The Ultimate Guide To The Best Lightweight Tennis Racquet


If you are in a hurry and just want to find out what the best lightweight tennis racquet is, then we recommend the Wilson Ultra Team Tennis Racquet as the best one.

Happen to be looking for the best lightweight tennis racquet for the ultimate control and speed on the court? We think we have something interesting for you to offer. And aside from suggesting a couple of good options to consider, we are going to talk about what matters the most in tennis racquets.

In this article, we’re going to review the following tennis racquets:

I'm choosing Lightweight Tennis Racquets

Things to consider when choosing the best lightweight tennis racquet

Racquet head size

The racquet head size is measured in square inches and is typically categorized as follows:

  • Midsize: 80-94 square inches.
  • Midplus: 95-105 square inches.
  • Oversize: 110-115 square inches.
  • Super oversize: 116-135 square inches.

The larger the racquet, the more power it will generate, and the larger its sweet spot (the area where you get a solid and accurate response) will be. In addition, larger-head tennis racquets are more forgiving since they have more surface to hit with.

Skilled tennis players usually opt for smaller racquets since they allow for better control and increased speed during the game. Experienced players already have good accuracy, so they don’t need the forgiveness of larger racquet heads.

Racquet head shape

Racquet heads can be either oval – which is the traditional head shape – or teardrop-shaped. The advantage of teardrop-shaped racquet heads is that they tend to have a larger sweet spot. However, since the feel of a teardrop-shaped head will need getting used to, some tennis players stick to oval racquets.

Racquet length

The racquet length is the distance from the bottom of its handle to the top of its head.

Traditional racquets measure 27-28 inches, while long racquets measure from 28.5 to 29 inches. Larger racquets provide more leverage for the swing and, as a result, more power. Conversely, smaller racquets are usually lighter and provide more control, as well as are more preferred by shorter players.

Grip size

The grip size refers to the diameter of a tennis racquet’s handle. US grip sizes go from 4 to 4-3/4 inches.

Needless to say, your racquet needs to be sized properly for you. You will thus need to make a hand measurement to determine the right grip size.

Fortunately, this is very easy to do. You only need a ruler for this.

Open your dominant playing hand, with the fingers fully extended and close together. Take the ruler and align it so that it is parallel to your ring finger and its end is in line with the bottom of the palm’s middle (second) crease. The tennis racquet grip size will be the distance between the middle crease of your palm and the tip if your ring finger.

If you can’t decide between two sizes, go for the smaller one. You can use overgrips to then adjust the size to your needs, which you can’t do with a grip that is too wide for you. Don’t go too small though since a small grip is going to allow the racquet to twist in your hand, eventually leading to tennis elbow.

Weight

The weight of the tennis racquet is of most importance to us today. Usually, tennis racquets are categorized into three weight categories:

  • Heavy: Weigh over 11 ounces.
  • Mid-weight: Weigh 9.8-10.9 ounces.
  • Super light. Weigh 9-9.4 ounces, maybe even less.

You probably know that a lighter tennis racquet is going to provide you with more control and speed over your serves and returns. Conversely, heavier racquets hit harder, but with the tradeoff of being more sluggish.

The proper tennis racquet weight will mainly depend on your preference, as well as your physical strength. If you tend to overshoot the tennis ball, then you would want to go for a lighter racquet in order to reduce power, and vice versa.

Weight balance

The weight in tennis racquets can be shifted more either to the head or the handle. Shifting the weight’s allocation allows for drastic performance changes without altering the weight of a racquet.

Head-heavy tennis racquets allow for increased swing power, but they are more difficult to control.  Head-light racquets with the weight shifted closer to the handle have better control, as well as better absorb shocks. Even-balance racquets offer the best of the two worlds.

The tips we gave when explaining racquet weight apply here as well.

Stiffness

Stiffness is a very important attribute to consider when choosing a tennis racquet. Unfortunately, manufacturers make comparing the stiffness of different racquets difficult since they use their own scales and ways of determining the flex.

When a racquet flexes, it wastes its energy, transferring less power to the ball as a result. On the other hand, a more flexible tennis racquet better dampens vibrations and reduces stress on the joints. Due to this, the right stiffness will again depend on your needs and preferences, as well as on the condition of your joints.

Read our full article on Best Tennis Racquet Brand.

Best lightweight tennis racquets reviewed

1. Wilson Ultra Team Tennis Racquet

If you want more power with a little hint of controllability, then the Wilson Ultra Team tennis racquet is going to be a good option for you.

Weighing not too light – 10.4 ounces – this racquet has its weight shifted towards its handle, thus improving its controllability, with the heavier weight still allowing it to deliver a good amount of power. In addition, this racquet has a smaller and lighter head that measures 100 square inches.

What some people may also like about his racquet is that it has a traditional oval-shaped head, which doesn’t require training to get used to. We still can’t say that this is a beginner’s racquet though since it has a rather small head.

Pros:

  • Traditional oval-shaped head.
  • Head-light design.
  • Offers a good balance of control and power.

Cons:

  • Pricier.
  • Less forgiving for beginners.

2. HEAD Ti.S6 Tennis Racquet

The HEAD Ti.S6 tennis racquet is pretty much the inverse of the Wilson racquet – it weighs just 8.9 ounces for excellent control and speed, but it has its weight shifted towards the head for a little bit of added power. Thus, this racquet is good for those who want control along with a little bit of power.

This tennis racquet also boasts a 115 square inch oval head with a larger sweet spot, which potentially speaks great improvements in your performance. However, as we mentioned above, such a head shape is going to require some getting used to.

The HEAD tennis racquet is also cheaper than the Wilson model, making it suitable for those on a tighter budget.

Pros:

  • Less expensive.
  • Very lightweight yet rather powerful.
  • 115 square inch oval head with a larger sweet spot.

Cons:

  • The oval shape may need getting used to.

Conclusion

Here, we usually pick the winner of our comparison. However, we are unable to do so today since the overviewed racquets differ from each other drastically. As a pricier option, the Wilson racquet may have the edge when it comes to durability, but we can’t call it the winner since the other racquet has a whole another purpose.

The two racquets are great in their own way – one is more powerful with a hint of control, while the other one is light with a hint of power. And with all that being said, we’d like to suggest you make the final choice for yourself.

David Lee

Hey there, my name is David Lee and I am the person behind this website. I started playing tennis over 20 years ago and on this site I will show you how to enjoy tennis.

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