Before we dive in, please note that everything I cover here reflects my personal experience and opinion, so please don’t take them as fact, but rather as a guide to find a racket that could work for your play style. While I’ll give suggestions on which might be “best” for each category, remember — no racket is truly the best for everyone.

I’ll walk you through the best rackets for beginners and intermediates, then offer recommendations for specific, more advanced playing styles: all-court players, counterpunchers, grindy spin players, aggressive baseliners, serve-and-volleyers, and one-handed backhand players.

 

Best Rackets for Beginners

If you’re new to tennis, your primary goal should be to find a racket that helps you learn the game rather than one that overcomplicates things. Tennis can be frustrating at the beginning, and a racket that helps to produce consistent results will make that learning curve more manageable.

When we talk about rackets that help players, we usually mean frames that provide:

• • Adequate power: Helps get the ball over the net without needing perfect technique.
  • A large sweet spot: Makes it easier to hit the ball cleanly even on off-center hits.

Typically, these rackets have head sizes between 100 and 104 square inches, slightly thicker beams, and a medium stiffness.

Some excellent options include:

• • Babolat Pure Drive Team
  • Yonex Ezone 100L
  • Head Extreme MP L
  • Wilson Ultra 100L

All of these rackets weigh between 280–285 grams, making them light enough to swing comfortably without sacrificing stability. At this stage, don’t overthink playability or racket specs. I even say: pick the one you like the look of the most! This might be your only chance to do that before performance becomes your primary concern.

Avoid Overly Forgiving Rackets

One important mistake to avoid when choosing your first racket is going with something that’s too easy. These are ultra-light, oversized frames that are marketed as “game improvement” rackets, and they typically have:

• • Head sizes over 107 square inches
  • Weigh under 270 grams

While they sound appealing, these rackets don’t push you to improve your technique. A critical part of learning tennis is interpreting the feedback from your racket — understanding when you’ve hit a good shot or made an error. Extremely forgiving rackets reduce this feedback, which can slow your development and even teach improper technique.

So again, most beginners should stick to 100–104 square inch frames. These provide enough support to make tennis enjoyable while still teaching you how to play properly.

 

Best Rackets for Intermediates

Once you reach the intermediate level, you’ll have developed better footwork, strength, and ball control so you can swing heavier frames. While this might sound counterintuitive, we always recommend that payers swing the heaviest racket they can to gain stability, plow-through, power, and even control. So at the intermediate level, start looking at 295-300 gram rackets.

Also, at the intermediate level, you’ll have developed a more personal style so now is when you want to consider a frame’s playability characteristics like topspin, flat hitting, power and touch.

So combining the 295-300 gram category with specific playability; intermediate rackets can be grouped into three main categories:

1. Power rackets
2. Spin rackets
3. All-around rackets
   
   

Power Rackets

Power rackets are user-friendly and deliver powerful, consistent shots. Many beginners actually start with a lightweight power racket — most of the ones I mentioned above are just that — so all you need to do is transition to the heavier version. We recommend:

• • Wilson Ultra 100
  • Babolat Pure Drive
  • Yonex Ezone 100

These rackets provide the right balance of power and forgivingness, allowing intermediates to feel confident while hitting harder. The fact you probably used one of these a a beginner is a bonus because it makes that transition even easier.

Spin Rackets

Spin rackets combine power with more spin potential. They are similar to power rackets with their thicker beams and 100 square inch head sizes, but they also have open string patterns, spin grommets and aerodynamic designs.

These rackets amplify spin which can improve ball control for those who naturally generate it and popular choices include:

• • Babolat Pure Aero 100
  • Head Extreme MP
  • Yonex Ezone 100

Spin rackets are great for players who naturally generate spin but can also be inconsistent and “launchy” for those who don’t. The Ezone is a good blend of the two (that's why it's considered both a power and a spin racket), but if you do want more consistency while still adding some spin, all-around rackets could be a great choice.

 

All-Around Rackets

All-around rackets are versatile, performing well across multiple shot types without being the best for any one. These rackets are great for players who know they want variety or haven’t developed a specific play style yet. Two examples are:

• • Head Speed MP
  • Wilson Blade 100

The Speed MP swings slightly heavier and is less maneuverable but more stable and powerful, while the Blade 100 offers a lighter swing weight, making it easier for intermediates to transition from a beginner racket.

 

Advanced Player Rackets by Playing Style

Up until now, we haven’t been too specific about rackets and play styles because at the beginner and intermediate levels, the most important thing is consistency and training. For advanced players, the rules change and the racket can be exactly what you need to unlock your game. Now, you’re looking for rackets that enhance specific play styles. We’ll break down each play style and list a few rackets that work particularly well for each.

