When purchasing a racquet, do you think you should buy one that suits your strengths? Or do you think it should suit your weaknesses? Ie: if you are a player that relies on smashes, should you buy a good smashing racquet, or should you compensate your weak defence with a racquet that is good for defense?
It ain't your tools, it's how you use them. Surely if you have weaknesses you should just work on them? Spend the money you save from not buying a new racket on coaching! But yes, if your level of play is such that an "extra 5% head speed" will make all the difference to your style, invest!
I partially agree with Aleik and Winex West Can but not completely. Yes, if a player has glaring weaknesses, the player should work on those weaknesses. But some rackets might promote a strength at a huge cost on a weakness. If the racket is too head and overall heavy, it will be a powerful smashing racket, but it can weaken the player in the backhand or in defence. Here, the choice will be a lighter and less head heavy racket that will still give a powerful smash but without too much cost in defence or backhand. Balance and optimization is the key, not a racket that serves the strengths only or alleviates the weaknesses only. For example, many years ago, I had a Carlton 3.7X that gave me a fantastic smash but because of the balance point, I usually miss hit the backhand. I got rid of it and replaced it with a Cab7; I still had a decent smash but my backhand was much better (still lousy) because the balance of the racket did not result in me miss timing my backhand almost everytime. The preference among quality rackets are a matter of taste. That is why some rackets are recommended for doubles and others for singles. Different rackets are optimized for different styles and different games. Ron
i didn't mean that the player in the example's defense was non existant... i just meant that the person in the example would win more often with smashing...
I think it's better to get a racquet that enhances your strengths. But as RonK said, you have balance the strength and weakness. You don't want a racquet that would make your weakness a problem. I.e. If you are great at shot placement, you want a lighter racquet to enhance that skill, and keep your opponent running around. You don't want to get a racquet so light that you can't clear from the back. Find a few racquets that covers all your needs, then pick the one of the bunch that most enhances your strengths. Thats what I would do.
