Frederick Tang Weblog

Having recently broken my Yonex Nanospeed 6000 racquet, I purchased a Yonex Nanospeed 7000 racquet. I thought I would write a few random thoughts…

Disclaimer: I am certainly not a graded badminton player, and I play casually at my local club mainly doing doubles. The following thoughts are my own impressions, given my play style, experiences and skills (or lack thereof). Always consult experts when choosing your own racquet.

I have been reading badminton forums a lot about how to choose a racquet. I found that it was important to first understand my own play style – receive or control based, or smash based, and the speed of my racquet swing… etc. Secondly, it was really important to learn some of the terminology used to describe a badminton racquet like head light/heavy, extra-stiff/stiff/flex, grip size… etc, because it helps to establish some criteria to choose a racquet. If you are into the Yonex brand, make sure you take a look at their latest Yonex Racquet Chart (search google).

I read on some forum post that 95% of the game depends on techniques, and 5% on racquet. This is true because no matter how fancy is the racquet you are wielding, if you don’t have the skills to go with it, its power is not maximised. But I would add that choosing the wrong racquet that doesn’t suit your own style can actually worse your game.

NS6000:

• A head-light racquet, feels a bit funny at first but can get used to it at play time.
• I bought this racquet based on a local retail shop’s recommendation. I told them the majority of my game is doubles and received based.
• Sometimes I don’t feel the shuttle hitting the racquet, a bit too soft…
• Very easy to manoeuvre and defend smashes with… (but in the end, I thought to myself, something must be wrong with my game if I am always in a defensive position).
• Paints were chipping off quiet easily (or you may like to say I am very rough)…
• A flexible shaft racquet, plays well with whippy action. Clears are no problems if I *whip* it properly.
• A bit hard to smash with, really have to try hard.
• I can perform drops pretty well with this racquet (but not as good as the NS7000).
• My net game is quite poor, so I can’t comment on this.

NS7000:

• A head-light racquet, but I feel it is not as light as NS6000. It has a much more solid feel than NS6000.
• I bought this racquet based on what I read in the forums, tried a few swings in the shops. It was a decision between NS7000 and NS8000, but the NS8000 is classed as extra-stiff, which I was a bit weary of… I wanted to defend well, but be a bit more attacking when opportunities arise. I smash quite a bit…
• It has a stiff shaft, as opposed to a flexible shaft on a NS6000. Which I think a faster swing is required to generate the power. Not very good for *whippy* style… It took some getting used before I can hit the shuttle properly.
• Techniques and especially footwork has to be spot on with this racquet. Hitting without the right technique will likely result in lollypopping into opponent’s mid-court for a smash.
• Drops are much more accurate, and controlled.
• Smashes are more powerful, a little faster than what I can do with NS6000.

Head-heavy racquets are definitely not for me, I tried hitting with Arcsaber 10, it’s a bit too heavy for me to handle, maybe because of my weak wrist… In summary, I am quite happy with my new purchase…. now if only I can improve on my techniques and stamina on the court