, because they obviously want them to market the new ones.
Speaker 1Yeah for sure. Do you know where that line is? And doubles for pro players who are getting kind of pro stock rackets with uh um, with the brands it's a great question.
Speaker 2I't know, it's something I can look into. But yeah, it depends on every brand as well. And also sometimes they like if you're a younger, up and coming star, you're going to get a bit better treatment than if you were like a has-been or whatever. You know it's not a good word, but yeah, if they're like, obviously they're looking into it like as an investment and sometimes pros that are ranked uh, maybe like outside the 400 can get rackets as well. I've had experiences. Yeah, I have a guy I know, a friend of mine who, who is annoying and doesn't want to send him any more rackets because he's asked for every racket to test in the book, right. So there's all kinds of stories there. I don't really know where the line goes there and doubles interesting.
Speaker 1Yeah, I know I haven't talked to players about this specifically, but I think I think a lot of them like struggle to get brand deals anyways. I mean, I know we talked with the tennis warehouse team. They sponsor a few of the doubles players who are Grand Slam champions over the last several years years and they send them a lot of gear because a lot of them, like are just now getting racket deals because they finally reached like top 10 or number one or won a grand slam. So it might be, yeah, even lower than we think and probably does depend on the brand a bit. So, jonas, this conversation with rackets and strings, I can tell it's just such a complicated topic. There is no way somebody can just listen to this conversation and figure out okay, I should definitely test these three rackets and I'm absolutely going to love one of them.
Speaker 1It's very specific to the player, just like double strategy, which I love. Where can people go to find out more about you and do a bit more research, to figure out kind of where to start and try to test out new rackets and find a better fit for them?
Speaker 2Yeah, it's a complicated topic. Sometimes you find your first racket straight away, although you like your favorite racket straight away away. Sometimes it takes years and some people never find it kind of um, but yeah, so you can go to tennisnerdnet. There are loads of reviews. We have a gear guide, so, and we'd recommend the rackets and strings and if you want to get into the weeds with swing weight, weight balance, whatever all these things are explained there.
Speaker 2Uh, if you prefer videos, youtube is the way to go the tennis nerd youtube channel. There's loads and loads of content there over the years and where we try to explain as much as possible, like what all these things mean, because most people don't have time to weed down into all this. Some love it, some don't, right, so it's very much up to the person how much they want to invest in in researching their next racket. But it's worth giving it some time because I can really help you partly be pain-free in some cases if you're playing with a setup that gives you some elbow issues or wrist issues or shoulder issues, but it can also be giving you a little bit more enjoyment from your tennis, a little bit more free points.
Speaker 1Sometimes a racket change can can help, sure are you still offering consultations for anybody listening who maybe doesn't want to do all the research but would yeah, yeah, like that's for an hour of your time yeah, exactly so.
Speaker 2They, um, they can go on the website as well. There's links to that. The consultation we still do that. It's a little bit the time, if for me sometimes, because I really try to dig into it and I'm doing all of it, but uh, but I still like helping people and I think it's uh, it can be very valuable. It would be for me if I was in the same situation. You know, to like get someone to give me four options and then I demo them and I find like one and you know, that's, that's over, I'm done with it, I don't need to waste any more time with it.
Speaker 1So I will say it helps now. Yeah, seems like it could save a lot of time for some people. Awesome, jonas. Uh, thank you so much for coming on. This was a lot of fun. Um to everybody listening, we'll link to uh his website, instagram, youtube, everything in the show notes, um, including some of the rackets we talked about. Uh any final request of the audience or uh any parting words before we hop off here?
Speaker 2no, have fun play tennis. That's generally. It don't forget to do it. That's usually what I say in my videos. But overall, like, don't get bogged down in the racket jungle if we're talking about gear, but just focus on on like getting a racket, then having fun playing more and more tennis and play more and more doubles awesome all right.
Speaker 1Thanks everybody for listening. I will talk to you all soon.