Lucien Laverdure Sport

Finding a suitable racquet

In addition to your personal preferences, and to make browsing and purchasing easier, we recommend that you consider one essential aspect of your playing style: pronation. Pronation is defined as the rotation of the forearm in overhead clearing shots. If your pronation is:

SLOW: speed build-up is insufficent. You’re probably looking for more POWER. MEDIUM: speed build-up is good. You’re probably looking for better CONTROL. RAPID: speed build-up is excellent. You’re probably looking for higher ACCURACY and BETTER FEEL.

Take a look at the following three animations. The table below determines what you need to look for (less than average, average or better than average power) depending on your stroke, and provides a Lucien Laverdure rating for every racquet sold on-line.

Racquet weight

Caution! Light-weight racquets aren’t always the best choice.

SLOW: choose a HEAVIER or heavy-headed raquet; it will give you more power. RAPID: choose a LIGHTER racquet.

Heavier – and therefore more solid racquets generally suit beginners best.

Shaft Flexibility

Upon impact with the shuttlecock, the racquet shaft bends. In regaining its original shape, the shaft pushes the shuttlecock away (repulsion power). Shaft flexibilities can range from extra flexible to extra stiff, and one should choose according to one’s speed of stroke.

If your shots have a:

GOOD SPEED: then you probably have good power. You do NOT NEED a very flexible shaft. LACK SPEED: then you probably lack power. Go for a more flexible shaft.

Stiffer shafts usually give more control, because they allow less twisting movement. Prestigious companies can nonetheless manufacture racquets with top-of-the-line fibre, which improves the shaft’s speed reaction while minimizing its torsion (i.e. better resiliency). You might want to take a look a these racquets, depending on your playing level, and your budget of course.

Head Shape

There are two basic head shapes on the market:

CLASSIC: Classic round-like head shapes do not tolerate off-center shots very well. ISOMETRIC: Isometric head shapes enlarged sweet spots (ideal hitting area); off-centered shots are therefore better tolerated.

Grip size

Grip size can greatly affect gameplay. In order to keep the racquet from spinning in your hand, you should have a firm grip. You must nevertheless avoid grips that are too small because of the unwanted stress they generate against the hand muscle.

Stringing

You should never overlook stringing. After all, one hits the shuttlecock with the strings, not the racquet. There are two main stringing characteristics: gauge and tension.

Gauge

Lower gauge: Although they provide less feeling, THICKER strings last LONGER. Beginners, who usually want stringing durability, should therefore avoid high-gauge stringing. Higher gauge: THINNER strings are FRAGILE, but they provide more FEELING and greater repulsion power. Thicker string is represented by a lower gauge, while thinner string is represented by higher gauge.

Tension

Higher tension: Basically, HIGHER string tension provides more CONTROL and less power. Lower tension: Conversely, because of its ability to strech and create a «trampoline effect» (or resilience), LOWER string tension gives more POWER, but less control.

Experienced players usually prefer low-gauge string, and high-tension stringing