Tennis racket transition: a 3 month saga
The title primarily gives away what I'm writing about. I've recently switched rackets and this blog is about me braving the winds of the said change. So if you're not into tennis, you might want the next few minutes of your life back if you manage to get to the end of this blog. I visited my family over Christmas last year and got new rackets as a present from my dad. The rackets I picked were Yonex Ezone 98.
My previous racket was Babolat Pure Strike 100 (3rd gen). I've worked on transitioning away from the Babolats and finding my rhythm with the new Yonex rackets over the last 3 months. Some of their specs that are noticeably different:
This isn't a review of these rackets. In case you're interested, I'll provide links to the Tennis Warehouse reviews of these at the end of the blog. They do a much better job of it than I possibly can. I'm merely writing about my process of switching from the old to the new racket. I'll cover 3 specific points:
- Things I did better with my old racket
- Things I do better with my new racket
- Things I'm still figuring out
Things I did better with Babolat Pure Strike 100
Ground strokes with heavy topspin: This is pretty obvious, given Babolat is the market leader in making topspin-friendly rackets. One of the strategies I would use repeatedly in my game was to hit a deep cross-court backhand with a heavy topspin. More often than not, this would either push the opponent far out of the court, or return with a weaker/shorter shot, which I could then attack and get on the offensive. Yonex Ezone is a pretty spin-friendly racket too. However, it doesn't get nearly as good as the Pure strike in this department.
On-the-rise shots: I haven't figured this one out yet, but I was much better at taking balls on the rise or just off the ground with Babolat, especially on the backhand. While I don't know for certain, it's largely down to 2 factors
- Babolat's larger head size meant I had more margin of error
- The spin-friendly frame allowed me to get the ball over the net with a shorter and quicker backswing
Things I do better with Yonex Ezone 98
Volleys: My volleys are crisp and more stable on the Yonex. In fact, I enjoy hitting volleys. I play doubles more often now, as that gives me more volley opportunities. Barring the technical flaws on my backhand volley, which need to be fixed regardless, volleying with this racket is an absolute pleasure.
Yonex is about 2 points more headlight than Babolat, i.e. a smaller percentage of its weight is in the head. However, the smaller head size more than makes up for it. The end result is that Ezone feels more stable on the volleys.
Backhand slice: Similar to volleys, the slices are an absolute pleasure. This is possibly down to a lower stiffness rating. The ball stays on the string bed a fraction longer as the frame flexes on impact. I get a lot more directional control when I slice, and it stays low and penetrates the court. Consequently, one of the strategies that I've been employing more often now is to hit a slice down the line with an outward spin, followed up with an aggressive shot on the opponent's backhand to gain control of the point.
Things I'm still figuring out with Ezone 98
Drop shots: This is primarily because I haven't dialled down on this in my new racket yet. Good drop shots require an intimate understanding of one's racket. This takes time to build. So while my drop shots with Yonex aren't pari passu at the moment, I'm sure this will change over time. I remember feeling the same way on my previous racket switch in 2019.
Kick-serve: Serving, in general, required tweaks on my part. The sweet spot in the racket is further up the racket relative to the Pure Strike. Additionally, due to the heavier weight, I'm taking a fraction longer to bring the racket to the contact point. Hence, I've had to start tossing the ball higher to hit the serve well. While the ball toss adjustment was sufficient to sort the flat and the slice serves, it's going to require a few more service sessions to get the kick serve right.
Summary
Overall, I'm glad to have made this transition. I have fewer instances of stress and pain on my tennis elbow. Additionally, Yonex punishes you a bit more if you're lazy on your footwork. So this has been additional motivation for me to improve my footwork and sort my feet well in time before the ball arrives.
Learning to play with a new racket is like a new relationship. It takes time to build trust. You need to learn each other's positive qualities, as well as boundaries. Most importantly, you need to get to a point where you have fun with each other, every time you go out (onto the court). While the breakup with Babolat was a hard one, it was inevitable after 3 years. We were amazing together on the clay courts of Hungary, but it wasn't meant to be lived out on the British hard courts. All signs point out that this new relationship with Yonex will be an equally fruitful and rewarding one.
Also, going to the tennis store with dad brought back memories of my teenage years when we would go to DLTA (Delhi Lawn Tennis Academy) to buy stuff for my tennis. These Yonex rackets will hold a special place in my heart. 💕
Please see below more in-depth reviews of each of the rackets (I'm not sponsored by the linked website)
Comments
Post a Comment