Tennis Elbow
The more you play, the more you have to pay attention to the causes and prevention of Tennis Elbow. To play your best, you must play without pain. If you goal is to play a lot of tennis at your full potential, Tennis Elbow is your enemy. Do everything you can to understand it and prevent it.

What It Is
Tennis Elbow is a form of tendonitis. It is the result of overuse or repetitive motion that aggravates the tendons in the elbow. Shock or vibration combined with repetitive motion can also lessen your tolerance and accelerate inflammation.

Non-Tennis Elbow?
You don’t’ even have to play tennis to get Tennis Elbow. That means you can also make it worse without even playing. Pay attention to your activities off the court. It might come from working at a computer, scanning bar codes, weight lifting, yard work, or even knitting. There is risk with any activity that involves repetitive motion or muscle fatigue. It matters even more if you’re already in pain or playing frequently.

Recipe for Chronic Arm Problems
Developing and sustaining arm pain is a simple process.

To get started, play with pain as long as you possibly can. Push on as the discomfort increases and gradually weakens your game. See a doctor when you can’t take it any more. That’s when you’ll learn that you need a lot of time to recover. Your doctor may tell you to take as much as one month off for every month you played with the problem.

Then comes the easiest part. Just go back to playing tennis too soon. After all, your arm will feel better weeks before you’re supposed to start playing again. For maximum effect, be sure not to make any changes in your technique or equipment. Repeat as necessary.

Fighting Back
Trying to play through Tennis Elbow can bring your game to a slow and grinding halt. Worse yet, what you let go for a long time may take an equally long time to heal. You may shorten your recovery substantially by taking action as soon as you notice a problem. If you’re in pain, get help. See a doctor. Have a pro look at your stroke mechanics. Evaluate your equipment set-up.

Putting the Tennis in Tennis Elbow
Consider yourself lucky if you got your Tennis Elbow playing the game. At least you were having fun! The search for non-medical tennis-related solutions begins with an evaluation of your technique and then your equipment.

Technique First, Gear Second
If the way you’re hitting the ball is the cause of your arm problem, no amount of equipment changes will save you. In most situations, a pro can show you what you’re doing wrong in a one hour lesson or less. Best of all, getting professional instruction on mechanics may save your arm and improve your game at the same time.

Evaluating Your Equipment
Gear matters too. Equipment adjustments and changes can also bring relief. Your goal is to reduce the vibration, shock and torque. This is what causes inflammation in wrist or arm tendons. Careful selection of racquets and strings can improve the situation or help you avoid problems.

Use a Soft String
A soft feeling string will cushion the impact of the ball by absorbing more shock and vibration. Natural gut is the best possible choice. Some synthetics work much better than others. See our list of recommended strings for Tennis Elbow.

Make the Sweet Spot Bigger
Bigger sweet spot = hitting more balls in the sweet spot = less vibration. Try using a lower string tension. A 2 – 3 pound reduction in tension noticeably enlarges the sweet spot. If you’re looking at making a racquet switch, remember that racquets with a larger head size will have a larger sweet spot too. Consider moving up a size.

Restring More Frequently
String performance declines with age as well as wear. Generally speaking, string performance declines even faster in outdoor playing conditions. Dead strings require your arm to exert more force to produce power. The most arm friendly strings are fresh strings.

Racquet Changes
Players with chronic arm problems or severe pain should consider a racquet switch. Where racquets create arm problems, it comes from extra length, light weight, stiffness, or some combination of the three. Eliminating or preventing a problem means choosing a frame that is opposite or at least moderate in those characteristics.

Consult with an Equipment Expert
Talk to an equipment expert who has the in-depth knowledge to compare what you’re using now with the latest racquets. Product offerings change constantly.

Old Rules Give Way to New Technology
Sometimes new technology changes the rules as we knew them before. The old rules said arm-friendly racquets were standard length, flexible and relatively heavy.

Today, the universe of arm-friendly racquets also includes some lighter and more powerful racquets too. Their numbers are growing. Racquet manufacturers are using new designs and new technologies to redefine what an arm-friendly racquet can be. And what it can do.

We expect to see a steady flow of other new models representing new thinking about arm-friendly racquets.

Based on feedback from our in-store/club customers, both the Volkl DNX and the Prince O-Ring technologies exhibit the best protection for the elbow, suppressing both shock and racquet vibrations.

Racquet Recommendations

• Dunlop Aerogel 500
• Dunlop Aerogel 600
• Dunlop Aerogel 700
• Dunlop Aerogel 800
• Fischer M Pro 1 98 SL or UL
• Head Metallix 2
• Head Metallix 4
• Head Metallix 6
• Head Metallix 10
• Head Protector MP or OS
• Head Intelligence i.S12
• Head MicroGEL Instinct
• Prince Triple Threat Bandit OS
• Prince 03 Tour Mid, Mid Plus or OS
• Prince Speedport Silver
• Prince Speedport Blue
• Prince Speedport Red
• Prince Ozone, One, Four & Seven, Tour
• Prince Speedport Black
• Prince Speedport Tour MP
• Prince Speedport 
• Prince O3 White
• Prince 03 Spectrum 95/110
• Wilson Gypsy Rose
• Wilson Divine Iris
• Wilson K Factor Three
• Wilson K Blade (all Three)
• Wilson K Open (both)
• Wilson K Six-One (all versions)
• Volkl DNX 3
• Volkl DNX 8
  
  String Recommendations 
  
• Klip Natural Gut
• Gamma TNT 17 or 18
• Gamma TNT Live Wire
• Gamma TNT Live Wire XP
• Tecnifibre X-One Biphase
• Tecnifibre NRG17
• Tecnifibre Multifeel
• Wilson NXT 17 or 16
• Wilson NXT Tour
• Wilson Sensation
• Wilson Natural Gut