Our goal is to make tennis as enjoyable and accessible as possible.

One way in which we do this is to offer FREE use of rackets and balls to anyone hiring a court or taking a lesson.

When you come to the centre you will see top quality rackets and balls court side ready to go! The rackets range from 19” in size for the youngest of children to performance adult graphite rackets.

Balls are also available in various colours with each one offering a different bounce for different ages and abilities.

Our aim is to pair you with the best racket for you age, size and ability.

When starting out the main considerations to take into account are grip size and racket weight.

Grip size, think of this like shoe sizes, typically if you have a bigger hand you want a larger grip size, many people do not even realise that rackets come in different size so we make it as easy as possible for you to choose by colour coding all our loaner rackets!

The smallest size we have available to borrow is a grip 1 and the largest is a grip 4.

In addition to grip size as you develop you may also want to take into account other characteristics that the racket has, these can be the overall amount of power in relation to control, where the weight is located, typically in the head or in the grip, and the overall feel, we normally refer too this as the racket playing profile.

Our official racket sponsor VOLKL TENNIS have an excellent system to determine the right racket for you, they give each racket a number and the number directly corresponds to the playing profile, the lower number rackets tend to be lighter, more powerful and more forgiving, the higher numbers tend to offer more control and feel but are little less forgiving meaning they are better for more experienced players!

Please see the diagram below for a detailed guide to Volkl Rackets.

Our loaner rackets are all Volkl racket from various ranges, but the number system is consistent so a V Cell 4 will be the same as a V Feel 4, a V Sense 4 or a Super G 4.

In addition to adult rackets we are also able to offer a wide selection of junior rackets, junior rackets are referred to by their size in inches, an adult racket is around 26 inches, at the centre we can loan rackets as from 19 inches, these are perfect for children as young as 3 years old!

Feel free to discuss the rackets with our coaching team and they will be happy to guide you in the right direction.

Tennis Balls - The most common tennis ball is typically referred to as a match ball or yellow ball, this ball should be used be adults and older children, 11+, however there are some other options available that are better for younger players or beginners, at Appeti Tennis our coaches will use the correct ball for the player during lessons.

If hiring a court we have a wide selection available to borrow, the chart below will help you choose the right ball for, your child or your family!

Red balls are slightly oversized and are 75% slower than a match ball, this means that they bounce lower.  These are used by players 8 and under on a mini tennis court, they can also be used over a full size net by any player under 11.

Orange balls are the same size as match balls but are 50% slower, they are designed to be used on 3/4 of a full size court and are ideal for children around 9 years old.

Green balls are used on a full size court by 10/11 year olds and are still 25% slower than a match ball, these are also excellent for adult beginners as they bounce lower and move slower!If you’re new to tennis or playing with youngsters feel free to give different balls a try!