Save your arm! Racquets, strings, tools and more... 

I followed your advice and after two years I am healed. It was bad. But getting heavier flexible racket and adding weight on the hoop and dropping tension way down really helped. I’ve gone from 18/17 finally back up to 23/22 full bed Alu power. The babolat pure drive with higher tension did it and I’ll. never play a stiff racket again! Head rackets are the best: the gravity pro. Wow

I had wrist issues for 2 years....had to stop playing.....the only change that i made was, lowering the tension in my strings ....my pain subsided and now i am pain free for the last 6 months

I'm a 48 year old, 7 UTR player who practices approximately 10 hours per week. I used to suffer from bad elbow soreness, until I made the switch from my BABOLAT Pure Control Tour GT, to the DONNAY Pro One 97. Now I'm totally pain free & playing better than ever. I string my DONNAY at 47lbs with Cyclone 17g. Good luck everyone on becoming pain free in 2021! ✌

I hurt my wrist playing tennis, and have done quite a lot of work fixing it. My advise: 1) rest it, if you overdo it you will regret it. 2) stretching, the the flex bar is amazing for stretching the forearm muscles/tendons on the back of the wrist. If you grab it with the dodgy wrist hand then you can twist it with your other hand. Because it sticks to the fingers it does a much better job of pulling the tendons to stretch the muscles, as opposed to attempting to stretch by just bending your wrist over which puts more strain on the joint and doesn't really pull the tendons the same way. 3) massage the forearm muscles - if you can free any knots it will help with wrist pain. 4) strengthen it, I use a 5kg dumbell and do the set of exercises recommended by USTA, don't use a powerball.

Very good tips. I’ve suffered both tennis elbow and wrist too. I went for TFCC surgery and now approaching 6 months. I now use the pro kennex Kiq +5 and the Wilson clash 98 and 100 tour

Flat hitting, especially flat serves, cause the most shock and are the worst for tennis elbow. For players who are having issues, switch to all spin serves, work on spinnier forehands and switch to synthetic gut, multifilament or natural gut string.

Great video Jonas. Thanks for putting this info together. 👍

Thank you for uploading a great tennis video today. It's always been a great help to our novice tennis members.

Love the holistic advice. 👍🏻

Good advice! Thank-you!

Thank for uploading this video. I am 62 years old and started playing tennis again after not playing for 30 years. I started playing again as a way to to doing some physical exercise during Covid-19. After doing some research decided on purchasing a used Babolat Pure Aero (the banana yellow version) I strung it with 18 gauge Solinco confidential at 54 lbs. I played with this setup for 4 months and then one day while hitting a one arm backhand, felt a sharp pain in elbow. I have never had this pain before. Long story short, I had to correct my backhand and forehand strokes. In addition I tried a hybrid of hyper G on the mains and confidential on the cross at at 48lbs. This has helped me to to continue to play without elbow pain. I still need to use a wrist support (because of an old hockey injury). I agree with your statement that warm ups are a requirement (especially at my age) and taking a multi vitamin as well as doing some form of workout specific to your injury site. Keep up with your RU-vid videos, they are very helpful.

Great video and solid information here! I recently switched to a Prince Phantom 100 and it's been very arm-friendly. Even with a full bed of polys, the racquet is great and I can topspin the ball without any fear of pain. I got a Theraband Flexbar too and try to do exercises every other day. It's been very helpful. I can't exactly say that my arm is 100% pain-free. My arm still comes out sore after long tennis sessions, but at least I'm able to compete against the hard hitters again 👍

Good vid. Thanks 🙏

I was having trouble with my wrist last year. I tried hybrid set-ups with soft-ish polys, but I discovered that my game was better using a flexible, open string pattern racket (Prince 100 O3) and keeping a full-bed of a softer poly. Not a fan of the feel of the O3 frames, but I got used to it and won more matches that way than with hybrid set-ups in my other frames. Now, I am back to stiff, extended frames (Prince Beast Pro LB, Yonex EZone DR 100+, Babolat Pure Drive + 2015) using full poly even in the cold weather with no pain. I do still like to hybrid a softer (Big banger Blue rough, Cyclone Tour, etc.) poly with a firmer (Cyclone, Alu Power, RPM) poly. Mixing in some doubles play and just relentlessly concentrating on hitting the sweet spot also helps. Last thing, I find that a stiffer racket like a Pure Drive will sure let you know when you're not hitting the ball cleanly and that can counter-intuitively help if that makes sense. Who knew that tennis in your 50s could be so complicated?

