What are the recommended rackets for beginners?

Question: Rackets: Can anyone recommend a good racket for a beginner that would be ideal to play competitive friendly matches with?

Answer:
Hi Paul, thanks for asking us a question.

Generally you can classify badminton rackets into 3 types.

• Control Rackets
• Power Rackets
• Balanced Rackets

A control racket cannot be a power racket. You cannot have both power and control in the same racket.

For example if you choose power, you’ll need to sacrifice control.

Refer to the picture on the top of page for the specific parts of the rackets mentioned below.

Control Rackets

Control rackets are usually heavier at the handle. In badminton terms, we call this Head Light, indicating that the weight of the racket is more concentrated at the handle.

Therefore, you’ll feel that control rackets are lighter and easy to manoeuvre.

Control rackets also have a stiff racket shaft. With a stiff shaft, the flight direction of your shots is more certain because the racket head will not vibrate much as it makes contact with the shuttle.

Power Rackets

As the name suggests, power rackets enable the user to hit more powerful badminton shots.

Its weight is more concentrated at the head of the racket. We call this Head Heavy rackets.

A head heavy racket allows you to perform strokes easily. You’ll realise that you won’t have to put in much effort in swinging your badminton racket.

With a gentle forehand swing, you can easily hit the shuttlecock from one end of the court to another.

A power racket also has a flexible racket shaft. This enables room for repulsion as the racket makes contact with the shuttlecock.

In simple terms, the flexible shaft bends the racket towards the back and stores repulsion energy as you swing your racket forward. As you make contact with the shuttlecock, these stored repulsion energy will be released and then transferred into your shot.

Balanced Rackets

Balanced rackets have both attributes (power and control) in them. However, they do not provide maximum power or control like a pure control or power racket.

Specify Your Budget

After knowing the different types of badminton rackets, specify your budget.

How much are you willing to pay for your badminton racket?

Low range badminton rackets are reasonably cheap whereas the higher end rackets can be very expensive.

Basically, the difference between low and high end badminton rackets is the technology.

For example, high-end POWER rackets enable you to hit powerful shots and have reasonable control.

On the other hand, low-end POWER rackets provides similar power in your shots but lack control.

In short, high-end badminton rackets increase your overall performance.

My Advice to Beginners

I think beginners should get a slightly head heavy racket to assist them in executing strokes easily.

Alternatively, a balanced weight racket should be able to do the job.

Do not get rackets that are too head heavy because you’ll find it difficult to use. You might also injure yourself if you execute powerful shots such as a smash.

Just choose rackets that are slightly head heavy. Beginners should concentrate on mastering the correct techniques for the various badminton strokes.

To be more specific, beginners should hit a high defensive clear to the baseline using all 4 badminton strokes (overhead forehand, overhead backhand, underarm forehand, and underarm backhand).

If beginners use a CONTROL racket, there won’t be much power in the swing. Therefore, you’ll concentrate on generating power for your clears/lobs rather than mastering the correct strokes.

It is important that you start with a power racket. If you’re keen in improving your badminton skills quickly, a high end POWER racket will suit you more.