Resist the Urge

We could be talking about eating chips here, or donuts. We all know how tempting those are, but of course this will have something to do with tennis.

As I watched Juan Martin del Potro play James Blake yesterday I couldn't help but notice how unnaturally hard that the Argentinian could hit the ball. It got me excited and I tried to look to see what racquet he was playing with. The fantasy behind that thought was "if I get that racquet I can hit like him!"

Sure, and if I switch to T-Mobile I will be chatting up with Catherine Zeta-Jones. Okay, so we all know that to be folly, and yet, we all have the illusion that if I buy racquet X, I will be playing like my favorite player. Forget the fact that I played tennis maybe for 300-400 hours last year, am 49 years old, almost 5' 10" and not quite Herculean at 155lbs.

Would my using del Potro's racquet allow me to hit like him? Let's compare those above statistics with his-- all estimated on an annual basis:

• 1000-1200 hours playing or practicing


• 300-500 hours additional physical training


• 6' 6" and 180 lbs


• 21 years old

Coupled with this are numerous meetings with an entourage including nutritionists, sports psychologists, coaches, equipment gurus, and massage therapists/trainers, etc. Sure, give me the same racquet as del Potro and I'm ready for the tour.

It's ridiculous but everytime Federer wins a Grand Slam, more Wilson racquets are sold. And everytime Tiger wins, more Nike golf equipment goes out the door, well that and Trojan condoms (sorry, couldn't resist).

But the best racquet for you (and me) is the one we can control the best. One that combines both power and control and one that won't lead to arm pain or tennis elbow. Sure it would be nice to hit with "the next big thing" but resist the temptation. Better training and practice, more intelligent shot selection, better strategy, and losing some weight will all result in improved tennis, as much or more than the new racquet we lust for.

If you're interested, here is a related post I wrote last year- but more on the "new technology" that racquets have. http://paul-ihearttennis.blogspot.com/2009/02/searching-for-holy-grail.html