Man I didn't realize how much I missed this sport. Any other tennis players on here? C'mon YOFs, you know you love tennis. Even the old and the lame can enjoy tennis. I was feeling like a bit of a fatty until I recently started playing 4-5 nights a week to get back in shape. Nothing else motivates me like chasing a tennis ball. It makes me use my dog brain; the chase instinct is so powerful. I'm glad it's been 108 out. Nobody in their right mind wants to be outside. Oh well, I'll be dead of heatstroke soon. What are you guys using for equipment? I've been using the same racquet for over a decade now, so I figure its time for a new boomstick. The technology has probably come a ways in ten years. I switched out and retired the good old Prostaff 6.1 Classic for a Six-One 95 K Factor. It seems like the closest modern version. Anybody else play with it? It's a discontinued model but I got one brand new for $80 online. Just brought it to the tennis center to get it strung. Went with NXT 16 @ 60lbs tension. I've been teaching my girlfriend to play, but lord is she awful. Oh man its painful but I do get cardio at least. I picked up a Tennis Cube ball shooter with oscillation online, so that usually gets me my reps in between tapping it to my girlfriend and chasing her wild shots.
Got mine online for like $500 new. It was the cheapest model with oscillation. Dials for speed and feed interval. Holds about 70 balls, but they cant be new or else the fuzz builds up inside the machine and the static is nuts. Its a great value for what it does. For comparison, the Lobster costs like $2000. You get a ton of programability features and a remote. I'd love one but I'm not that rich.
How do you like Dunlop? I have no idea why I've stuck with Wilson, but I have. I suppose some would say they they make the best racquets, whatever that means. Babolat looked pretty solid also shopping around, but I don't recall a whole lot of them when I played a lot back in the day.
Haven't played in a couple years. When I do, its with my babolat pure drive. Its pretty stiff and offers a good mix of power and touch.
I took a 10 year hiatus then moved to Southern California and picked it up again- no excuse not to with the weather here... I have gone mad in my league since 2007, I am part of a flex league that ranks players by location and skill level. this season I am 10-2, trying to bring my overall record to .500. I am 66-68 overall with a match scheduled for tonight. I play at the 3.5 skill level. there is a playoff format and prize pool, then a national invite tournament with all the champions from each city if they choose to attend. I am really happy with it and would recommend it to anyone who wants to get back to a competitive level. www.tennisleaguenetwork.com check to see if they are your city. they are active in Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas, but I think the Houston league fizzled but if enough show interest they would bring it back. I played with my old Prince racket from high School and a Wilson Hammer racket purchased at Rooster Andrews in Austin, and that's what I used for years... just upgraded to the Nadal Aero Pro by Babolat- I love it. I've been thinking about nothing but tennis lately, thanks for starting this thread...
used to play quite a bit in younger years. Still have my Dunlop "Black Max" somewhere. That said, it's too hot for tennis right now if you ask me.
started back up lately after a year hiatus since none of my friends wanted to play for a while. god i missed it. but it sure is hard to find 3 other people sometimes that are at your level or above so it isn't boring. i guess i need to make more tennis friends haha
just played a game today, but I am just as terrible as i've been since hs. weak shots with poor placements.
I've been pretty happy with my Dunlops. I found a head heavy Wilson which played well but I wanted racquets to call my own. I think all companies make good racquets, more importantly its about finding one that suits you. Federer uses a Wilson. Djokovic uses a Head. Nadal uses Babolat. Actually no top 10 players use Dunlop...lol. My current racquet is for a more advanced player...so they say...but I'm doing just fine with it. I do notice that since it is head light, it takes more to generate power. I am just learning to play but if anyone is down to hit with a 3.0 let me know. Always looking for people to play with.
I got the itch to get back out on the tennis court recently. Problem is I don't know many people around Kingwood and to play in any of the local leagues it seems like I would have to join a country club.
This sounds cool. How do they determine skill level? I used to play a little but it's been 15 years. Have really been wanting to pick it back up.
Your old racquet is still as good as any of the new racquets especially if its what you are used to. Most of the pros use their old racquet from their childhood painted to look like the new ones on the market. BTW, there are a lot of counterfeit K factors online and on ebay, so if you have to be very careful.
That's interesting, I never would have considered that. The guy at the Causwell Tennis Center said the same thing. He checked it out for me and said if it had the hologram sticker, its probably real. Honestly, I was mildly concerned when he talked about it because of a couple things. It's lighter unstrung than my old one, naturally, but I still wasn't expecting the difference, or such a difference. When I tapped on the frame, it felt more like a cheaper aluminum racquet compared to the graphite/kevlar of the Classic 6.1. They had some of the newer gen BLX and they felt the same, so it was all in my head! Last night I was just playing solo and met another guy working on his serve getting ready for a match this weekend. On top of the pile of list of reasons to play, the people you usually run into on the courts are always pretty cool and willing to hit. Everybody who played in school probably remembers a tennis douche or two, but out in the real world they seem to just keep to themselves or else walled up in a country club somewhere. In HS, I had a doubles partner everyone wanted grab and shake like a baby. Obnoxious little guy with a Napoleonic complex. One day someone finally had enough of his lip, got him in a headlock and made him lick a toilet in the locker room. I don't know what was on that toilet, but it shut him up for about a week. How many of you guys started playing for the girls, or a girl? Now I just love the game but back then it was a motivating factor.
My wife and I have been playing tennis together every weekend for the last year. We always ride our bikes to different tennis courts in town and play a couple of matches... lately b/c of the heat she hasn't been able to handle a 2nd match. we use some rackets that my dad gave us from when he used to be a serious weekend warrior on the courts. funny i hated tennis growing up when my dad would force it down my throat and play every weekend and try to recruit me to join in... but now as an adult i'm in love with the sport.
look for USTA leagues. I have a buddy who joined a doubles league with his dad, now they own their division as the team to beat. I dont think they are affiliated with a cc, though. not much action in kingwood outside of the high school and country club- so I see what you mean. check some apartment complexes. I'll ask my friend where he plays it's really fun and the whole system is self-ranked. they provide you with the players in your location, and if you are playing above your level, you get moved up. the league promotes players who win matches 6-0, 6-0, etc. most of the time, it levels itself out. you can always start at a 3.0 level and see how you are competing, then get moved up. I think I will email the league admin and ask him about the Houston league. I won my match 6-3, 6-3 against a guy who had previously beat me 6-2, 6-4!
For those playing with the wives or teaching the girlfriends, don't you find it makes them a bit friskier afterwards? :grin:
