7 Best Tennis Racket Brands: Discover Your Excalibur! (2024)
Choosing the perfect tennis racket for you is a very personal experience. There are so many factors that go into marrying up your game to a tennis racket, and so many brands to choose from!
Whilst we always recommend shopping around for the perfect tennis racket across different brands, some players definitely show loyalty to one brand once they have selected one of their rackets.
However, with many of the major tennis brands coming out with new rackets in recent years, could it be time to change things up? Well, let’s take a closer look at the best 7 tennis racket brands and find out!
Does It Matter Which Tennis Racket Brand I Choose?
The brand you choose isn’t the most important decision you make when you buy a tennis racket, but it does play a part.
You want to make sure you’re buying a quality frame that has the characteristics you need to maximize your potential. To help you with this, we’ve tested all the major brands and ranked the best ones.
Here are the tennis racket brands we will look at:
- Head
- Wilson
- Babolat
- Tecnifibre
- Yonex
- Prince
- Dunlop
Let’s look at all these racket brands in more detail.
The 7 Best Tennis Racket Brands
Here are the 7 best tennis racket brands, that you should be considering if you are in the market for a new stick! I have ranked these based on the factors listed above, but in reality, the best tennis racket for you is the one that suits your game and playing style the most!
All of the tennis racket brands listed below offer a range of different products and cater to all playing standards. However, some offer more variety than others, so check them all out before your next purchase!
1. Head Rackets
Head is a tennis racket brand with a lot of success and heritage behind it. They have had some marquee sponsors over the years, including Novak Djokovic, Goran Ivanisavic, Andre Agassi, Maria Sharapova, and Ash Barty.
The reason that Head ranks as number one in this list is that they now have such a wide range of rackets that are all distinctive and offer something for everyone. Where some of the tennis racket brands featured lower down this list have two or three model lines to choose from, Head has seven!
With so many racket lines in their arsenal, you may thank that there is a lot of overlap in the Head racket varieties.
However, each line has its own distinctive playing characteristics and truly offers a unique playing experience to suit all game styles.
Head’s racket lineup consists of:
- Gravity: Comfortable and powerful
- Prestige: Premium feel and control
- Instinct: Power and consistency
- Boom: Overpowered and spin-friendly
- Radical: Controlled and offers great spin for counterpunchers
- Speed: Stiff and controlled for aggressive baseliners
- Extreme: Most spin-friendly racket
Discover your Head tennis racket
2. Wilson Rackets
Wilson is one of the oldest tennis racket brands in tennis and offers a wide range of rackets. Wilson rackets dominated the serve and volley era, focusing mainly on stiff, control-oriented sticks that favored precision over power.
They rose to incredible popularity by sponsoring tennis icons like Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, and Venus and Serena Williams. These players loved the controlled, low-powered nature of their Wilson rackets, which complemented their attacking games.
However, the last couple of decades have seen Wilson expand their racket lines to offer more powerful and spin-friendly rackets to a wider audience. This has opened up Wilson as a tennis racket brand and given them a larger customer base than ever before!
The control-focused heritage of Wilson’s original Pro Staff rackets still rings true across their lineup, despite them branching out into different models. All Wilson rackets offer great feel and control, even in their more powerful models!
Wilson’s racket lineup consists of:
- Pro Staff: Ultimate control racket
- Blade: Control and spin for aggressive baseliners
- Burn: Most spin-friendly racket
- Ultra: Powerful racket for big hitters
- Clash: Comfortable, powerful, and spin-friendly
Discover your Wilson racket
3. Babolat Rackets
Babolat is the oldest tennis racket brand out there. The French giant of tennis has been producing tennis strings for way over a century and their tennis rackets aren’t bad either! Babolat rose to popularity by sponsoring players like Rafael Nadal, Carlos Moya, and Kim Clijsters.
Babolat has a fairly limited racket lineup compared to other popular tennis racket brands out there, but what they lack in variety they make up for in quality!