Please upload daily. Love your content.

Comprehensive advice to those with stiff elbows. Good work

Cheers mate I was looking for a tool to help train my forearms and elbow related muscles. I would have love to use your like but I don't live in the states. Thank you very much :)

Thanks Jonas for sharing your experience about these issues and helping your fellow tennis players. I hit the last two weeks with Blade 16x19 V7 no customization strung with Volkl Cyclone 16 Black 55 pounds, and felt this setup very arm friendly, blade is flexy. This weekend hitting with Pro Staff 97 V13 same strings but 51 pounds, not as friendly as the Blade. This stick does not forgive you if you do not hit clean enough, but when you do it is charm. Anyway after two hours you fell the stiffer racquet effect on the elbow. I am 48 years old 4.5-5.0 level player.

Using lux soft 16 in clash tour and 100 at 44 pds each - agree sometimes ball just takes off - I had Bab gut at 56 pds each - loved it - going to mix gut verticals and poly horizontals

I use the Flexbar every day. One of the big factors in comfort is Twistweight and the E-Zone might have a low twistweight. I don't know which Ezone you tried but they generally have Twistweight lower or at 14. Adding a little lead tape at 3/9 may greatly improve comfort.

Luxilon Element and Alu power combination is wonderful, I have Vcore 95 2021 and its RA rating is 66, this hybrid is just amazing as it so comfortable and gives so much more feedback, control and power. Also the tension maintenance is brilliant so totally recommend this setup! Element at 48lbs on mains and Al power 47lbs on crosses.

We all need this!

Using Ezone 100 2022 model,good combination of power and vibration dampening. Put lead weight at 12, 3, 9:00 for head plowthrough, good for spin on serve. Using Solinco Hyper G soft, strung at 46 lbs. Very durable poly but restring every 6 weeks due to initial low tension. Use Prince Duratred over wrap, change every 2-3 weeks. Play doubles 3-4 times per week, have play entire life, now 69 years old. To reduce vibration effect use compression arm sleeve + Band-it dampener. Still playing 4.5 + doubles often with players 1/2 my age. Stretch for 20 minutes before playing, 5 minutes after playing, take 2 ibuprofen before play

Have played tennis for all of a long life already, and I have never seen a time like now with so, so many players complaining of wrist and arm pain. No other time is even close. Walked through a large junior program a few days ago, and I was shaking my head at so many juniors who were already sidelined at a young age. Repeat after me, " Pain is not normal for tennis, not normal." I see these statements like" I think I found a poly that I can play without pain now." It is not a thin line that a player needs to walk. Once the pain is felt, the damage has been done. Ditch poly and worry about those light, stiff frames that are so addictive. Sooner or later, you will be paying...over and over... sooner or later... Good advice from Jonas - a softer control frame, 16X20 or 18/20 string pattern, with the pop that comes from a modern multi or syn gut/medium or low tension... And play on and on...All this pain is not normal..

You talked about moving into your 40's. I am about to move into my 60's, and yes, you're right. I had to drop tension, play with lighter racquets. I played with the Wilson prostaff 6.1 classic in my 30's. That no longer works, as that racquet is heavier than the heaviest recreational racquet today.

Thanks for the video, I"ve suffered from stiff shoulder and elbow for many years. Finally think it's time to move on to a new racket as mine is super light (Babolat E-Series lite). Waiting for my demo rackets from TW now, Ezone 98, radical, clash pro to start out with. Was thinking About looking at pro kennex and the head gravity MP. Just ordered a flexbar, gave ya credit for you hard work buy using ur link 😉

Ugh been liking my ezone tour but I switched to solinco confidential so I can play outside when it’s damp and I started feeling a lil pain. I need to go back to tour bite soft/gut hybrid setup again.

Great advice, Jonas. Most sports therapists highly recommend a flexbar, but good compliance with daily exercises is vital. I have highly positive experience with using it as well and it really helped my recovery from one bad episode of tennis elbow. I now do the exercises everyday whilst watching RU-vid vids like yours! I don’t ever want to end up with TE ever again!

