Gear Q&A: Friend or Foe

Jon Levey answers your Gear Q&A. Email your question to tennis.comproshop@gmail.com.

I’ve had arm troubles in the past, and always play with flexible racquets. I’ve always heard they’re easier on the arm. Recently I watched a video from a tennis influencer in which he claimed that his recent arm problems were caused by testing lots of very flexible racquets. He said these soft frames are more problematic for the arm than stiffer ones. Is he right?—Ryan A.

Ryan,

Declaring that flexible racquets are more detrimental to arm health is a bold flag to plant. It certainly flies in the face of conventional wisdom and probably physics. However, to be fair, the discussion isn’t completely cut and dried.

First off, when injuries arise it’s easy to cast blame on equipment. My arm felt fine, now it suddenly hurts—what’s up with this racquet? While the racquet can certainly be a piece of the puzzle, it’s often not the underlying cause.

Played frequently enough, repetitive motion sports like tennis can be tough on the body. Pro players take great care to safeguard their bodies against the stresses of the game, which is something even dedicated recreational players don’t do enough of. Recency bias caused your influencer to point a finger at flexible frames, but the seeds of pain could have already been sown. Years of court time playing, testing equipment and just being an aging, modern human—crouched over typing on computers and phones—led to an overuse injury. It didn’t matter which racquet.

Believe me, I can relate. The worst elbow pain I ever encountered surfaced when I was playing with what would be considered a very arm-friendly racquet and string setup. When I sought help from a physical therapist, the culprit was actually limited shoulder mobility causing overexertion from my elbow. Addressing that issue, not a racquet change, is what brought relief.

Even more damaging, though, is when the repetitive motion is far from textbook. Poor technique will cause more elbow problems than racquet composition. It’s no different than doing any physical exercise with inefficient form. If your knees cave in when you sink down during a back squat, it’s not the barbell’s fault when those same knees start barking.

I am convinced that publishing the RA value does more harm than good. The flex of a racquet is way more complex than just one value at one specific location. Dennis Fabian, Global Business Manager for Head Racquets

All that said, if you do suffer from arm pain then it’s true that more flexible frames—and softer strings—are generally considered better options. That’s because they absorb more of the impact than stiffer frames and pass less shock to your arm. Which is what you want if you’ve got an inflamed joint. Keep in mind, other aspects such as a racquet’s weight, balance, string pattern, dampening technologies and string choice factor in as well.

A racquet’s flex is primarily associated with its RA rating. This is typically measured with an expensive piece of equipment such as a Babolat RDC (racquet diagnostic center) machine. The range for most commercial racquets is from around 60 (lots of flex) to the low 70s (rigid). However, it’s arm-friendliness doesn’t necessarily correlate with this rating.

“The "conventional wisdom" is just a rule of thumb and personally I am not a big fan of it,” says Dennis Fabian, Global Business Manager for Head Racquets. “I am convinced that publishing the RA value does more harm than good. The flex of a racquet is way more complex than just one value at one specific location.”

What Fabian is referring to is flexibility being measured solely at the throat of the racquet. However, due to variances in a racquet’s layup, it could be soft in that part of the frame but much firmer elsewhere. So it’s conceivable that a racquet with a low RA rating can actually be quite stiff at impact, and not be particularly comfortable. Which is why many manufacturers find these stiffness ratings misleading and refrain from listing them on their racquets.

In other words, just because a racquet is deemed flexible doesn’t automatically mean it will play that way or be kind to your arm. Likewise, it’s not a death sentence for your elbow either. There are playing characteristics you can often anticipate from certain specs, but nothing is guaranteed. If you want to know how your body will react to a certain racquet, hitting with it is really the only sure way to find out.