So, I’ve been playing tennis for a while now, and I kept hearing about these things called dampeners. Honestly, I didn’t really pay much attention to them at first. I mean, they’re just these little rubbery things, right? How much difference could they possibly make?
But then, a buddy of mine started using one, and he wouldn’t shut up about how it changed his game. He said it made his racket feel way better and helped with some arm pain he was having. I was a little skeptical, but hey, I’m always up for trying something new, especially if it might improve my game, so I decided to get one and give it a shot.
I went down to the local sports store, grabbed a couple of different dampeners – a worm one and a button one – and headed to the court. First, I tried playing without one, just to get a baseline feel for how my racket normally feels. After hitting some, I tried to put the dampener on. Putting it on was a bit of a struggle.
- I started with the worm dampener. This thing was long and, well, looked like a worm. You’re supposed to weave it through the strings. I tried to put the dampener between the first cross string below the last main, and I thought it might be easier to start on the first outside string. It took me some time and the racket strings cut my fingers, but it worked at last!
- Next, I tried the button one. This one was much smaller and just popped right in between the two center main strings. So I just did it. It was way easier than the worm one, honestly. It took just a second to install it under the bottom cross string. I just made sure that it was touching as many strings as it could.
Then I started hitting again. And you know what? My buddy was right. The difference was noticeable. The racket felt less, I don’t know, buzzy? Like, the vibrations were way toned down. It felt more solid when I hit the ball, and I felt like I had a little more control.
Over the next few weeks, I experimented with both dampeners. I even tried putting them in different spots on the strings, just to see what would happen. Turns out, where you put it does make a bit of a difference.
My Final Thoughts
Putting it lower, closer to the throat of the racket, seemed to dampen the vibrations the most. Higher up, it didn’t do as much. I ended up preferring the button dampener, just because it was so much easier to put on and take off, and it is the right way to do it. Plus, it did a good enough job of dampening the vibrations for me. I put it right in the middle, just below that bottom cross string, and that’s my sweet spot.
So, yeah, if you’re on the fence about using a tennis dampener, I’d say give it a try. It’s a cheap and easy way to potentially improve the feel of your racket and maybe even help with some arm issues. It did for me, anyway. And hey, even if you don’t like it, you’re only out a few bucks. No big deal. Just make sure you put it on the right spot!
