Tennis racquets come in a wider variety of shapes, lengths, weights, materials, head sizes, thicknesses, and stringing patterns than anyone could have ever imagined thirty years ago in the age of the woodies. Making a choice amidst all of these options can be a real challenge, but the first step in narrowing down your choices is clear: You need to decide on the correct length, which will be our focus here. In future articles, I'll address the other factors you need to consider.
The question of length has become considerably more complicated than it was just a few years ago. Virtually all adult tennis racquets used to be 27" long, but now lengths are available up to 32", although lengths greater than 29" are illegal in most competition. Whether to choose an "extra long" or standard length adult racquet is a complicated question, involving the player's stroking style at least as much as her physical traits. We'll take that up in another discussion. For this article, we will focus on choosing between the various junior lengths on the one hand and any adult length on the other.
As a general principle, a junior should use as long a racquet as she can comfortably handle. This will encourage her to develop smooth strokes that utilize good weight transfer and her larger muscles. Too small a racquet encourages excessive wrist and elbow action, which, in the long run, will harm both her strokes and her arm. Once a junior weighs at least 85 pounds or so, she is usually ready for an adult racquet.
