Long time badmintonalpha player, Sarah Gray shares her first impressions on swtiching to the new LIGHT 9.9
In general, I get pretty attached to things. My old teddy bear, the lucky pen I use in exams, the exact brand of custard creams I have to take to tournaments… but especially my badminton racket. This means that in order to change from a tried and tested model, the new model needs to be pretty special.
My trusty old racket has seen me through tough training, matches and tournaments and I can still remember the feeling of picking it up for the first time and knowing that it worked for me. As a result, I knew that any racket to take its place would need to give me that same feeling… but better.
The Forza Light 9.9 did this. I jumped in at the deep-end with it and used it at a tournament for the first time, thinking I would knock-up with it for a bit to test it out before going back to my trusty old racket to get me through the match. But I picked it up and didn't put it back down again. I thought my previous racket had been light… but the Forza Light 9.9 really lives up to its name. Its incredible lightness means that it is easy to manoeuvre, particularly in defence and attacking around the net. I have found this has particularly enhance my sharpness at the net in mixed. The combination of this with the slight head-heaviness means that power is also generated much easier. As a player who is not naturally powerful, I found I have been able to whip the racket much faster overhead to produce more powerful clears… I have even been clearing the shuttle out, which is unheard of for me! The relative rigidity of the shaft also means that power generation is assisted; as soon as the shuttle is struck it rebounds off, meaning greater power, control and accuracy.
An incredibly light racket with the combination of a stiff shaft and head-heavy weight distribution means that the Forza Light 9.9 has a winning combination. As I said at the beginning, it takes something special for me to change my habits… and the Forza Light 9.9 is this something special. Will you make the change?
