Hi All, I've been looking through the equipment sections but haven't been able to define this pairing clearly: would it be possible to pair a racket type, string type, string tension and player level to come up with a ready reference grid? ie. do some string types, racket types and string tension combinations work inherently better for different playing levels and styles and is it possible to make a ready reckoner? eg. Low to mid intermediate player, defensive, mid stiff, balanced racket, with a control string at 23-24 lbs? I like playing with thinner gauge, medium feel, repulsive string at about 22-23 lbs, on a head light racket, and my game is mostly forecourt attacking play. I'm sure most people would be able to chime in with their optimal combination, which I can then put into a chart.
The thought behind this: There is a huge variety of strings out there, and rackets as well, it can get overwhelming for a beginner or even an intermediate player who has stuck to a single racket for a long time and wants a change to evolve the equipment with his game. Given the price and inconvenience factor of getting rackets strung frequently (atleast for casual players with a full time job, stringing is quite tedious), this would help people get their setup close to perfect the first time around.
By definition, the search for perfection can not end with the first time around. It has to be compared to something. Human nature is to try many things, no matter how good the first thing was. (Otherwise all restaurants would be Pho restaurants) You are right in saying that there are so many choices out there that almost everyone is confused. There is no need for manufacturers to make as many things as they do. But they know that humans are constantly looking to change in hopes of a finding a small advantage. It's easier marketing to claim "This is new and therefore better!", rather than to convince, "From many years experience we find that this reliable [older] racket is good for the following types of players...." To have updated reviews -- like"Dinkalot's" racket and string charts -- would be awesome. I tip my hat to anyone willing to take that on. But it would take a prodigious amount of work. And it would be utter madness to complicate it by trying to combine the two charts and pair strings to rackets. In fact, it is safe to say that the two are unrelated. A string doesn't go with a racket. A string goes with a player. People who play similar styles may have completely different set ups. I know an older gentleman whose whole game is drops and nets, yet if you only saw his racket-string set up, you might think he played a power game like Fu Hai Feng. So while I applaud your plan to try and make sense of a swarming marketplace, I also caution that we are all so different that there will never be a simple formula for people to 'prescribe' themselves a racket. It will always be trial and error.
[MENTION=32159]Fidget[/MENTION]: Totally agree with the view that racket+string selection will always be trial and error, but this is where novice players can benefit from the experience that more senior player have. I'm just trying to apply a statistical approach to it; if we take a sample size of, let's say, 500 inputs, with members of this forum posting a comma seperated list of say, racket, balance, flex, string, string type (being, for the sake of simplicity, soft, medium, hard), string gauge, player level and preferred play type, it's a simple question then of charting these and picking the median values for each combination. Agreed, it can't be very precise (this is more of a social experiment ), but every player would instinctively gravitate to a particular playing style, and the next time they are in a equipment store, wouldn't end up buying a NBG95 JP just because the seller said its the best (first hand experience, I hate those thick strings, and they just don't break )
Here is a more definitive list of fields: Racket, balance point, flex, string, string feel, string gauge, player level, preferred play type, comments Acceptable values for flex: very stiff, stiff, neutral, flexible, very flexible Acceptable values for string feel: Soft, medium, hard Acceptable values for player level: Beginner, intermediate, advanced, with each category having low and high Acceptable values for preferred play type: Offensive, defensive, all-round Racket would be the racket name and same with string
Ok. I'll bite: Panda Power Trinity 1, balanced, stiff, Ashaway Zymax 62, hard, 0.62, intermediate, doubles all-round.
FZ Forza Titanium 11.000 VS, very stiff, Zymax 67, hard, .67, intermediate, defensive, recently trying to play like CL except i'm 10cm shorter lol
Li Ning Ultra carbon 9000, flexible (just) NGB99, medium, low intermediate, control player, doubles predominately.
Yonex Z force 2, Head heavy, Ultra stiff, Carlton Xcelerate X67, Hard, 0.67, High Intermediate, All round doubles, 26x26lb string tension.
Yonex Z-force = bg80p (28lbs n up)/ bg66sharp 29lbs/ bg65ti 30lbs Vt80 = bg66um/maxima/sharp 30lbs Ns9900 = bg66um/bg66 27lbs Nr800 = bg66um/nbg99 26lbs Nr900 = nbg98 27lbs / bg66 28 n above zspeed = bg85/bg66/65ti/80p 30lbs Zf2lcw = 65ti/68ti/bg66(awesome)/66max/66sharp 30lbs Above shows the rackets n the tension that I have found to be really nice to be play at and based on my personal requirement on the match n also normal amateur game. Tensions are up to own liking but the tensions above are my experiences in pushing n craving out the real potentials on each of the rackets where they starts to shine fantastically. Hope it helps
