In any sport, adding tools that can help improve your game is often a hot topic of discussion. There will always be players trying to get an edge over others by using different tools, and you’ll usually find a crowd of critics who say these tools make the game unfair. In the sport of tennis, some players choose to use something called a tennis vibration dampener.
A tennis vibration dampener is a cool gadget that you can add to your racquet strings and that dampens or reduces vibration when you hit the ball – changing the level of the sound of “ping” that might distract you during your game.
Additionally, some tennis enthusiasts believe that a tennis vibration dampener works as a helpful tool to reduce the chance of pain from tennis elbow, keeping you in the game rather than out.
In this article, we will cover some of the most common questions related to vibration dampeners, and hopefully you will be able to decide whether these gadgets are good for your tennis game or not.
How Do Tennis Vibration Dampeners Work?
In essence, all a vibration dampener does is absorb the vibrations caused by the impact of your racket hitting the ball. These tennis dampeners are usually made out of rubber, which is a highly absorbent material. When you add the dampener to your racket, the noise and feel of hitting a tennis ball become less noticeable – and some players enjoy that.
You have a few choices when it comes to selecting a tennis vibration dampener: you can use one that is smaller and similar to a button or one that is a bit longer, similar to a worm. Some even look like your favorite emojis, enjoyable to all generations (especially next-gens), including professional tennis players.
The hardest part is first determining if you need to use a vibration dampener, and then deciding on which one to use. All of these different types do essentially the same thing, but their feel might be a bit different. You need to find the one that works best for you.
Once you’ve decided on the type that fits you best, placing it correctly on your racquet for the best performance is important. The video below is a great tutorial on how to properly place your dampener.
The video above is a good way to get started. Also, make sure that your tennis vibration dampener is placed on the outside of your cross strings, not the inside and near the throat area of your racquet. This aligns nicely with game playing best practices as per the U.S. Tennis Association standards.
Individual Preference
Getting to the heart of how tennis vibration dampeners work: a rubbery gadget meets strings on a tennis racquet positioned to optimize a player’s performance. It does so by reducing the “ping” and the sense of vibration while holding the racquet.
However, using a tennis vibration dampener may not increase your odds of winning. Some tennis enthusiasts make claims that tennis vibration dampeners are considered a psychological perk, rather than an actual racquet rave. Others believe that tennis vibration dampeners do enhance their winning streaks and they would not play without them.
The gist: it really comes down to the individual player’s personal preference to add a tennis vibration dampener or not.
Some Things to Consider
- Grab your racquet
- Get out there and play
- While playing, does the “ping” sound distract you?
- How about the feel of the vibration?
- Decide to get a vibration dampener to see if you find a difference while playing your game with it.
Ease of Comfort
While deciding whether to add a tennis vibration dampener to your racquet is a personal choice, finding the best one that fits your needs is not going to be an easy find. Because it might be challenging to find the one that works exactly as you need it, we suggest you either try purchasing a few of them on Amazon or going to a local tennis shop and asking for recommendations. Some are more dampening than others, and this again comes down to personal preference.
Ace It
Once you start learning tennis, you will quickly learn how tennis vibration dampeners work or don’t work for you. Regardless of your age, playing tennis is fun and good exercise – and chances are that you will quickly become competitive about it. Learning how tennis vibration dampeners work can be that added something you need to play your best game.
Here is a tip to keeping your vibration dampeners on and in good condition, because if you decide to use one, you will want to learn how to keep them on during your games.
While not all tennis professionals over the years have used tennis vibration dampeners, today, there are a few players that choose to use dampeners. Four current professional tennis players who choose to use vibration dampeners on their racquets are:
- Frances Tiafoe, US
- Bianca Andreescu, CAN
- Kyle Edmund, UK
- Kim Clijsters, BEL
Takeaways
You don’t have to play like a pro to enjoy playing tennis, but you can take some tips from what works best for them – and that might just fit your game goals too. That old adage, practice makes perfect, does seem to be inspiring if you are trying to get better at playing tennis. Improving the performance of your game by simply adding a vibration dampener to your tennis racquet does not equal guaranteed success, you won’t know until you try one for yourself.
By now that you know what tennis vibration dampeners are – cool gadgets made of rubber that are shaped like buttons, worms, and emojis. You should know where they go – on the outside of your cross strings, not the inside, and near the throat of your racquet. And you’ve learned how tennis vibration dampeners work – they dampen/reduce that “ping” noise and vibrational feel. But most importantly, you need to know that the heart of it is about your individual preference when it comes to picking out the best tennis vibration dampener for you.