A used racquet: six checks, and two that are invisible

Buying a used tennis racquet is often a very good move. High-end frames resell for a fraction of their new price, and a well-kept frame has lost none of what interests you. Provided you know what you are buying: a used frame is never a model, it is one particular example.

Often, not always. A used frame can also be a dead object sold at the price of a live one. Here is what to check before buying, what needs measuring, and what cannot be seen at all.

What can be checked by eye and by hand

The rim of the hoop, grommet by grommet. This is where cracks appear first, because this is where the string pulls. Run a fingernail along the outer bumper: a crack is felt before it is seen. Three and nine o'clock, and the top of the hoop, are the most exposed.

The throat and both shafts. A crack in the throat is disqualifying. It often hides under the paint and shows up as a slight step in the lacquer, or a matt line on a glossy surface.

The grommets, one by one. A split or missing grommet does not matter in itself — it can be replaced — but a crushed grommet means the frame took an impact at that point. Look at what is around it.

The flatness of the hoop. Lay the racquet face down on a table. The rim should touch all the way round. If it rocks, the frame is twisted, and that cannot be corrected.

The handle. Take the overgrip off. Look at the original grip, the cleanliness of the butt, and whether lead has been added inside the handle. A handle already built up by the seller changes the real size relative to the one advertised.

The sound. Hold the frame by the handle, let it hang freely, and tap the rim sharply with a fingernail in several places. A healthy frame gives a clear, even sound. A dull sound, or a different one at a specific point, deserves a closer look. It is not proof, it is a warning.

What cannot be seen

Swingweight. It is the value that decides what you will feel as you accelerate, and it appears in no listing. Two examples of the same model, out of the same factory in the same year, can differ noticeably: manufacturing tolerances apply to mass and to distribution, and the gap is felt in play. So a used frame is never "model X": it is one particular example of model X, whose values nobody knows until they are measured. That is the nature of a shop-bought frame, and it is exactly what we remove on ours: a frame tuned to order has no batch tolerance, it has values. The tolerance is not endured, it is eliminated.

What is under the paint. A repainted frame may be a beautified frame, or a repaired one somebody would rather not show. That is not a reason to run — a good repair holds — but it is a reason to ask.

Carbon fatigue. You will read everywhere that a frame "loses its stiffness" over the years. We have not measured that ourselves, so we do not assert it. What we do observe is that the frames arriving dead at the workshop are dead for visible reasons: micro-cracks, ruined grommets, impacts, or long storage in a car boot in summer. Look for those causes rather than for an invisible decay.

The four questions to ask the seller

• How long has it been strung? A two-year-old string has been pulling on the frame for two years. Not dramatic, but worth knowing.

• Where was it stored? A car boot, an attic, an uninsulated garage: sustained heat is the worst enemy of a frame and of its adhesive.

• Has it been repaired or repainted? A frank answer is worth more than a perfect-looking frame.

• Is there added lead? Under the grip, under the bumper, inside the handle. It changes the values, and it can be good news or bad.

And one question not to ask: the condition of the string. It does not matter. You are going to replace it, and it should count for nothing in the price.

What can be repaired, and what cannot

Repairable: grommets, a localised crack on the rim, a damaged butt, tired paint, a handle in the wrong size.

Not repairable: a twisted frame, a split throat, a frame opened in several places. It can be glued; it will not become what it was, and it will break somewhere else.

We do carbon frame repair, and we regularly turn frames away for exactly those reasons. The rule is to look first and speak afterwards: if it will not hold, we say so rather than doing it. The detail is here.

Where to buy, and what each channel implies

Private classified ads. The best prices and the highest risk: you have no recourse and no history. Ask for photographs of the rim and the throat in raking light, not a front shot on a sofa. And go in person if you can: three minutes in the hand beat ten photographs.

Clubs and coaches. The best channel, and the quietest. Frames circulating there have often been lightly played, are known to somebody, and the seller has a local reputation to keep. Ask your coach: they know who is changing racquets.

Refurbished dealers. You are paying for the checking and the guarantee. That is legitimate, provided you know what was checked: ask whether the values were measured, and which ones. A "serviced" racquet that was never weighed has not been serviced.

End-of-line and display frames. Technically new, discounted, and without the drawbacks of second-hand. It is often the best deal of the lot, when one comes up.

The new Matcheur racquet. It is the road we chose, and it deserves an honest comparison with the others: a Matcheur racquet, 100% carbon, black lacquer with no logo, at 69 RA, tuned to order and delivered with its measured values. Its frame is bare because it is built to be customised. You pay for neither the brand nor the uncertainty. Second-hand saves you on the price; a Matcheur racquet saves you the doubt. Both are legitimate choices — but they are two choices, not a choice and a fallback.

Price: what you pay for, and what you do not

You pay for: the structural condition of the frame, its rarity if the model is out of production, and the fact that it is sold as a matched pair — two measured, aligned frames are worth considerably more than twice one frame.

You do not pay for: the string that is on it, whatever it is. You are going to change it. The overgrip. The cover. The fact that the paint is pretty, unless you are buying for looks and you know it.

You deduct: the cost of putting it right. A set of grommets and a restring is a budget to subtract from the asking price, not a detail to discover afterwards. A repair, more so.

A useful benchmark: add the asking price, a restring, and possibly a tuning. If the total exceeds the price of a new frame you know would suit you, it is no longer a deal.

The particular case of used junior racquets

This is the best market in second-hand equipment, by a distance.

A child changes length every one to two seasons. Junior frames therefore leave circulation in excellent condition, often after a few months of use, and resell for almost nothing. Buying new a racquet that will be too short in eighteen months is rarely the right sum.

Two checks are enough. Length first — and it is determined by the ball format, red, orange or green, not by the age printed on the packaging; the subject is covered here. The rim next, because a child's racquet takes a great many knocks on the ground.

The rest — brand, colour, string — does not count. What counts is that the length is right, and it will change next year.

What to do with a used frame once you own it

Three things, in this order, and the frame is then worth far more than its price.

Measure it. Strung mass, balance, swingweight. You will finally know what you bought, and you will be able to compare it with what you played before. Without that, you are playing blind.

String it properly. String and tension decide an enormous share of what you feel. On an unknown frame, start in the middle of the range: N°4 is the most versatile: its edges are what make the difference, because for the same swing its octagonal section bites the ball more, and it is that bite which makes it generous for the greatest number. If what you want first is feel, control and predictability, N°5, round, holds its geometry longer. Then adjust.

Tune it, if the gap justifies it. If you bought two of the same model to play alternately, matching is not a luxury: two examples of the same model are not identical. ProSetup tuning works on mass, balance and swingweight, and hands you the measured values in writing, before and after.

A used frame that has been measured and tuned is worth more than a new frame bought blind. What makes the difference is not the date of manufacture: it is knowing what you hold. A well-checked used frame gets there. A new Matcheur racquet gets there from the start. What has to be refused, in both cases, is playing a frame whose values nobody knows.

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