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2017 Racquet Selector: Finding the Perfect Fit

Don’t just sell racquets — use our exclusive Racquet Selector tool to fit your customers with their perfect frame.

By Bob Patterson

Racquet sales have been in decline for the last several years, and that’s affecting everyone in this industry. We could point to many factors that have contributed to this state of affairs, but the question we need to answer is, how do we change this downward trend? If participation is steady, or even slightly up according to the latest statistics, why aren’t players buying more racquets?

We feel that one major factor is a lack of knowledge and understanding about the importance of a player’s equipment — racquet and string — to their on-court performance. Take a walk around your local tennis facility and look at what equipment players are using. You’re likely to spot a 3.0-level player with a compact swing using a heavy mid-plus racquet with a dense string pattern, struggling to get the ball deep into the opponent’s court. You’ll also probably spot a 4.0-level player swinging a lightweight oversize racquet with long fluid strokes — and missing shots long. That same player is also wearing a brace on his elbow to help ease arm pain.

It is far too common to see recreational tennis players using racquets and/or string setups that are completely wrong for them and their style of play. Not only can they hurt a player’s on-court performance, and ability to improve, but they can lead to physical damage. And that means there’s a good chance they won’t stick with the game long-term.

Education is Key

As professional racquet technicians, it is up to us to try and educate every player we encounter about the importance of having a racquet fitted to their particular needs and style of play. This means you need to have a good understanding of racquet characteristics, so you can assess your customer’s strengths and weaknesses and give them a proper assessment and recommendation, based on a frame’s power, maneuverability, comfort, etc.

In other words, if you are in a position to sell or advise players, you must know how to help them. Only then can you guide your customer to find their perfect fit.

The new USRSA Racquet Professional Study Guide explains all the nuances of racquets and string. It is available to all USRSA members on racquettech.com and is designed for those preparing to acquire their certification as a Professional Racquet Adviser (PRA), Master Racquet Technician (MRT) or Certified Stringer (CS). But even if you don’t plan to become certified, the Study Guide can help you understand racquets and string, and how to fit them to players.

The Frame Game

Once you have an understanding of racquet characteristics, our Racquet Selector tool — on the next two pages and on racquettech.com — can help you wade through the hundreds of models on the market to find choices that meet your customers’ needs.

With the Racquet Selector tool on the website, you can select a brand and racquet model, and the tool provides the key specs of that racquet: Power, Swing Weight, Head Size, Flex, Weight, Length, Balance and Price. You can then select one or more of those specs that you would like to change, with choices of “more,” “less,” “same,” “same or more,” and “same or less.” You can also prioritize the importance of the specs. Once you have determined these changes, click the “Find My New Racquets” button, and you will get a list of all the current racquets fitting your desired criteria.

The chart on the following pages lists all the racquets currently on the market, including the newest frames.

If you stock and sell frames, the Racquet Selector Tool can help you select an inventory mix that is diverse enough to cover all player types without having too much duplication. Even if you’re a small shop with a limited inventory, you can make sure you have all the bases covered.

Once you’ve spent time learning your customer’s needs and their games, suggest some demo racquets for them to try. When they return, ascertain what worked and what didn’t. This will give you an idea of the direction they need to go for the next test drive.

Understanding The Specs

1. Headsize: Square-inch measurement of hitting surface (the strung area).

2. Length: Length of the frame from the butt of the handle to the top of the hoop.

3. Weight: Overall weight of the strung racquet, listed in both ounces and grams.

4. Balance: Measurement from the butt end of racquet to the “balance point,” listed in inches and centimeters.

5. Flex: A measurement of the racquet’s stiffness using the Babolat Racquet Diagnostic Center (RDC).

6. Swingweight: The distribution of mass along the length of the racquet, in kg x cm2.

7. Power Formula: Determined by an algorithm in the USRSA database using the key specs that contribute to the power of the racquet: Length, Head Size, Flex and Swing Weight.

See all articles by Bob Patterson

About the Author

Bob Patterson , the founder of the RacquetMAXX customization service, is a Master Racquet Technician with more than 20 years of experience. He was RSI's Stringer of the Year in 2005. He is Executive Director for the U.S. Racquet Stringers Association.

From the April 2017 issue
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