Babolat’s tennis racket lineup consists of:
- Pure Aero: The most spin-friendly and popular tennis racket in the world
- Pure Drive: An incredibly powerful racket
- Pure Strike: Blend of low-powered control and spin
Discover your Babolat racket
4. Tecnifibre Rackets
Another French tennis brand to enter our list of the best tennis racket brands of is Tecnifibre. They have come out with a new TFight model which is taking the professional and recreational game by storm.
Tecnifibre has always been a brand that focuses on quality over quantity when it comes to its racket lineup. Some of the most well-known players they have sponsored over the years include Janko Tipsarevic, Fernando Verdasco, Daniil Medvedev, Iga Swiatek, and Elise Mertens.
Tecnifibre’s racket lineup consists of:
- TFight: Low-powered, controlled, and precise.
- TF40: Spin-friendly and controlled racket
- T-Rebound: Offers speed, spin, and power
Discover your Technifibre racket
5. Yonex Rackets
Yonex is renowned for making great quality tennis rackets that enthusiasts love. Powerful and versatile tennis players love Yonex rackets as they do a lot of the work for you when it comes to controlling the ball, as well as generating a tonne of power.
Yonex has sometimes been seen as a bit more of a niche brand compared to the companies listed above, but their popularity has risen by sponsoring the likes of Nick Kyrgios, Lleyton Hewitt, Ana Ivanovic, Stan Wawrinka, and Naomi Osaka. Yonex has sponsored a lot more young, up-and-coming players in recent years, showing how dynamic and sought-after their rackets are.
Yonex’s racket lineup consists of:
- Ezone: Powerful and comfortable racket
- Vcore: Spin-friendly, easy to swing, a great all-rounder
- Vcore Pro: Controlled, precise, and low powered
Discover your Yonex racket
6. Prince Rackets
Prince has been around for a long time in the tennis racket game and it’s clear why! They have come up with some of the most innovative and creative racket designs over the years, and they are never afraid to try something new!
Prince has a wide range of rackets on offer, so there really is something for everyone. Their rackets are not as widely used on the professional circuit as some of the other brands on this list, so they tend to slip under the radar a bit at the recreational level as well.
Some of the most famous players that Prince has sponsored over the years include David Ferrer, John Isner, Gael Monfils, Bob and Mike Bryan, Maria Sharapova, Pat Cash, and Jelena Janković.
Prince’s Tennis racket lineup consists of:
- Tour: Offers feel, power, and control
- Beast: Easy to swing and spin-friendly
- Phantom: Flexible and an ultimate feel racket
- Vortex: Power and comfort with a unique design
- Warrior: Feel, precision, and easy to swing
- TwistPower: Unprecedented design, power, and ball pocketing
Discover your Prince racket
7. Dunlop
Another tennis racket brand that has a great deal of heritage in the game is Dunlop. The brand entered the tennis racket space in 1923 and has never looked back! This classic tennis company has always sought to offer great feel and control with their rackets, sponsoring players like Kevin Anderson, Jamie Murray, Tommy Haas, John McEnroe, Virginia Wade, Steffi Graf, and Amélie Mauresmo.
Dunlop’s tennis racket lineup includes:
- CX: Control and manoeuvrability
- FX: Ultimate power and stability
- SX: Spin machine!
Discover your Dunlop racket
What Makes a Great Tennis Racket Brand?
We have summed up what it takes to choose the perfect tennis racket before, but when it comes to brands more widely, the things that make them great are slightly different than their individual products.
Again, sticking to one brand may not always be the best option for everyone. But, if you decide that one brand is best suited to kit you out with tennis rackets and gear, then it is important to weigh up what makes a great tennis brand!
Variety
Nowadays, one of the most important factors that make a tennis racket brand stand out from the crowd is the variety of its racket lineup. Gone are the days when a racket brand could just offer one or two rackets and be done with it.
Tennis rackets come in all shapes and sizes and cater to many different game styles. A tennis racket should complement your game, offering you help in areas where you naturally need more support. For example, a player suffering from tennis elbow would be best suited to an arm friendly tennis racket, whereas an advanced player would most likely prefer a heavy, control-oriented racket.
