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When should you replace your racquet?
Frames do not last forever, but they are not replaced every season either. The real signals and the false ones.
There are two separate questions here: when your racquet is damaged, and when it stopped being right for you. They are not the same thing.
When it is damaged
- Cracks in the frame, however small. A crack cannot be repaired and compromises the structure.
- Broken or missing grommets: strings rub against bare graphite and cut themselves.
- The frame feels dead and sounds different: graphite loses stiffness over years and impacts.
- Visible deformation of the hoop.
A heavily used graphite frame gradually loses stiffness. There is no expiry date, but a player competing several times a week usually notices the difference after a few years.
When it is no longer right for you
- You improved a lot and the beginner racquet you bought gives too much power and too little control.
- Your game changed: you moved from the baseline to the net, or the reverse.
- An arm issue appeared and you need a more comfortable frame.
- You grew, if you are a junior.
What is NOT a reason to replace
A new model being released. Manufacturers refresh their lines every two years and the real changes are usually small. Your racquet being five years old means nothing on its own.
And above all: playing badly. Before changing frames, change the string. It costs a fraction and very often solves exactly what was bothering you. See signs your string is dead.