This seems like a question that just won't die, but one that should've died the horrible death it deserves years ago.... "Which pros use that racket?" This question is usually followed by "Hardly any Pros use that racket so It can't be much good" followed by yet another debate about how Racket-X is much better than Racket-Y because Sum Yung Gai uses it and he's the best player in the world blah blah blah. Anyone else sick of this pointless debate? So, just to encourage further debate I'm going to list what I think are the top reasons why this discussion is incredibly stupid and refute the common arguments with all the subtlety of a rather large hammer. (Don't you love the irony!) At the very least it will stop people polluting perfectly good threads about perfectly good rackets with meaningless conjecture about said rackets quality based on paid endorsements. 1. You are not a Pro. So who cares what they use? You're not a Pro, you're not as fast as a Pro, you're not as strong as a Pro, you're not as skilled as a Pro, so why have a Pro racket? (That's a rhetorical question) 2. Why use someone elses' racket, fullstop? It's conceivable - if not likely - that using a Pro level racket will actually make you play worse than a racket that better suits you. How dumb is that? Constantly we hear about people buying 'latest and greatest' meaga high-end rackets and then after a session on it post back something like "Wow, what I great racket! I will have to improve my <whatever> to fully tap into it's awesomeness, but when I do it will be awesome." Translation - "Damn, this racket is too stiff and heavy and now my game sucks". 3. They get paid to use that racket, you don't. There's this thing called 'sponsorship', where a player gets paid some money and uses a particular brand of racket. That's the primary reason, so if the World Champ in whatever uses Brand-Y, it doesn't mean Brand-Y is better, it just means they pay his bills. The chances he took the deal Brand-Y gave him over Brand-X because he likes the carpet in their head office better is slim. 4. But Sum Yung Gai still uses an older model. While we're not privvy to this information, anecdotally there's a good chance that it's in their contract that they do not have to use a specific model, and as rackets have different feels and characteristics it seems unreasonable to me that a company would force a particular player to use a racket that doesn't suit them. In Badminton, the system would be that most companies have three or so model streams - head-heavy, head-light, and even balanced - and that sponsored players pick a racket to suit them from the range. Badminton companies have yet to base an entire model or range from scratch based on a single player, so until that happens, Pros will select whatever suits them. Being a competition, matches are results-driven, afterall. The other thing to consider is that technologically, over the past 10 years, improvements to rackets have only been incremental and not radical, so if as a Pro you've been playing with a certain racket for years and the new one offers no real-world improvements to your game, then why change? 5. That racket is nobodies 'signature' racket, so it can't be as good as one that is. Until recently when Li-Ning came onto the stage, there just wasn't the range of companies within 1000 miles of Yonex, so there was no need seen by them to tie in personalities to models because people were just going to buy Yonex anyway 90% of the time. I bet they felt less tied-in and more flexible that way, too. My guess is that one of the big reasons the 'Big Three' signature rackets were released was because of the way Li-Ning tied each of their N-Series to a specific player. You appear more formidable and tangible doing this - it's completely a marketing strategy and has nothing to do with how good or otherwise anything is. I also suspect that the Yonex 'Big Three' signature series rackets was just an incentive not to get any of them switch to Li-Ning, but I'm cynical They did manage to snatch Boonsak though. 6. No Pros use that latest release racket you like, so it must not be any good. Again, if you're not a Pro, why use a Pro racket? There are infinitely more non-Pro endorsed rackets than there are Pro ones - are they not as good as the ones used by the Pros? Of course not. They suit more players, more of the time. They're good. It's worse when a new model comes out and the Pros use it for one game then it's never seen again, but that didn't seem to stop sales of Z-Slashes because those things are everywhere! 7. A Pro racket will make me play like a Pro! Rubbish. It will make an Intermediate player look like a Pro, but probably play worse. If your primary reason to buy a racket is because a Pro uses it, you are a sheep. Nothing more, nothing less. Marketing was designed just for you - thank you for allowing us to liberate you from your money. We look forward to your "This racket is awesome but..." posts on badmintoncentral.com! Coming up next week - "Why you don't want to string your racket at 32lbs"
Makes total (and uncommonly) common sense! May I add: I usually go for a racquet that is at least one generation old, because: A. I can be critically selective from a wide swath of products with proven characteristics and performance values. B. I get at least 95% of the "value" of the "latest and greatest" for around 50% of the cost!
You are indeed a very wise man. The main issue I've had with rackets, is that looks are actually important to me - over and above what the Pros do or don't use. I think the Z-S is an insane looking racket and I love it, but I'm just not well drilled enough to wield it well. The Victor MX80 so far is the only racket that has the performance and the looks to match. I feel a better player than I actually am just holding the thing, so psychologically I'm already ahead.
Makes good sense. Indeed I would go further saying there wasn't any point asking for racket recommendation because almost always the newest and most expensive would be recommended. How boring.
haha.. nah man.. you have to re-release the list, but with a new paintjob and call it the Sum Yung Gai edition.. LOL
Although you can be right, I strongly believe that it's more than just that. Rackets actually have specs. I don't thing the sponsors would let them use a racket that is less effective than other rackets. Since the goal is to also win. So instead of actually wasting time and money experimenting on several rackets why not just go for the one that has seen to be effective for successful athletes. As long as you can afford it then why not right? If the issue is about copying then can you honestly say that you never tried to copy the pros in any aspect?
Yep, I can honestly say I've never tried to copy the pros. Actually, I tell a lie. I did see the pros wear a certain shirt and I bought the same one, but the shirt coulda been on a corpse and I still would've bought it because I liked the design, not the players. Some people have accused me of not shaving so I look like Boe/Moegensen, but really, I'm just lazy
Yeah, I tried that but then someone told me I looked like a Giraffe trying to do ballet so I stopped.
Good post and so true - Defo more likely to buy clothing as that will look good and not effect performance. Anyway - I bought a BS12 because Maklike said it was so good not becuase a pro uses it LOL!
Because people want to do well in the sport they like. To many people, getting a pro racket is perhaps the most straightforward and cheapest way to excel and make a breakthrough in the sport, compared to hiring a coach and spending years in training, although we know by heart that's an illusion in most cases.
To paraphrase Jo Rowling, I'd say the racket chooses the player (or at least it should if you're not swayed by marketing). I wish to god I had Jung Jae-Sung's smash, but if I can play better with an NS9900 than a SW35... it's no contest. Depends on what you care most about - how you play, or how you look.
if someone wants to buy a pro's model racket , then why not ,it does them mentally good on the court and even if it is not suitable for them (i.e. too stiff) it would not hinder the person technique too much + it gives the player more confident ..... is all ++++++++ In conclusion to this thread : If you want to go and purchase the racket used by the pros , then go and get it (whatever you feel comfortable with) !!!
I'm glad LYD and JJS are still using their bs09 and sw35. I think both of them tried other rackets but have returned to their favorites. unlike carsten mogensen, keeps switching whenever yonex comes out with a new high end racket (I"m actually surprised he didn't switch from vt70 to vt80)
