Broken racket

I don't expect anyone to be interested in this, or comment, but I'm still annoyed that my racket broke yesterday when I framed a forehand.
I've been playing with the same racket for over ten years, and although I have an identical spare, I have to decide whether to invest in a new one (+ new spare).

Plusses - I'm presumably 10 years behind on technology, so if I find the right racket, it can only help, right? Er, right? Can't think of any other plusses.

Negatives - It's a very light racket (255 gms strung) so I'm going to struggle to find anything as light as that and I don't want a change of racket to completely mess up my game. It's light because a) so am I and b) I've never found heavy rackets to be balanced the way I need them to be, especially for serving.

Many rackets these days are 300g or more. Surely that's too much of an increase? I can demo a few I guess, but it's hard to be sure with only a couple of matches.

Should I stick to my spare, given that I rarely, if ever, break my strings?

Alas, woe is me, and all that.

What racquet have you got?

YOu will find light racquets of 255g but they tend to have larger frames (105 insq+). I am pretty sure that the racquet you have exists in a new version with a painted job more or less. But if I were you I would try to find the very same racquet on ebay. It's usually the cheaper and better option.

It's really old, at least 10 years - It's a Slazenger, Pro Titanium (with Tim Henman written on it - which was a bit embarrassing, but I bought it anyway). I was told last year at my local shop (sadly now out of business) that they were no longer stocking Slazengers because recent models were so poor.

E-bay is a good idea though. The Pro Braided ones crop up there quite a bit, Pro Titanium less so, but I could play with my spare and keep an eye out.

JHM - Perhaps you could call Baghdatis' sponsors and put on your best Marcos voice ........
"Sorry guys, I've gone and broken another one ..... could you send me a few new spares please (to my friend's address!) "

Worth a try ...?

JHM....like Tenez says check Ebay first, there will be a 2nd hand one of yours that will eventually come up for sale. Always best if you like a racquet to try to stick with it...newer racuqets arent that much different anyway...its the modern strings that make the biggest difference not the racquet. Indeed as we know most of the pros use old style racquets anyway.

Otherwise if you want another light racquet look at the Babolats...they're light.

lydian wrote:...Otherwise if you want another light racquet look at the Babolats...they're light.

Very good point. They will increase your consistency by 30% with a bit of topspin! no kidding.

Can I just gatecrash the thread with a relevant question to save starting another one.I bought a new racket a year ago and have played with it once a week since then on average for about 2 hours of which about 90% is doubles. Should I get my strings changed or wait for it to break? I can't decide if it no longer feels right.

HB,

Short answer - time for a change.

I play doubles twice a week on average and change my strings twice a year. It should probably be more due to the loss of tension, but it's not through wear, as I choose more durable strings.

JuliusHMarx

Why not try something new? Some outlets let you try before you buy. I know my local tennis centre does. You never know it might give your game a boost. Not that I'm suggesting for a moment that it needs one...

That's a tough question. It depends on how you feel about it. I might have a different view than JHM.

A string tension drops pretty quickly a sets, if not games are enough depnding on the kind of strings you use. And if you use synthetic strings like Luxilion, you not only have a drop of tension but also the properties of the strings gow after 6 hours of play.

The benefit of keeping yor strings is that after a while the tension is unlikely to change much and you will get used to it. As we are not proffessionals, we are less sensitive to change of tensions and we can just make the most of what we have.

Without knowing it, I adapt to change of tension and after a few rallies I get a sense of teh balls and court and so on and I keep playing until the strings break...unless I have important matches which in that case I tend to string a week or 2 before it so that it doesn;t break during the match.

hawkeye wrote:JuliusHMarx

Why not try something new?

Because I'm a fuddy duddy, stuck in the mud, died in the wool old f@rt. I may get an old wooden Slazenger Challenge as my spare racket just to freak people out.

Tenez has a point about the frequency of string changes - I just feel better getting new strings in early spring and then by the end of the summer I usually feel they've outstayed their welcome - but it may be more of a psychological security blanket that an actual need for them to be changed.
But my spare racket felt and sounded like a trampoline yesterday because it hasn't been restrung in several years.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Slazenger-Pro-Henman-Tennis-Racket-4-3-8-grip-/170791016749?pt=UK_Tennis&hash=item27c3f0192d#ht_500wt_1156

Will this work?

PS: or this.... http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Slazenger_Pro_Braided/descpageRCDUNLOP-SPBSMU.html

Thank LF, but the Pro Braided appears to be much heavier than the Pro Titanium.

I'm trialling a Babolat Pure Drive 107 - had a gentle knock with it this morning. Seems pretty well balanced, even though, at 280g, it's 40g heavier than my current racket. Very good on my backhand - better than my current racket - but otherwise taking a bit of getting used to.
Might try the Pure Drive Lite as well, only 275g, and with a smaller head size (100) which is closer to my currect 95.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM6LMOB4Pj0

Now that's what I call a broken racket! Worth re-watching just for the look on her face.