Choosing Your First Squash Racket - Long Version - Squash For Beginners [008]

Squash rackets are like fashion - what one person loves, another person hates. There is no perfect racket for a particular standard or style of player.
Don't buy an alloy racket if you can avoid it and don't buy the top of the range either.
Confused about what sort of racket you should start playing squash with?
Don't be - it's not too complicated. Learn which head shape is most suitable for beginners, along with advice about weight, balance, strings and grips.
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Squash for Beginners covers everything you need to know when you first start to learn how to play squash. It explains how squash is played.
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Hi, I'm Phillip. I'm an ex-professional squash coach and was lucky enough to work with some incredible coaches, including Jonah Barrington and practice with some amazing players including Jahangir Khan and Ross Norman.
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[@BetterSquash]

Do you think you bought the right racket for you when you purchased your first racket?

[@HashBar]

Nice video. I was under the impression that the lighter the better but i was checking what pros use and it doesn't look like they tend to use the lightest, as you said they use rackets ranging from 125-135

[@BetterSquash]

I am happy to hear you enjoyed the video. Light rackets often feel great when you first try them, but that feeling doesn't always last. It then becomes a constant search for lighter and lighter rackets. We need to find a weight that works well for our tecnique, strength and style of play.

[@peterchang425]

Love your advice and tips, especially from someone as credible as you! I try and pass them onto my two sons who I am teaching to play squash as well. We are club players, play about 3 times per week. How often should one restring the squash racquet?

[@BetterSquash]

Thank you for your kind words, peter. I would say though that good advice can come from anywhere and the test should be whether it works for you or not.
With regard to your question about restringing, a lot depends on how hard you hit the ball, but I would say that if you play about 3 times per week you should look to restring your racket at least once, probably twice per year. However, I didn't do mine that often because I very much liked looser strings and the loss of tension over the time suited me. Most players seem to prefer tighter strings and therefore require more restrings.

[@petereedy6092]

Excellent advice here, Phillip!
Too long ago for me to remember if my first racket was the right one for me, though :(

[@BetterSquash]

Thank, Peter. Yes, for players over 40 we had a much smaller selection and the difference between them was smaller too.

[@gergelypapp82]

Just started playing squash with my girlfriend at a local gym. The rackets that can be rented are the cheap alloy types. Do you think this set would be a good purchase for the price? www.decathlon.co.uk/club-set-sr-560-id_8528363.html It seems to tick or your checkboxes. Unfortunately I don't know anyone(yet) to try different rackets, and second hand market here in my town very limited.

[@BetterSquash]

Great to hear you have just started playing. I went to my local Decathlon to have a look at them and they didn't have ANY squash equipment, which is very strange because the last time I was there in February, they had a lot. Anyway, I had a look at the link and they don't seem too bad. There is nothing else I could see on the site that would be better.
Don't give up just yet on the second hand market. Nearly all sellers will post. I had a look for you and couldn't see any outstanding bargains, but I did find this: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wilson-Rally-6000-Series-Prince-Extender-OS-Destroyer-squash-rackets-balls/324217334705?hash=item4b7cdbebb1:g:sKEAAOSwpDBe~fUe The price is worth it just for the Prince.
If you don't like the idea of second hand stuff, that's cool too. I also know that being new you won't know much about the different models for sale on ebay etc, but a quick search can help. The prince is a very old model, if you were the only one to bid, for about 6 pounds for both, that would keep you both going for a few months.
Anyway, those SR 560's don't seem too bad. See if you can hold one and see how they feel. Again, I know you aren't an expert (yet!) but you will get an idea if they are much lighter than what you have to rent.
Let me know if I can be of any other help.

[@BetterSquash]

Just found these two prince rackets for 50 plus 9 postage, but they look great value: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Prince-air-O-bolt-air-O-lightning-squash-rackets/133462411554
And these two Dunlop's are good value too:
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/A-Pair-of-Dunlop-Blackstorm-Titanium-3-0-Squash-Rackets-Racquets-with-cases/233645612912

[@gergelypapp82]

@@BetterSquash Thank you for your kind and detailed reply. I am based in Hungary so postage from the UK would be roughly the same as the rackets themselves. I linked the UK Decathlon site to see the price in GBP as my local currency wouldn't be much of a help to you. Barely anyone uses eBay here. I keep an eye on Facebook marketplace, and local equivalent of eBay but so far no great deal showed up. I have already learnt a lot from your videos, thank you for the great content. Wish you the best.

[@BetterSquash]

Yes, i thought you might not be in the UK, but forgot to mention it. In that case, The Decathlon rackets look like the best option. I am very interested to hear your thoughts about the difference between them and the rental ones.

[@gergelypapp82]

@@BetterSquash I already played 4 times with these rackets and I love them. Please note that these experiences are from the perspective of a newcomer. First of all the rackets are way lighter, but whats even more important less head heavy. Personally I really like the feel of the racket, my girlfriend also said her forearm was less strained with these rackets. The handle for me is too narrow (I am 195 with quite big hands) so I had to put an overgrip on. Thanks to your video it was an easy task. I haven't tried many rackets yet, but hitting the ball feels more natural with this racket. My wrist is really sensitive thanks to previous injuries from other sports but this feels natural in hand. This might not be the racket for an advanced player but for me it is a definite improvement, so now I feel like my skill is the only thing that limits my performance.