Buying guides

Spend where it changes your tennis.

Practical advice for ordinary players—fit, specifications and ready-to-play cost before colour or hype.

Also in this site

Related sections

These sit under More in the nav — easy to miss, so they are listed here too.

Brand ranges

Brand ranges

Plain guides to the main adult racket brands — who each range is for.

Browse brand ranges
Strings

Strings & restringing

Types, labour and what a UK restring should cost.

Open strings guide
Used market

Search used options

eBay UK first for your shortlist frame, then Gumtree and Vinted.

Used market
Upgrade

Upgrade my racket

More spin, stability or touch — strings first, then a short demo list.

Upgrade my racket
About

How we work

Sources, limits and how The Tennis Shop is put together.

How we work
00
Rackets

What to demo in 30 minutes

Same strings and tension, warm-up, baseline, serves, returns, late-session feel — then pick or walk away.

Open the demo checklist →
01
Rackets

Previous-generation frames

An outgoing performance racket does not become worse when its paint changes. Buy when you have demoed it; wait when the new gen changes weight, balance or pattern — and always compare ready-to-play totals.

Open the previous-gen checklist →
02
Shoes

Fit and court before brand

Use your normal tennis socks and test a lunge and change of direction. Your heel should stay secure without pressure across the forefoot. Check your club’s surface and footwear rules before selecting the outsole.

Open the shoe checklist →
03
Clothing and bags

Buy for the session you play

Check movement, ball pockets, seams and washing instructions. For bags, count the rackets, shoes, clothing and water you actually carry rather than defaulting to the largest option.

Open the kit & bag checklist →
04
Strings

When to restring

Breaks, notches, dead beds, type choice (syn gut / multi / poly / hybrid), and tension hygiene — companion to the strings guide.

Open the restring checklist →
05
Strings

Buying string sets by the pack

Set vs reel, gauge and hybrid checks, product-page questions, and pack maths using dated labour — we don’t guess pack prices.

Open the pack checklist →
06
Used

A–D condition grades

Simple A to D scale for second-hand rackets — grade the frame before you compare the price.

Open the A–D guide →
07
Clothing and bags

Pack for an outdoor winter session

Before you leave, at the court and after the session: a UK club checklist for layers, light, wet kit, grips and safe surfaces.

Open the winter session checklist →