The Functional Tennis Saber

Why are players training with a racquet this small?

It's a training racquet with a head so narrow that only a clean, centred hit works. Here's why players practise with it, and how to use it between lessons with your coach.

Why a smaller head helps

Where you hit the ball matters as much as how you swing

Every racquet has a sweet spot near the centre of the strings. Hit it and the ball comes off clean, with pace and control. Miss it, even slightly, and you feel the vibration, lose power and lose direction.

A big modern racquet hides a lot of those near-misses, so it's hard to tell how often you're really finding the centre. Finding it more often is one of the most direct routes to more consistent tennis, and it's what a lot of lesson time is spent on.

A racquet that tells you the truth

  • Only centred contact works

    The narrow head leaves almost no room for error. Keep the ball in play and you know you found the middle.

  • Every mishit is obvious

    You feel and hear an off-centre hit straight away, so you can correct it on the next ball, without anyone watching.

  • Your own racquet feels bigger afterwards

    After practising with the Saber, the sweet spot on a full-size racquet feels generous, and it's easier to find under pressure.

A junior player in a wide, balanced stance, set up early to hit a forehand with the Saber

For parents

“Move your feet!”

It's what every tennis parent calls out from the fence. With a big racquet, a player can stretch and reach for the ball and still get it back, so the habit never has to change.

With the Saber, reaching doesn't work. To hit the centre of that small head, the player has to get their feet to the ball first, set up, and then swing. Precision makes footwork necessary, so the racquet does the reminding for you.

How to practise with it between lessons

  1. 1

    Take one thing from your last lesson. A forehand contact point, a steadier backhand, a shorter take-back. Practise just that.

  2. 2

    Rally slowly with the Saber. Start close to the net or against a wall, keep the pace down, move your feet to every ball, and count how many in a row you hit from the middle.

  3. 3

    Switch back to your racquet. Hit the same drill again, notice how much bigger the sweet spot feels, and bring what you felt into your next lesson.

Ready to try it?

See every Saber size, the specs and shipping details on Functional Tennis's site.

View the racquets at Functional Tennis (opens functionaltennis.com in a new tab)

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Functional Tennis Saber

Supports Court Coach Pro at no extra cost. Learn more

View the racquets at Functional Tennis (opens in a new tab)