Where can i find a cheap but good babolat tennis racquet? and another question..?
I am looking for a babolat tennis racquet somewhere under $125 and a head that has an equal amount of power and control but something more on control. Please recommend anything you can for me from what strings i should get to
playing as a lefty
April 30th, 2010 at 4:07 am
go to holabirdsports.com , they lower the prices, being a left you will have more advantages in surving and ralleying with right handeds.
April 30th, 2010 at 7:23 am
I get rackets and strings for players all the time. Babolat rackets usually cost around $160 new retail, but you can get used ones that have a few scratches or a paint chip for about half that much. I would recommend a Babolat Pure Control racket, as many of the top ranked players around here like that babolat frame. As for strings, alot of players like Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power, Wilson NXT, and Babolat Hurricane are all popular choices. Email me if you need more help. I can give you a few select choices that will give you extra spin on your shots which is more effective for left handers especially if you go hybrid stringing with a more rough textured cross string.
April 30th, 2010 at 11:35 am
Sounds to me like you want something with a larger midplus head or smaller oversize head (100-103 maybe 105 sq. in.). That will help with the power. Go smaller for more control.
As for most of the control factor, look for something heavier. Start with racquets over 11 oz. If those seem too heavy, or you don’t think there’s enough power there, go a little lighter.
For strings, right now you probably just need a basic 16 gauge synthetic gut, or something one step up from syn. gut like Prince’s syn. gut. with duraflex. (Sorry, I’m most familiar with prince’s strings). That should last a while for you, as well has have some decent feel.
Now for the price: I can’t help you much here. Babolat seems to maintain its racquet lineup pretty well, so they don’t have anything you would be looking for in the liquidation selections. I would suggest a couple things to you.
1. Try e-bay, after figuring out what racquet you want. You might have to buy something slightly used.
2. Check with some coaches or pro-shops that are around. They might have some old demo racquets they’d be willing to sell you. Right now, tenniswarehouse.com has 4 babolat VS nct tour racquets that were demos for sale.
And don’t worry about buying a used racquet. I’ve bought 3 already, and still use them all after 5 years. They work just fine.
And one last thing: The worst thing about playing a lefty (from the opponent’s perspective) has to be the serve. Lefties put spin on the ball that is opposite what most people are used to. Get a good, reliable serve with some tight spin on it (lots of kick is good, too), and people will forever hate your serves.
April 30th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
You will not be able to get the new Babalots like the Aero Cortex(Nadal) or Pure Drive Roddick for $125, no matter how good of a website the place has. Your best bet is to get last years models and demos from local tennis shops and pros shops especially if you establish some relationship with them. You sound like an up and coming player and these places will try to give you a break unlike national mail order ones.I have 2 Pure Drive Team(blue-the old Roddick)rackets that I’d give to you if you were in my area as I’m using the Cortex now. The Cortex felt a little better to me on groundstrokes and I guess I did imagine I’d get my lefty forehand a little more like Nadal’s.
As far as strings go for ultimate spin, I also recommend the polyesters, but my personal preference is towards the Luxilon. The Hurricane is cheaper, though, but I don’t skimp on string as that makes a big difference to me. I have never found the “rough” versions of any string to be as playable as the regular version and the rough didn’t give me anymore spin(a big part of my game).
April 30th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
Hey buddy I am from Central florida. I get my raquets from topseed tennis, they are the best The website is http://www.thetennismarket.com you wont be let down you can even negotiate prices on new stuff. I play with the Baboloat pro hurricane tour in a 17 gauge you can do anything with them and they last a long time, Nadal uses them
hey check out my tennis video dude
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Atennisstory