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Quick Answer: I recommend the Babolat Pure Strike to every one of my advanced students. I play with this tennis racquet and every competitive player will love the combination of power and control.
For more advanced tennis players, choosing a tennis racquet can be tricky. As a beginner, the process is easy.
The best beginner tennis racquets are racquets with a big head that generate a lot of power.
For Intermediate players, it’s a little trickier but it mostly comes down to choosing a higher quality racquet that excels at all-court play.
Advanced players on the other hand, have the most freedom and choice in choosing a tennis racquet.
This is a list of the best tennis racquets for advanced players. If you’re looking for a new tennis racquet, take a look at this list and read this post to understand why I think these racquets are great for players at the top of their game.
1. Are You Ready to Upgrade?
The first thing you should ask yourself is are you ready to upgrade to an advanced tennis racquet?
Many tennis racquets at this level are not good for beginners and lower level intermediate players. In fact, in some cases, they can actually hurt your game if you try to play with them before you’re ready.
Here’s some criteria that you can use to decide if you’re ready.
- USTA level 4.0 or above
- Regular playing
- Consistent shots with fast pace and spin
- Consistently play in competitive matches and tournaments
- Fully developed game
If you don’t know your USTA ranking, don’t worry. The main thing is that, as an advanced tennis player, you should have a fully developed game and be hitting consistently with power and pace.
A fully developed game means that you don’t have any clear weaknesses. You’ve mastered the 4 basic strokes: forehand, backhand, volleys, and serves.
A key aspect of playing at this level (and very important for choosing a tennis racquet at USTA level 4.0+ and better), is that you know your playing style.
You know whether you like to rush the net and dominate with your volleys.
Or, if you’d rather stay at the baseline and blast away power shots backing your opponent up and forcing them to make errors.
2. What to look for in a Racquet for Advanced Players?
At the top of the game, you’ll be primarily looking for a tennis racquet that accentuates your strengths and helps you win more matches.
Most advanced tennis racquets share some common characteristics though.
At a USTA Level 4.0 or above, your form will be fully developed and you’ll be able to consistently generate your own power using your swing and technique.
Most tennis racquets at this level thus, focus much more on control than power. This racquets will help harness your power and use it to place fast paced shots forcing your opponent into difficult situations.
Advanced Tennis Racquet Specifications
- Focus on control
- Smaller Head Size (95 to 98 sq inches)
- Heavier (>10.5 oz)
- Open vs closed strings depending on playing style
As part of this, you should be looking at tennis racquets with a smaller head size. Nearly all pro’s play with a tennis racquet between 95 to 98 sq inches.
I would suggest a 98 sq inch racquet as the best mix between control and power.
In terms of weight, nearly all expert tennis racquets weigh more than 10.5 oz and most weigh more than 11 oz. At your level, you’ll be able to use the weight to add more power to every shot (particularly your serve and volleys).
This is the primary reason advanced tennis racquets aren’t recommended to beginner and intermediate tennis players. If you haven’t been playing for a while, the extra weight can hurt your form and lead to tennis elbow.
To decide between an open (16 x 19) and closed (18 x 20), look at your playing style.
Do you use more topspin or prefer to hit flat groundstrokes?
If you prefer to hit with lots of top spin, an open string pattern would be best. This string pattern tends to increase the time the tennis ball is on your strings giving you more spin.
For flat groundstrokes, the closed pattern is recommended. The tight and compacted strings will give an extra oomph to every ground stroke you hit.
Best Tennis Racquets for Advanced Tennis Players
Wilson Pro Staff RF97
Not for the faint of heart, the Wilson Pro Staff makes itself known through it’s weight from the second you hold it in your hands. This racquet has a strung weight of 12.5 ounces and you can certainly feel every part of it. The benefit of this is the massive amount of power and spin you can generate from this racquet when you swing.
The Pro Staff RF97 is an astounding 12 points head light placing the majority of that 12.5 ounces right in your hand. If you like swinging with a heavy racquet, you’ll love the Pro Staff. Serving is an absolute dream with this. From tossing up the ball to smashing through it, the Pro Staff delivered solid serves with less effort than I was used to. You don’t have to have a very fast swing speed with this racquet. The weight and mass of it more than make up to generate the neccesary power.
As a word of caution, I would not recommend this racquet to any player who has joint issues or has had tennis elbow in the past. The weight and stiffness of this racquet tend to aggravate already existing joint injuries if your form is not absolutely perfect.
If, however, you love hitting powerful shots from the baseline and attempting to serve over 100 mph, pick up the Pro Staff RF97 today. It won’t disappoint.
Babolat Pure Aero VS Tour Racquet
Wielded by none other than Rafael Nadal, the Babolat Pure Aero VS Tour racquet speaks for itself. The specially molded Aeromodular throat gives this racquet one of the fastest swings of any racquet on the market today. On the court, you can feel it. From setting up your shot to follow through, players can easily smash shots with this lightweight racquet.
