What a fantastic and yet simple question… what makes a racket feel “right”? Or perhaps which one is “best”? The only comment I am willing to make, is that when you pick up a racket consider this:

• If the racket feels like it is just right when you hold it in your hand, you MAY have found your favourite racket –  it may feel like an extension to your arm!
• When you swing that racket and it just seems to come through at the right pace, your different varieties of shots are all enhanced by this racket, or changed in a way that feels good, then you MAY have found your favourite racket.
• When you put on a grip that feels good in your hand and doesn't hinder your shotmaking, you MAY have found your favourite grip – remembering that the way you grip may change the “balance point” of the racket, potentially making a heavy racket feel lighter than it is when you swing it.
• When you put in strings at a various tension and you like the pace of the shots produced, or the sound it makes, or the feel on impact, then you MAY have found your favourite tension
• When you try out different strings in your racket, and one string just makes your shots feel so much more ALIVE! Then you MAY have found your favourite string

Keep these things in mind. Personally, the second bullet point is the most important for me. This means when I hit a drive or a smash or anything else, it just feels like I have complete control over WHERE the racket will start and finish and it just does what I want it to do.

I cannot give you a definitive answer, but I believe most players, including professionals, choose a racket that just feels right for WHAT THEY WANT. Some big smashers, who can smash big with any racket, MAY choose a racket that is head heavy to give them a more powerful smash, or they MAY choose a lighter racket that will enhance their defensive skills – perhaps an area they struggle with typically! Why is it that Lee Chong Wei, known for his amazing defense, uses what is considered to be an extremely powerful racket. Does it help him be a more complete player by increasing his offensive skills, or does it just feel right for all of his shots anyway? I don't know the answers I am afraid.

For me:

I want the racket to come through at the right pace and give me a good feeling throughout the shot. I then practise lots and it becomes an extension of my arm if it wasn't before. At this point, I consider grips and strings! I tend to choose overgrips but wrapped around the handle multiple times, making them a bit thicker. The reason? I found the feel of the grip becomes nicer over time, whereas others tend to get “worn out”. My own personal preference. I experimented a bit with tensions, found one I liked with a string that makes my shots FEEL good, and there we have it.

So, what was my point? Does the racket make a difference in terms of your game? Probably not. Does it make a difference in terms of the way it makes you feel? YES! And this affects your game, because you now have a new fantastic happy mindset! Hooray!

You asked “what do you go for”? Is it head heavy? High tension? Personally I like balanced rackets. I learnt with a balanced racket, and have always liked them! Head heavy or head light just feels wrong in my hand. I prefer a tension of around 24 – 25lbs. This is quite high. I know some people who would swear by a higher tension though. I would recommend reading Pauls article on string tensions for more details. The only other attribute I REALLY consider, is the shaft flexibility. I learnt with a stiff shafted racket, and I have never got on with flexible ones quite the way I do stiff ones. Im sure if I practised I would like them, but actually the stiffer it is the better it feels to me, as I FEEL i get more control.

If you give a professional any racket, they will still be amazing. To a certain degree it doesn't make a difference, but if you can find one that feels right… then thats the right one 🙂

This is my opinon. Sorry for the rant.

Matt

I couldn't agree with jonathan more! Changing the weight slightly should not be a concern most of the time. However, where too thin a grip may give you physical problems, too chick a grip may hinder your shot making by stopping you from effectively using finger tightening! If it feels comfortable, its probably the right one 😀

Ed, unfortunately there is no measure of grip thickness to help us out! If the grip is resembling a tennis handle grip in size, its probably too big to allow effective use of finger power, but not necessarily. Remember all people are different, and some have small hands and some big. I would say that the grip in your hand should feel like it is filling a lot of your grip (note this is when you have a relaxed grip!!!), you don't have to grip too tight to hold on to it, but that also there is SOME space within the grip. It could be “a lot” and it could be “some”. What I have just said is extremely vague. With good technique and getting used to your type of grip, you should be fine 🙂

As to your second question. No. There are no criteria from watching them play that will allow you to make a truly good recommendation, but here are some thoughts:

If they like to play smashes a lot, they may enjoy a head heavy racket to enhance their game OR a head light racket may give them more power due to racket head speed. What do they use at the moment? They will PROBABLY like a racket similar to their current one probably!

Defensive players typically use a head light racket.

In general a very interesting property of the racket: stiffness, is an area it MAY be possible to advise someone on. Have a look at the “length” of their overhead action. If the length appears to be small and compact, with minimal movement (same goes for defensive shots/drives with minimal movement) it is MAYBE the case that a stiffer racket will FEEL better to that player. A “longer” looking shot with a larger wind up, will PERHAPS mean that the player prefers a flexible racket. Generally a beginner will typically feel more benefits in terms of power generation from a flexible racket for this reason.

For a reasonable explanation of this read this link:

http://www.badmintoncentral.co…..-explained

I believe it makes some valid observations.

Finally, is it possible to recommend strings/tensions/grips from watching somebody play. No. Because this is even MORE personal than trying to find the right racket.

In general, I would suggest a racket that is similar to the one they are currently playing with, but that I believe offers a little bit “more” of what they like. I would never recommend buying without testing however! And that is the most important bit. If they test it, they will KNOW whether they like it or not.