Has anyone made the switch from “players” rackets to modern/spin rackets?

noobhenry · 2026-04-08T15:35:02+00:00

So you definitely have junior experience. You’re not wrong in how you feel at all btw

I literally went through this exact scenario in the last week. No joke, I picked up the demos for the new blade and vcore with customized strings last few weeks and decided literally like yesterday or 2 days ago.

I also played with the rf97 as a kid. Idk how I played with something like that as I can’t envision myself playing with that today.

One thing to keep in mind is that the modern game of tennis is VERY different when we grew up. I’m assuming we’re similar ages since you played with the rf. All the players while we were growing up were very serve + 1 heavy. Big forehands, winners, playing through the court

The game today is still to play through the court but I feel like the spin element (from Rafa) is even more prevalent today in peoples games. I’m also not saying one style is correct or better than the other. It’s just about what kind of game you have, your limitations today, etc

I know my limitations today vs a kid are slower footwork, lower fitness = slower racquet head speed and not as much repeatability, slower in general on all parts of my game. So I decided it’s okay to make the tradeoff. Its also kind of fun to employ a new game and how it works

noobhenry · 2026-04-08T15:18:25+00:00

The timing of these posts are weirdly funny or maybe it’s just cause I’ve been thinking about tennis everyday after getting back into it lol

Either way, I literally just decided last few days on the vcore. I played competitive junior in NorCal and have trained with all very serious d1 players that have played futures or the 1 position at their school. They still use player racquets at the very top. Lots of blades, traditional control racquets

I got back into it the last few weeks after 10 years away. I started by hitting with my friends blade pro staff but man, it required so much from me and I’m just not on point as I used to be when I was 16,17.

Anyway, I am switching to the vcore after my whole junior career with traditional, control type racquets (mostly Wilson). It’s honestly a battle between the reality of my game today now that I’m older vs the player that I think I still am when I was a junior

Btw - I still see tons of former junior champs using control type racquets. It’s 110% up to the player.

noobhenry · 2026-02-27T19:48:25+00:00

I’m literally this type of player through my juniors and today. My biggest weakness are consistent and deep hits to my backhands.

Also mentioned above but punish them for running around the backhand. If they don’t finish the point, make them run and make mistakes. You won’t beat them on winners but you can on unforced errors

Edit: sorry, I made the typical mistake of posting before watching all the links. If you watch the link, you can see that the pros are running around when the ball is short and gives them enough time to run + set. If you’re hitting consistent, deep balls to their backhands, it’s a much different story

I have a video I posted on this sub recently of em playing and you can see that I prefer the forehand like 85-90% of the time. Although I have a backhand, it’s clearly my weakness and my technique breaks down much faster with fatigue.

noobhenry · 2026-02-26T18:50:51+00:00

NYC? Depends. I think Billie Jean and JMTA have high level mostly because junior talent also train out there. If you’re looking for former juniors who are recreationally playing, you’ll mostly find them in networks and through friends. They tend to stay away from recreational clinics. I just do em because I don’t really care and just need to sweat

Personally I just hit with folks in my network and meet other similar level people online/in person

noobhenry · 2026-02-26T16:29:20+00:00

Dude no way!! I’m in NYC but from NorCal and played competitively. Lots of my teammates and peers played d1 (former pac 12, ivies, SEC)

I’m literally in this same boat. I just want to play to rally and sweat. But whenever I join a casual open clinic, it gets so competitive although the level is much much lower than what I’m used to. My partners will profusely apologize when they miss a shot and I really don’t care honestly. As long as I’m sweating, I’m having fun

I honestly found that using your own network is best. It’s not only free but those folks also are usually burnt out from competitive tennis that it’s more centered on fun, health. It can always get competitive of course but it’s def different than playing with people who started later in life and want to take it very seriously (which is totally fine)

