Tennis Racket Brands

Choosing among the very best

Tennis players argue constantly about which tennis racket brand is the best, but one thing they usually agree on is the top three: Head, Wilson, and Prince.

Prince and Head make rackets that are known for being stiffer (a stiffer racket requires a harder swing in order to generate power). Wilson rackets tends to be more flexible, which means a player can hit the ball deeper into the court with less head speed. In addition, Wilson rackets have denser string patterns, which provide for a more natural slice.

Most Wilson rackets have a sweet spot that matches the racket's shape: round, and lower on the face of the racket. The sweet spot on a Prince racket is generally going to be right in the center. A Head racket will have an oval-shaped sweet spot that is often quite small. Wilson rackets offer the most give around the sweet spot but less control, whereas Head and Prince rackets offer less give around the sweet spot but more control.

All three brands manufacture rackets that vary in flexibility and weight, making it easy for a beginner to find the proper combination (although Head and Wilson rackets tend to be a little heaver than Prince rackets). In terms of price, Prince and Head rackets are often much cheaper than Wilson rackets.

When it comes to buying a tennis racket, a lot depends on the expertise of the player, so it's tough to say which of these three brands is the best. Prince does, however, offer something that Head and Wilson don't: consistency. Prince's new models tend to be rather similar to its older ones. Because the brand's head shapes don't change substantially, a player who uses Prince rackets will likely play more consistently.