What’s more, tennis racket brands that offer choices for players that need more power, more spin, or more comfort will cater to a wider audience as well as players of all experience levels.
Quality
It goes without saying that a tennis racket brand should produce high-quality tennis rackets that are reliable and robust. A high-quality tennis racket should feel solid as you contact the ball, not have any defects, and have minimal manufacturing differences between two versions of the same racket model.
Low-quality tennis rackets tend to feel hollow and flimsy, whereas high-quality tennis rackets will be strong, solid, and reliable.
Technology
Technology has become a major factor in tennis racket improvements over the past few decades. The use of different materials and more advanced manufacturing techniques has allowed tennis racket brands to create more user-friendly rackets overall.
Not only are tennis rackets now more accessible than ever before, but they are also better performing. Modern tennis rackets now offer more power, spin, control, and comfort than rackets from only a decade ago, showing how important technological innovation is to a tennis racket brand.
As far as your chosen brand goes, all manufacturers have their own technologies and methods for implementing them into their new racket lines. However, take a look at any major advancements a brand has made in recent years and see if their rackets are performing significantly better as a result. It can sometimes be difficult to tell the difference between a tennis racket that has really improved significantly due to technology, and one that is just being pushed by the marketing department!
Equipment
Another important thing to consider when picking your next tennis racket brand is actually the equipment they offer as well as their tennis rackets. Things like tennis strings, dampeners, bags, and other accessories like string savers all play into how dedicated a racket brand is to its craft.
A tennis racket brand that offers a wide range of accessories and supplementary equipment, as well as great tennis rackets is a great option to go for.
Catering for all Experience Levels
Another key thing to think about when choosing the right tennis racket brand for you is whether the brand caters to your level of playing experience. This is a really important factor to think about, as picking the right tennis racket for your game is the key to having more success on the court.
You want your tennis racket to feel like an extension of your arm, and if the brand you are considering doesn’t offer a model that is suited to your level of experience, this will likely not be a good fit.
Players with less tennis experience tend to prefer rackets that are more forgiving. These tend to be lighter in weight, have a larger head size, and are usually more comfortable than rackets aimed at advanced-level players. These rackets have a lot of margin for error and are perfect for players learning the game, figuring out technique, and need a forgiving racket to help them out.
On the other hand, once an advanced player has developed their technique, has enough physical strength, and is looking for more control and feel than power, their needs are very different. An advanced player using a racket that is pitched too low for their playing ability will find that their game is hampered as a result.
Use by Tennis Professionals
Arguably one of the least important factors but still worth mentioning is how many professional tennis players use a particular racket brand. The reason I say this is not necessarily the most important factor is that many professional tennis players use pro stock rackets, which are very different from the products they are actually endorsing.
Therefore, it can be a bit misleading to think that the exact racket that your favorite tennis player is using, is the same as the one you can buy in your local pro shop. However, branding and marketing are there for a reason! Many recreational players will see the success that their hero is having on the professional circuit and want to be associated with that!
So, by all means, take a look at which brands your favorite players are using and affiliate yourself with those tennis rackets. Just take it all with a pinch of salt!
Which is the Best Tennis Racket Brand for You?
Overall, picking the right tennis racket brand for you comes down to a number of different factors. The truth is, there is not a ‘perfect’ tennis racket brand, as they all have their merits in different ways. What one player may consider to be great, another may think is trash!
Whichever tennis racket brand you choose, we hope this article has helped tell you more about each of the best options, and that this has helped guide you in your search!
If you’re looking for more free tennis resources, we’re here to help!
- Poaching in Tennis: How to Poach in Doubles & Boost Net Play
- How to Hit an Approach Shot in Tennis
- How to Return a Soft Second Serve (Step by Step)
- How to Control Nerves in a Tennis Match (4 Effective Strategies)
If you still aren’t sure which racket brand to choose, check out our custom fitting service. Our experts take the stress and pressure out of picking the perfect tennis racket, as we use our experience to recommend you three tennis rackets, as well as strings and tensions to match!
Discover the perfect racket and string combo to suit YOUR game!
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