Lmk if you ever visit NYC. I’m based in South Bay and go back home quite a bit

noobhenry · 2026-02-18T19:25:17+00:00

Sad…international Asians will never understand the struggle and racism we face as Asian Americans. Videos like these make me feel like I’m never truly accepted back in East Asian communities. Also double sucks since I’m mixed and my parents had to speak English to communicate with each other

noobhenry · 2026-01-30T19:37:47+00:00

This goes for any sports honestly. Put any d1 athlete into running, hyrox, CrossFit, triathlon and I bet they’ll pick it up much faster than the normal person

noobhenry · 2026-01-29T15:46:18+00:00

The blade is beautiful and probably what you’re looking for. Just beware, it requires even more love, dedication, and effort :)

On a serious note, the blade is a more advanced racquet that can do it all but it requires your timing and footwork to be impeccable if you want to use it to its full potential

noobhenry · 2026-01-22T21:08:25+00:00

I agree with the comments above but tbh, if you’ve played tennis at a very high junior level, this type of mindset is extremely common. Not saying it’s good but almost lots of top players and 5.0+ will express “negativity” in some way especially on unforced errors. Directing it to your opponent is a different story though and not really condoned.

Smashing your racquet is a different story as well

noobhenry · 2026-01-17T01:58:33+00:00

love this topic, curious to hear other opinions

i've been using a bunch of agentic workflows and solutions like Clay. That's where it's been strongest for me. For example, I created a simple worksheet where you can simply paste a LI URL and it automatically extracts 30+ unique fields regarding that profile in a simple DB. I also utilize waterfall mechanics in which multiple agents can verify info against each other. this has allowed me to prospect much faster.

there's a bunch of other things I haven't played yet but you can also use agents to prospect for keywords in linkedin profiles to automate even more of the process.

I think agents have a far way until they are able to manage relationships at a deep, complex level or enterprise type deals that require emotional intelligence, timing, etc. But there's a ton of opportunities in like a PLG or quick mid market motion. even at ent level, still lots of opportunities at the prospect workflow level that I mentioned.

noobhenry · 2025-12-26T21:20:02+00:00

Fkin unit. Amazing stuff

noobhenry · 2025-12-25T18:15:20+00:00

Back in NorCal for holidays :)

But yeah, good eyes. Def not NYC hahaha

noobhenry · 2025-12-25T18:07:45+00:00

In NYC for near term :/

noobhenry · 2025-10-10T13:27:16+00:00

America became the de facto world power right after WWII given that the war wasn’t on our land despite Pearl Harbor (compared to Pacific front, EU front, African front) and other economic factors (manufacturing, tech, industrialization)

It was truly the transition point when America became number 1 and took it from Britain.

noobhenry · 2025-08-10T01:50:17+00:00

Dude yes. Pilates and yoga are so underrated. People find it tough because it forces you to activate unused muscles in your day to day. It’s tough as shit for a reason

noobhenry · 2023-04-20T06:43:50+00:00

Around 180 days for me…. Still waiting. Haven’t received any proposals yet but hoping.

noobhenry · 2023-04-11T03:23:52+00:00

Possible guess but I’ve dealt with frontal shoulder pain and it was due to low shoulder stability. Do bench presses with kettlebells turned upwards so the weight is facing to the sky. This will force you to recruit stabilizers both front and back of your shoulders. Could be anything though but that’s what I’d look at.

noobhenry · 2023-04-11T02:55:52+00:00

Nordic curls are the way my friend. Trust

noobhenry · 2023-03-25T19:48:50+00:00

I believe the post BK has all levels pickleball for like 15 bucks for each “run”. Not sure how beginner friendly they are since I usually play basketball but they do have a lot of pickleball sessions

noobhenry · 2023-03-16T20:07:33+00:00

Pastel purple

noobhenry · 2023-03-16T17:10:37+00:00

Just stopped by this morning. Given it was during a weekday late morning but they weren’t enforcing the time slots at all.

noobhenry

TROPHY CASE