Last November the post “Grommet All To Hell” shared that I was embarking on a search for new tennis racquets after the manufacturer of my old sticks discontinued making replacement bump guards and grommets. As I installed the last remaining set into my frames, I braced myself for a long and protracted search to select a new racquet. Fortunately, I got lucky and the process went pretty fast.
In fact, I finalized my selection over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and had my new racquets in hand in time to use at the Senior Women’s National Grass Court Championships as well as the Cotton Bowl tournaments in December. Following those two events, I am still enamored with my selection. Competition is the crucible that tests the downstream confidence in a decision.
One thing that greatly assisted me in my search is that I was perfectly happy with my old racquets. The switch wasn’t prompted by any psychological need or desire to switch things up. Additionally, I am an older player who played a significant number of my formative years with a wooden racquet. My equipment preferences are not anywhere close to mainstream. As a result, my initial candidate list of new frames was short from the onset.
I ultimately play-tested four racquets. Only one was available as a demo in my local area which forced me to resort to mail-order demos for the other three. I absolutely fell in love with one of those racquets to the extent that I accelerated my purchase so I would have my new racquets in hand before my December tournament commitments.
I should note that one of the other sticks probably would have been acceptable, but it was going to require some lead tape to adjust the balance point to my liking. Since overthinking is the hallmark of this site, it may be surprising that I have never been a huge fan of “customizing” racquets. I have always felt it was better to start with a frame that you love and keep the faith over time.
The racquet I selected is the Tecnifibre TFight 315 RS.
One thing that gave me pause for thought before I locked into this frame, is that it is currently deeply discounted by the manufacturer. That suggests that it might be discontinued soon. However, I noted that this racquet uses an identical bump guard and grommet set as the brand-new Tecnifibre Tempo 298 Iga racquet. I am confident that the replacement sets will be manufactured for a long time.
Lest anyone get the idea that my racquet saga is fully over, I am now consumed with an overwhelming desire to experiment with new strings. In fact, all three of my racquets are currently freshly strung with three completely different string configurations. Tis the season to tinker.
It wouldn’t be consistent with my overthinking psyche to have it any other way.