Great tips 👌! Over the last few years I have not had any elbow or shoulder problems. I only play with arm friendly frames like the Wilson Blade v7 98 16x19 and the Prince Phantom 100p. I only play with synthetic strings these days.

Looking forward to the new Dunlop CX 200 Tour seems like an arm-healthy control racquet

I have a flexbar as well. I would be interested in a video about different ways to use it along with what problems each exercise addresses. thanks!

great content, on a good arm day i play with my pure strike 16*19 and i string it at 51 pounds with RPM blast. i play with blade 98 v7 16*19 with adrenaline at 51 pounds.

One arm swing with 24kg/53lbs kettlebell helped me healing tennis elbow and keeping me healthy and strong

What tension are you using when stringing the Clash Pro with Hyper-G Soft? BTW, great tips!

Jonas I constantly admire Malta's weather! Safe to say I'm a tad envious. We are just breaking out of the snow season here in British Columbia and a tennis bubble is a lot further off than the spring I guarantee. What are your thoughts on squash over the winter. I'm sure it would improve my shot. But is it a good replacement for tennis conditioning. Are there any prices to pay in injuries brought on by a different sport. Would you recommend Squash until the snow melts?

I was a Nick Bolletieri protege along with Agassi, courier, Wheaton, and Blackman in 1985 and I used the Adidas GTX Pro Lendl racket at 72 pounds with natural gut. I played for 7 hours each day. Never a problem with tennis elbow back then. Then I quit that year and only started playing 5 months ago after 37 years. My brother gave me 3 Babolat Pure Drive Plus (2015 models) with Technifibre ATP string at 58 pounds. The grip is one size too big for me. I developed tennis elbow soon after while I was playing my first futures tournaments …I almost quit tennis entirely again because of the arm…then I played with a 2010 Head Prestige Mid (youtek) with gut at 52 pounds with the correct grip size. In one session my arm was happy. With a few days rest, I hit again. Almost 100% healthy in the arm again! And I’m hitting the ball like I did back in 1985: hard as F. I fully believe it was all the wrong racket choice and I know that the prestige is 330 grams unstrung and flexible and 93 head size. It’s like I’m playing tennis again. Anyone out there can give me a bit of assurance? My arm is good and I plan on getting back my game and get ranked so I need a great new racket that is the closest to my current prestige masterpiece. Thanks. Tak tak. Ps: I used to beat Andre back then…crazy times. Rest in peace dear Nick

kettlebell swings are godly for grip and forearm strength. just do it!

Thanks for the video. I switched to Triax from hybrid and my arm feels a lot better. A little less spin but no pain

I also had a ton of issues trying to use the Ezone 98. Still, nothing kills my arm quicker than a babolat frame. Tried the Pure Strike 98 and the Ezone back to back and had to take a month off.

Something about new ezone. Never any pain playing 30 years. Ezone 100 feels great and loved it when I demoed it. 4 months in and experiencing wrist pain for first time ever.

In the old days "experts" told us that we should use the largest grip we could handle. Then Federer and Nadal used small grips so that they could whip the racquet faster. So many people including myself went from a 4 5/8 to 4 1/4, and yes you can whip the racquet faster. For those who have or had tennis elbow, myself included, you will notice more pain gripping a small grip than a big grip or any object. So when you are healthy and do not have a sore elbow I think it is possible that the small grip (good for tennis) is bad for your elbow.

I had risk pain from using Babolat Pure strike and Luxilon 4G string. I switched racquet and strings and the pain went away. But now I can't play tennis because Canada is in the second lockdown until who knows when lol.

Thx a lot for your videos :) I have had FINGER pains which look like different from most people who are having arm/wrist issues. any advice specially for fingers? mainly the pains in right hand (primary hand) middle finger, index finger; the left hand index finger also has minor pains. I have ordered some demo rackets which are arm-friendly, thought they will also be finger-friendly...

I can confirm major wrist pain when using ezone 98 tour old and 2022 which happens immediately when using these rackets. I switched to vcore pro97D (heavier too)and no pain... something in the balance of the ezone 98 tour in my opinion.

is there a video where you can see roscoe tanner playing the Blackburne DS 107 racquet model, that was the double string racquet. can you upload this racquet as a game video?

I had the same arm issue with the Yonex Ezone 98. I played with it for 2 months and decided to sell it. =( I've never had any issues with Yonex in the past. Looks like I'm going back to Volkl.

