How Much Should You Spend On a Tennis Racquet?

The market for tennis racquets is filled with many options. When you shop for a new racquet, you find many brands and multiple models within the same brand.

Choosing a tennis racquet isn’t necessary bind by the price, but rather by the characteristics that it offers and how much it suits your game.

On another side, there are occasional club players who want to save some money and ask how much can they spend on a quality tennis racquet.

As of 2023, you will need to spend between $180 and $280 for a good tennis racquet that is made from quality materials and built using the latest technology. A racquet in this range will offer durability, stability, dampening, and different features like power, feel, control, and accuracy.

How Much Do Tennis Racquets Cost?

You can find tennis racquets anywhere from $30 up to $500, but the most popular retail racquets range between $180 and $280.

You will find different prices within the same model because of a difference in the core characteristics of the racquet like the weight, head size, Swingweight, string pattern, etc.

For example:

A Babolat Tour racquet has a higher weight and it is destined for advanced players
A Babolat Team racquet has a lower weight and more maneuverability for the club player

A Babolat Lite is even lighter for beginners or juniors.

Here is what the market price for tennis racquets looks like in 2023.

Average racquet price: $227.1

10% of the racquets cost less than $175

80% of the racquets cost between $175 and $180

10% of the racquets cost more than $280

Here is a detailed article about the racquet prices

What Are The Options?

As a tennis player, you should look for a racquet that is comfortable for your arms but offers the characteristics that you prefer.

Expensive vs Cheap Racquets

An expensive racquet will generally be a one-piece frame instead of a two-piece frame that you’d find in cheap racquets. You can notice that by looking at the throat. There is a plastic bridge in cheap frames.

An expensive racquet will offer superb stability, and a good flex, which indicates good energy return hence more power and control.

A $60 frame will feel unstable, clumsy, not powerful enough, and ready to break apart at any moment.

What Brand/Model to Pick?

This is a tough question. The answer is to pick a brand that you like but choose the model that suits your game level.

For example, if you’re a beginner looking for easy handling, forgiveness, and power, you can pick one of these:

Babolat Pure Aero Team
Head Extreme Team
Wilson Ultra 100UL

Yonex VCore 100L
Dunlop SX 300 Lite

An established player, looking for a blend of power, spin, and control can choose one of the following racquets:

Tecnifibre TFight ISO 315
Babolat Pure Strike 18×20
Wilson Blade 18×20

Yonex VCore 95
Head Gravity Pro
Wilson Pro Staff 97

Is It Necessary to Buy Expensive Racquets to Play Tennis?

You can pick up any decent racquet and still play tennis. But if you want to improve your game and compete with more advanced players out there, you generally have to choose a racquet above $200.

A frame in this range will have balanced and well-engineered specs like weight, swingweight, balance, dampening, and string spacing, that make all the difference and make you evolve your game drastically.

In addition, an expensive racquet has a longer lifespan and will resist harsh conditions on the courts.

You can adapt the specs to what you like.

For example, an amateur would preferably start with a beginner-friendly racquet that is lightweight with a big sweet spot and easy spin.

A big hitter can pick a control-oriented frame or a heavy one for more power, control, and stability.

Sample Before Buying

Many vendors offer the ability to test racquets before buying. Tennis Warehouse and other big tennis retailers have programs they call the Demo program.

This win-win deal works like a charm since the customer gets a bunch of frames to test and compare for a whole week.

This way he can make the best choice because he actually tests the racquet and doesn’t only rely on reviews and descriptions.

In addition, the retailer also benefits from the program since they avoid multiple returns, and they win their customers’ satisfaction and loyalty.

Here’s how it works:

Choose up to three racquets and add them to the cart as demos

pay the shipping price ($15 to $25)
Receive them in 2 to 5 business days
Test them for a week

Put the demos in the original box and affix the enclosed return address label.

Some local stores might also agree to let you test a few frames to find the right one for you. And, you can as well borrow them from your friends at the club.

Overall, demoing racquets is the most efficient way to determine whether an expensive racquet from a specific brand works for you or not, just to avoid reselling your racquet for a lower price.