The Best Beginner Tennis Racquets 2018 Edition

If you are new to the world of tennis, it can seem like a pretty daunting task to figure out which racquet to start using. If people start throwing terms like swing weight, frame stiffness, and stringing pattern around then without a certain understanding of how racquets work it can seem like you are being spoken to in another language.

With this short guide to beginner racquets, I'm going to make the racquet choosing process much simpler for you. Often beginners never really think about what racquet they are going to use, they just pick up whatever is available to them and start trying to hit some balls. That's fine if it's a twice a year hobby, but if you are looking to improve and play more frequently you need to get the right equipment.

Even if you are a beginner with very limited knowledge of the game it is important to use equipment that is favourable to you as it can greatly impact your enjoyment and your ability to improve. If a beginner decided to use Roger Federer’s racquet, the RF97, just because he's their favourite player, then it would be hugely challenging to use that frame and make the most of their game due to the weight. Even a very experienced player might have trouble playing their best with a racquet of such characteristics.

As well as breaking down the characteristics of racquets,  I will go over some racquet choices that may be great options for someone who has just started playing the game. If you are looking to use the same equipment that you see some of the pros on TV using we are sorry to disappoint, but usually, most of those racquets require having a considerable level of skill to be able to get the most out of them. Luckily for you, most racquet brands do have variations on the more serious player's frames that can give you a similar feel to what your favourite players are rocking on the courts that you see on television.

You might like: My In-Depth Guide on How to Choose the Right Tennis Racquet

What Racquet Specifications Mean

In order for us to be able to choose the right equipment, we have to talk about racquet specifications. We are not going to into super deep or specific details to what all of the different specs mean but it is important to have an idea of how these all work. This way, when your game improves and you may want to start using a different racquet, you can have a firmer idea of what your future frame can be.

Weight

Pretty self-explanatory usually displayed in ounces or grams, for a beginner a racquet the key is finding a frame that isn't too light as it hinders stroke development or too heavy to the point it's difficult to use. For a typical adult male, you should be looking at a frame between 290-320g, a typical adult woman this should be around 280-310g both unstrung.

Head Size

Measured in square inches, if you are a beginner then it's not a bad idea to use a racquet with a mid size / large head size then they are usually more forgiving on off centre hits. An adult male should be looking at frames that are 95-100 sq inches and a female 95-105 sq inches.

Grip Size

Dependson the size of your hand of course. The video below shows you how to measure. However, I would suggest choosing something slightly smaller than you think as a smaller grip makes it easier to manoeuvre the racquet. And it's also easier to make a grip larger than it is smaller!

Swing Weight

This is important to not mistake it for the overall weight of the racquet. This is the combination of the overall weight and the balance. A racquet can be much heavier but can have a lower swing weight than a racquet that is very head heavy. So for beginners, we want to avoid racquets that are head heavy as they are tougher to manoeuvre but we also don’t want them to be super head light as it can be challenging for them to create power. For a male, I recommend somewhere between 5-12pts headlight and for a female 3-8 pts headlight.

Quick Comparison of the Best Beginner Racquets

A Detailed Look at My Recommended Tennis Racquets for Beginners

This Babolat Pure Drive 110  is a very good choice for players who are just picking up the game. A pretty lightweight frame, in fact just under what I would usually recommend but this one sneaks into my picks.

Like most Babolat racquets it is fairly powerful and has a large head which should allow a beginner plenty of forgiveness. Another benefit this racquet offers is easy access to spin due to the 16 x 19 string pattern.

If you manage to find a previous version of this racquet from a year or two ago you'll save money too. It will play the exact same as the newer model. This principle applies to almost any racquet out there. Usually, when there is a new model update, the way the racquet plays hardly changes, it is purely a cosmetic change.

Crafted out of Rafa Nadal’s frame, this lighter more friendly racquet is great for beginners who might want to experiment creating more spin.

This frame is slightly heavier than the Aero Drive 110 featured above but one I'd still call a lightweight racquet. Despite that, the feature that stands out in this frame is how stable the racquet is despite its lightness. Any beginner who wishes to learn how to play with more spin and easy pace should consider this frame.

Serena Williams’ racquet of choice. Within the beginner tennis racket category, this is the racquet comes close to what you'll find an advanced player using. This model will feel considerably less powerful than the Babolat racquets so if you are a fairly strong person and want to develop proper fluid strokes this racquet might be just the one for you.

Because it is a less powerful frame with a tighter string pattern it will mean that you will need to learn to create your own power and spin, which would require more effort than using some of the other suggested frames. The dense string pattern will also help beginners with precision and is more suited to flat hitters. I would recommend demoing this racquet (ideally you want to demo anything before you buy it) but this one in particular as it's not for everyone.

At just shy of 300g strung the Dunlop offers a very manageable swing weight making it fairly easy to generate pace and spin. I've actually demoed this frame and it felt great for stability, feel and response on off-center hits.

If we look at the rest of the specifications this frame has quite a lot of characteristics from a ‘players frame' and is the kind of equipment someone who is more experienced would use. However, this racquet is ideally suited for intermediates and beginners.

The Prince is a fast and lively racquet and even though it doesn't have the power from the baseline as you get from a heavy player's racquet, it offers some good stability for its weight. It's great up at net too, making it ideal for doubles. Overall this is a smart choice for intermediate players who want speed, spin and precision in an easy to use package.