Stopped having elbow issues after switching to the blade 98... Feel flex tech is good

The Yonex Ezone Tour felt like a sledgehammer (in the world of tennis racquets).

I've had some mysterious forearm soreness recently, and after some investigating, it turns out I added a bit too much lead on the handle to mimic the weight distribution of leather. The weight distribution caused the racquet to not lag naturally as I couldn't feel the weight of the head, and I was manufacturing the lag with my forearm. I solved this by moving some lead to the head. Just want to show that sometimes the amount of weight or swingweight isn't the core issue, but whether the distribution matches your stroke style could be something to think about.

Hi! When a ball is semi past me and I try and run the ball down and flick the ball back into play on the back hand side this motion creates a really straight arm/sharp tearing sensation. The same pain/injury occurs on backhand overhead smashes. I use a very light racquet (270g)/ tried lots of different string combos. Tried physio and I have a thermaband already used regularly in conjunction with standard tennis elbow exercises/weighted exercises. Nothing seems to be working, often I cant play for weeks at a time due to the injury. Suggestions anyone ?

Great video! I play with the 2015 version of the Prince Textreme Tour 95 (RA of 55 I think). Like you I generally use the Solinco Hyper G soft and string at 47. Keep trying different racquets and strings but always come back to this one. Had arm issues in the past that came from stringing poly's too tight and on stiff racquets... Learned the hard way.

What strings and tension are you using now? I just got clash 100

Sir I play with yonex vcore pro 97 290g 2018 version and the strung weight 319g. And the stiffness rating according to the tennis warehouse and company’s claim is 65 ,what about me I play with it and I am 16 years old

Is that the Luxilon 1.20mm natural gut you're using? I've been playing with the 1.30mm luxilon gut with alu in the crosses and I've come to the conclusion that this gut is unbreakable - pretty much no fraying even after 20 hours.

In the side of the arm friendly frames, what about Pro Staff 97 CV?

Jonas, given that you clearly love control frames, why do you use a Clash 100 rather than a 98?

My girlfriend tells me that her wrist is weak and she uses some kind of wrist band that tightens her wrist (it is too elastic). I don't know if this is a good idea because I think she should work on strengthening her wrist and avoid using those kind of tight wrist bands. What do you think? Is it good to tighten the wrist so you don't pronate or move it at all? Thanks a lot!

Definitely Wilson Clash (any model). Wilson Clash Tour/Pro is like an orthopedic aid. No arm problems whatsoever, even with Hyper G. (I have to add a bit extra spin to keep the ball under control, but otherwise it is is perfect)

How can you have proper racquet lag without using wrist?

Average tension of 48 lbs?!?!? Wow! I've been stringing 60lbs my whole life and only recently decided to drop down to 55lbs because I switched to thicker gauge strings because I was getting tired of having to string so often, and people suggested stringing the thicker gauge more loosely. Wow I'm so out of touch. I might go down to 50lbs then.

R.I.C.E. Rest Ice Compression Elevation. Cold compression is the future!!! Reduces swelling and relieves aches. On the flip side it promotes circulation. Also, if you have the bucks, go get a professional massage from someone who knows how to dig into your tissue properly. Btw, as a fellow tennis nerd, this channel is the Mecca on what's happening in Tennis Tech. Oh, on a side note, assisted pull-ups and daily push ups help build up the muscles and joints to absorb some of the impact, just look at Nadal.

im looking for the microgel radical mp to replace my g360+ that is giving me elbow pain, do you think is a good option?

Heavy racket with lower stiff ( clash 295gr with 56ra) or technifibre 280gr with higher stiff (68ra), which racket better for arm(elbow), thanks?

I thought I was the only one who noticed some wrist pain playing with the Ezone Tour (demoed it for a few weeks straight). Even with my Babolat Pure Drive 2017, which is somehow considered as a stiff racquet, I didn't experience any issues while playing with it at all. Just looking for frame that plays and feels like the PD but with more precision and a better kick on serves.

Bought a Head Gravity and enjoy the feeling and low stiffness. Play tested a Wilson Clash and I have to say it was very orgasmic in terms of tennis 🎾 strokes. 😆

Hey Jonas, love your videos. Can you please review the Pure Strike 18x20, it would be very nice.

