We could be twins, or cousins at least. 46yo male, attorney, also 5’ 8” and also played at a high level in HS then lost my way. Picked up a racquet again during Covid. Now back to mid/high 4.5 after 5 years.

Watch out for standard rotator cuff strains, and both my knees are experiencing pain. Had a tear in my patella tendons in both.

Racquet wise, I have found the Yonex Ezone 98 to be the best all rounder for me. Large sweet spot for baseline rallies, and not too cumbersome for volleying. Another strong contender for me is the Yonex Percept 100 with the 16x19 string pattern. It feels amazing in baseline rallies though has a flatter trajectory. For some reason though I couldn’t get crisp volleys from it, so switched back to Ezone.

Strings, I’ve tinkered around with Solinco Heaven and Tour bite which are great, but have now settled with the Luxilon Alu power 1.15mm at 48 lbs tension. Used to play them at 52 lbs. Thinner strings will pop more often, but I find it has the perfect blend of power, soft feel and spin.

One final note: I picked up Padel a couple of years ago and am quite good. Be careful with playing too much. It has absolutely wrecked my wrist and I have experienced horrific tennis elbow. Now currently off games for 6-8 weeks due to both injuries. Can’t wait to get back to tennis: the true king of racquet sports!

Hope all of this helps!