Tennis is my favorite thing to do in my spare time so I have a vested interested in learning how to play and improve without going broke. My friend, Ray Bilsey, is the Head Pro at one of our local tennis clubs. I asked him to give me the skinny on how to save money if you are addicted to tennis (like I am). Here’s his advice.

Rackets – New rackets come out every year. Ask a USPTA pro what type of racket is best for you (choosing your racket is based on your racket/swing speed). Each racket company (Babolat, Wilson, Prince, etc) designs rackets that are good for each type of player but you need only to demo those rackets that are designed for your racket speed. Many players purchase a racket because it feels light and forgiving when they first pick it up. They realize later that other rackets are better suited for their game and end up buying multiple rackets over just a few years (rackets last a long time). The key is to get the ‘right’ racket the first time (ironically, top quality rackets are cheaper than 20 years ago ranging from $120 to $199 for most top of the line rackets). Better yet, if you know what type of racket you like best but really want to save a few dollars, ask your local pro shop if they’ll sell their demo (most shops will do so when the company comes out with a new line of rackets, once per year. Or if you need a backup racket (high level players often need a backup racket in case their strings break), wait for the time of year when your local pro shop will sell you a demo and use that as your backup).

Strings – If you need to restring your racket several times per year (good players often break their strings several times per year), purchase your strings online from TennisWarehouse.com and only pay the labor charge at your local pro shop when you get your racket strung.

Lessons – Instead of 1 hour private lessons that work on several things at once, take ½ hour lessons specifically geared to work on a particular aspect of your game (serve, forehand, volley, etc). Then, utilize a ball machine to work on the stroke that you covered in your lesson so you get the most out of each lesson (if you do that you don’t have to take as many lessons). If you don’t have access to a ball machine, call all of your local tennis clubs until you find one that will rent a ball machine to non-members.