This Pure Aero racquet is particularly rewarding to players who consistently hit with the racquet sweet spot. By swinging through the tennis ball at the sweet spot, this racquet rewards aggressive players with a great mix of power and spin. The drawback to this is the penalty for hitting off center shots. Off center shots will rock the racquet and transfer some vibration back to your elbow and arm.
Where the Pure Aero Tour racquet really shines through is in the stability and precision this Babolat racquet offers advanced players. When you hit a shot right, this racquet amplifies it immensely. This power is combined with the immense amount of control and spin this racquet offers.
Babolat Pure Strike
One of the best racquets for all court versatility, the Babolat Pure Strike 98 is the Swiss army knife of tennis racquets for advanced players. This is one of my personal favorite tennis racquets and the most frequent tennis racquet I play with today.
Babolat created the Babolat Pure Strike after listening to many players looking for a more all-court option than the Babolat Pure Drive. Babolat enlarged the beam in strategic locations to improve the balance of the racquet during off center hits.
On the court, the Pure Strike feels light and lively in your hands. As you swing, the racquet frame moves quickly through the air and produces power and spin easily. This Pure Strike is best for baseline players who love to hit powerful shots. However, when you feel the need to attack the net, the stiff frame provides plenty of heft for punching through volleys and winning the rally.
Overall the new and improved version of the Babolat Pure Strike provides players with enhanced control and an all court playing feel.
Players at the top of the game should easily look towards this racquet as the perfect racquet for their playing style.
Dunlop Precision 98 Tour
The heaviest in the Precision Series, the Dunlop Precision 98 Tour excels at it’s namesake: precision. This is a racquet built for control and precise shots. If you prefer to make your opponents run with great shot placement instead of winning with pure power, this is the control-heavy tennis racquet for you.
With a head size of 98 sq inches and weighing in at 11.6 oz, this racquet provides enough space for advanced tennis players to place the ball exactly where they want and enough mass to put some power behind it. The Dunlop Precision racquet is balanced at 7 points head light which puts all of the control for the racquet right in your hand.
Another feature that adds to the accuracy and control of this racquet is the 18 x 20 closed string pattern. This dense pattern means more strings touch the ball at any one time allowing you to place it exactly where you want. Additionally, the looser string tension opens up the sweet spot and provides some forgiveness for off-center hit.
There isn’t a lot of mass towards the top of the frame which makes it easier for you to place your shots and promotes the use of slices and lots of spin. If you love slicing, drop shots, or excel at placing accurate shots, the Dunlop Precision 98 will help you be more accurate and keep your opponents running across your court.
Wilson Blade SW104 Autograph Countervail
Used by Serena Williams, the Wilson Blade Countervail has been described by testers as “an American muscle car” of tennis racquets. Watch out for bombs, the Blade Countervail is absolutely the best heavy hitting tennis racquet available right now. Feeling this racquet in your hands, you can tell it’s built for power.
The Countervail frame is made out of carbon fiber specifically to dampen vibrations on your power strokes. Uniquely, the Wilson Blade Countervail comes in at 28 inches of length compared to the traditional 27 inches. Weighing 11.5 oz, this racquet definitely has enough mass behind it to be a heavy hitter.
I was overjoyed while testing this racquet. I’ve always been an aggressive power-heavy player and within minutes of having the Wilson Blade Countervail in my hand, I was blasting shots from the baseline. The combination of the large hitting area, pro-level swing weight (342), and extra length all contributed to immense power in my baseline shots and serves. Made solid by the Countervail carbon fiber frame and mass, this racquet also excelled at net.
If you’re a heavy hitting player looking to move up to the next level, you’re going to need the Wilson Blade Countervail. This is truly one of the best tennis racquets for advanced players looking to dominate at the baseline and win straight off of the serve. As a reviewer stated, “this frame is made for walloping”.
Choose Your Advanced Tennis Racquet Quiz
Still unsure of which tennis racquet would be best for you? Answer the questions below to figure out the best tennis racket for you!
Do you like to stay on the baseline blasting shots with a lot of power and spin?
For aggressive baseline players, I would highly recommend the Babolat Pure Strike. This racquet excels at baseline hits while providing you the flexibility to excel in all aspects of the game.
Do you use a lot of topspin in your game?
For players who use a lot of spin, there’s one clear answer: the Babolat Pure Aero. Simply put, this is the best tennis racquet for spin that you will ever use. If you’re looking for a similar racquet ta
Do you love to launch powerful serves and then dominate through fast-paced action?
I would recommend the Wilson RF Pro Staff for you. The extra weight of the Wilson Pro Staff will add tons of power to your serves and you’ll be able to put extra power into every shot.
Do you play a lot of doubles?
The best tennis racquets for doubles are typically lighter meaning that they’re easy to manoeuvre and get into position during the fast paced action of doubles. For that, I would recommend either the Dunlop Precision tennis racquet or the Babolat Pure Strike.
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