Aggressive Baseliners

Aggressive baseliners dominate from the baseline, dictating points with angles, depth, and power – Jannik Sinner is a great example. The important characteristics to look for in a racket here are some added power, but also good precision and spin potential to maintain control.

Top options include:

• • Head Speed MP: Thick beam, large head, consistent flex
  • Babolat Pure Strike 98: Controlled 98 with tons of plow through
  • Yonex VCORE 98: Spin racket with mass in the upper hoop for power
  • Babolat Pure Aero 98: Aerodynamic frame, high racket head speed, stiff response
  • Wilson RF 01 Line: Extremely precise, small sweet spot, very offensive

Each of these frames suits high-level baseliners looking to dictate rallies with power, accuracy and spin.

 

Counterpunchers

Counterpunchers aim to stay in rallies and force mistakes out of their opponents. Examples include Andy Murray and Daniil Medvedev.

These players need maximum consistency from their frames, and control rackets suit that perfectly. They have dense string beds, smaller head sizes and soft, thin beams — all of which help with consistency and control.

These are some of the best control (and therefore counterpuncher) rackets right now:

• • Wilson Blade 98 18x20: Constant, thin beam and dense pattern
  • Yonex Percept 97: Isometric take on a constant beam control racket
  • Tecnifibre TF 40: tons of classic feel and consistent flex
  • Head Gravity Pro: modern take on a traditional control racket

The Gravity Pro is a standout, offering a 100-square-inch teardrop head for extra power and spin without compromising control — perfect for the modern, harder-hitting game.

 

Grindy Spin Players

Grindy spin players are kind of like modern day counterpunchers as they use heavy topspin for control and also wait for their opponents’ mistake. Rafael Nadal is a perfect example of a grindy spin player and these players should choose a racket that maximizes spin. We recommend:

• • Babolat Pure Aero 100: The classic spin monster
  • Yonex VCORE 100: Spin-focused with a touch of extra power
  • Head Extreme MP: Plush feel with tons of snapback in the string bed
  • Head Extreme Pro: Slightly smaller head, more accurate for precision while maintaining massive spin

 

All-Court Players

All-court players need versatile frames as they excel in offence, defence, net play, and everything in between. This is an extremely effective game style because these players have very few weaknesses and it’s no surprise that many of the best players ever are elite all-courters like Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.

What you should look for in an all court racket is maneuverability for moving around the court, stability for volleys, good feel for touch shots, and general variety for power, spin and control. There are plenty of great all-court rackets nowadays and we recommend:

• • Babolat Pure Aero 98: Great for offensive shots, touch, and net play
  • Yonex Ezone 98: Softer feel, better defensive capabilities, and great maneuverability
  • Tecnifibre T-Fight 305S: Constant beam with unique design combining power, spin and control with excellent feel

One-Handed Backhand Players & Serve-and-Volleyers

One-handers require maneuverable, stable, and responsive frames. Serve-and-volleyers need similar playability, with a few twists.

• • Extra power on first serves
  • Precision and stability at the net
  • Enough spin and whippiness to kick the ball on second serve

The one-handed and serve-and-volley styles overlap so much that I generally recommend the same rackets.

• • Wilson Pro Staff 97: Head-light, precise, thin but packs a good punch
  • Yonex Percept 97H: Heavy, solid, extremely stable
  • Wilson RF 01 Pro: Fast, precise, responds well to added racket head speed
  • Yonex VCORE 95: Spin-friendly, maneuverable, stable enough after customization

 

The Universal Option: Babolat Pure Drive

The Babolat Pure Drive is unique in its versatility. While it doesn’t specialize in any single style, it’s solid for aggressive baseline play, spin, net play, and even all-court versatility. Of course, it also serves bombs!

This consistent performance makes it one of the few rackets that can truly work across multiple styles so while it didn’t make the cut in any specific category, it’s always worth a shot.

Final Thoughts

Choosing a racket is about matching your skill level and play style while ensuring the frame helps your game without overcompensating.

• For beginners, focus on forgiveness and ease of use.
• Intermediates can explore power, spin, and versatility.
• Advanced players need to prioritize specific characteristics that complement their preferred style.

Of course, the best way to know if a racket suits your game is by testing it out yourself and all the rackets I mentioned in this article are available for demo in-store.

Experiment, try multiple options, and remember: the right racket can elevate your game, but it’s ultimately how you use it that matters most.