I've had elbow pain since july 12 2020. Just found out I have 3 big BONE SPURS IN MY ELBOW GET RID OF YOUR INFLAMMATION FIRST AND STRETCH!!!!! THEN STRENGTHEN!!!!!

I started playing with the clash and started getting wrist pain. (I don’t know if I am the only one), I now play with an old pro staff and don’t have the pain anymore. I stretch a lot before and after playing in order to prevent injuries.

What is YOUR favorite round poly for arm issues? Have Vcore pro 97 looking for decent spin and control with good tension maintenance. String Project Magic? Yonex PT Fire?

Which string and tension are you using on the Clash? Also, are you using 1 or 2 piece stringing. If one piece, are you stringing the crosses from bottom up, are using Around -The-World?? I have the same racquet and trying to find the best string, tension, and stringing technique basically to help with control.

Do you have a link to the supplements/powders you use in the morning?

Ytex has great soft co-poly strings! Been using it for years now.

What jacket are you wearing? Really cool.

Mannarino uses ultra low tension otherwise he'd have no wrist left !! ..... There's always method behind the madness :)))

Wondering if type of ball is worth a mention too? Training ball vs pressurised? Softness and weight of each brand? Also wet ball but that’s kind of obvious I guess

I switched to Ezone 100 recently and my wrist, shoulder and body started hurting. The spec seems very similar to my Head Graphene 360 MP radical...

Question: my elbow is fine but my wrists hurt a lot. I already noticed playing with light racquets actually makes it worse as more of the ball speed goes into my wrist directly rather than being driven by racquet weight. Now I wonder if an open string pattern (I play 16x19) is actually causing MORE trauma for my wrist than a closed one might? Do you think I could gain stability and save my wrist by going with an 18x20 string pattern?

Natural Gut its great BUT not good on humid climates zones

Would you say the Youtek IG radical pro would be a good arm friendly racquet?

Any chance of reviewing rackets from ali Express? I only ask because I have gone from using a prestige mp the 2021 model. To a £70 ali Express racket based on the rf 97 after starting to experience some very ruff elbow pain ? I'd like to share my racket story with you and your subscribers. Love your content

Don't forget Donnay rackets, one of the original brands focused on comfort.

Need Suggestion: I used to be a SemiPro but now I am a recreational player, I did have Tennis Elbow but now its better. I use to play with Head Youtek Extreme Pro 2.0 but now I am playing with Head Touch Extreme S. Planning to buy new comfortable more forgiving Racket, any suggestion on below: Head Gravity S 2021 Wilson Blade 104 v7

ezone tour is only 4HL. that can contribute to arm pain with 1HBH in my experience. It could be fixed by just switching to a leather grip and getting to 6HL. or perhaps adding lead/silicone/tungsten to handle and getting to 8HL.

Mr tennis guy we use to in ussr wear adidaskaya track suit with gold chains you should try same perhaps you will hit 2 milions rubules subs

Use string savers with natural gut, I went from 30 hours to 70 hours

Why not the Clash 98 to have more control and still save your arm

New princes?! Im down

What about Triax? Do you like this string?

Put some cool racquet gear or art on the wall behind you.

I think Agassi said it best use the heaviest racket you can handle and the lowest tension possible that you can handle

surprise to hear the average tension on tour is 48 lbs.

4:24 Ahaha

I bought Prokennex Q+ tour (green 98 inches, 300 g, 315 mm, SW 306), and I'm sutisfied its volley and backhand stroke (topspin and slice) ! It's really nice :) But I'm suffer from its heavy swing weight in forehand stroke and serve, as you mentioned in the past video. The power of Q+ tour is too much in fast swing, for that reason, I will try higher tension from 52 to 55. The result will come next weak.

For arm issues, you can't beat Pro Kennex and Volkl racquets.

Pro Kennex Black Ace.

Unfortunately as long as you continue to keep trying different rackets the elbow isn’t going to get any better.

Poor technique is the main culprit. Followed by poor conditioning and timing and lastly poor choice of frame and strings. Most people address arm problems in the reverse order

your muscles are getting bigger but the skin is still tight...ever see stretch marks there? lacerations? see how tuff/tight the skin is... now your pumping up more.no. lotion. loose the skin. rub. twist stretch. breath

Try take prepartion to filming more seriously. The foids and lights determine x olay abd iut are foods and gravies differebt out