The tennis holiday gift guide: Great racquets from the top brands

'Tis the season to give the tennis fan in your life the perfect gift. For the next few weeks, we're pulling together a short list of our favorites, from on-court gear and apparel, to off-court accessories.

Babolat Pure Aero 98

Price: $279

Website: babolat.com

When compared to the rest of the Aero family, the PA 98 has the smallest head, densest string pattern and thinnest beam, making it the model with the greatest measure of control and versatility. But it’s still an Aero, capable of producing a lively ball packed with pace and spin. It just requires more of a swing and cleaner contact from the user, which is something better players—the frame’s target audience—will certainly appreciate. The lowered flex than the standard Aero makes it more comfortable, arm-friendly and better at employing touch for more subtle shot-making. It also doesn’t have the same vibration dampening in the handle, so there’s heightened feedback at contact. It’s a great choice for players who want to attack with precision and spin.

Babolat Pure Drive 98

Price: $279

Website: babolat.com

The Pure Drive 98 replaces the outgoing VS model. The update boasts an additional five grams and a shift in balance that puts more of its weight towards the head. Along with a new lay-up composition (HTR), it enhances the frame’s response at contact and makes it a more effective interpretation of a player’s Pure Drive. It retains much of the franchise’s signature swagger, but with increased focus and predictability thanks to its reduced geometry. Yet, you don’t have the sense that you need to let up on shots for a lack of trust. The thinner beam and slightly softer flex also expands its back of tricks, making it more of an all-court weapon. This category of racquet is deep and talented, and the PD 98 holds its own with the best of them.

Dunlop FX 500

Price: $199

Website: dunlopsports.com

In Dunlop’s lineup, the FX family brings added force to the court for players looking for a little extra help from their racquets. The 500 is a solid, firm tweener frame, loaded with inherent power and a wide string pattern for ample spin. Nicely balanced, it’s easy to whip through the hitting zone, so there’s potential to apply copious amounts of both. It’s not exactly flexible, but this latest version is less stiff across the throat and face for a softer, more comfortable response. This also bumps up dwell time at contact for increased spin and power. A new and wider groove built into the racquet under the grommet strip creates more frame and string deflection at impact for bigger hitting. Add it up, and it’s a friendlier-feeling racquet that’s still a blast from the back of the court.

Head Gravity Pro

Price: $269

Website: head.com

The Gravity Pro strikes a balance between old-school feel and control, and modern power and aggression. It packs just enough punch to compete with the light, stiff and thick crowd, but beats them when it comes to precision, versatility and comfort. With its thin, softer beam it’s one of the best-feeling racquets around, yet it doesn’t sacrifice stability in the process. The mass of the frame and the ample swingweight are the catalysts for giving shots depth and plow through, as well as a rock-solid feel at impact. The 18x20 string pattern has excellent command over the ball, conferring confidence that you can swing freely on any shot and still regularly find your targets. It takes game to wield effectively, but if you enjoy a classic-feeling frame with some modern flourishes, this one hits the mark.

Head Prestige Tour

Price: $269

Website: head.com

On paper, a 95 square-inch Prestige with a 330ish swingweight may appear to be an intimidating proposition, but the Tour is surprisingly approachable. The sweet spot is as inviting as just about any 98, and it ably accelerates through the strike zone, producing forceful shots without the need to redline. Even with the smaller head size, the 16x19 string pattern provides a workable spin window, a bit elevated launch—especially when compared to the 18x20 Pro model—and plenty of control. The feel at contact is slightly muted, but overall highly comfortable and consistent. It’s not as buttery as the other Prestige models, but the upside is more feedback and less of a power outage when contact is imperfect. And, while it has no bearing on performance, the deep maroon flip lacquer cosmetic looks super sharp.

Solinco Whiteout 305 Xtd (18x20)

Price: $220

Website: solincosports.com

This recent addition to Solinco’s Whiteout family is something of a niche frame. At 27.5 inches in length and with an 18x20 string pattern it brings a unique playability to the court. Longer racquets generally turn up the volume on shots, which can also make them trickier to manage. Having a tighter string pattern tempers some of the wildness without limiting the added plow through and weight of shot. And the added dimension causes only a minor impact on handling, as it hides it’s bigger size well. As with the other Whiteout frames, the foam-filled hoop gives it a clean feel at contact, and there’s the option of interchangeable base plates to raise the static weight. Definitely aimed a select audience, but an intriguing option for skilled players looking for some extra pop while still maintaining a high degree of control.

Wilson Pro Staff 97 v14

Price: $279

Website: wilson.com

Few racquets, if any, can match the heritage of the Wilson Pro Staff. In recent incarnations of its 40-year run, the head size and beam width has been thickened, which altered the bending and feel of the frame. Using Paradigm Bending technology in this most recent version, Wilson has adjusted the layup of the frame to mirror the traditional bending profile and rediscover more of the trademark Pro Staff response. It features radar control with respectable power gleaned from proficient strokes. A bump in swingweight from the previous generation gives this one added stability and shots with more heft. It remains a racquet conversant in the game’s many languages—baseline aggression, net play, variety—and performs best when speaking all of them.

Wilson Shift 99 v1

Price: $269

Website: wilson.com

The Shift represents an entirely brand-new frame from Wilson, right down to its shape and geometry. As with many of their other recent releases, the key technology revolves around the frame’s unique bending properties. At contact, the racquet allows minimal torsional bending so there’s ample power and energy back into the ball. At the same time, the frame has a fair amount of lateral flexibility. This design promotes high-end stability, while creating a higher launch angle and allowing users to accentuate the spin on the ball. It’s meant to produce a heavy shots with manageable power that penetrates through the court. The eye-catching, color-shifting Artic Prism cosmetic also gives the frame a sleek, icy appeal.

Yonex Percept 97

Price: $259

Website: yonex.com

The Percept line takes over for the outgoing VCORE Pro family. It’s more of a name change than a reinvention, as the racquet still maintains the same specs and underlying attributes of great feel and control. This latest update has an improved dampening system for greater ball feedback at contact and more graphite in the hoop for a sturdier response. The 97 remains lower powered, but the tweaks have given it greater stability which translates into added punch and an even more dependable ball. Feathery handling combines with the 16x19 string pattern to be an easy producer of spin. The lower flex provides comfort, forgiveness and superb touch, which bolsters the frame’s all-court versatility. Big hitters may opt to add a little weight to the head, and the mint green cosmetic is divisive, but it’s otherwise a consistent and capable performer.

Yonex VCORE 100

Price: $259

Website: yonex.com

The VCORE 100 is a fun, user-friendly racquet that immediately gives strokes an infusion of energy. With its thick, variable beam, medium-firm flex, spread string pattern, and easy acceleration, it’s designed to produce deep, spin-centric ground strokes without the need for a seismic swing. The franchise has always hung its hat on easy spin production, and this latest generation has been updated with changes to the hoop to make it the friendliest yet. The softer flex than previous versions give the frame a plusher response, improved command and better feel. Yet, it still maintains respectable stability for its weight. This gives it a greater aptitude for specialty and touch shots and all-court execution. Play bully ball, grind down opponents or climb the doubles ladder, it’s a racquet that appeals to a variety of players and styles.