Originally Posted by sherm

I've been a tennis player since age 5. Went through the national junior circuit, played Division 1 college at UNLV. I can tell you right now that most chain retailers will give you no insight as to which racket you should use. Nobody can figure out what you need except you.

A lot of it depends on your style (serve and volley, baseliner, powers, finesse, etc.)

If I were you, and you are serious about playing, up your budget to around the $150 range, and you'll have something a little better than a toy. The Wilson K-Factor series has a nice selection based on play types, and the prices are decent on Ebay.

As for the whole "gay" connotation...It's what most males say about the sport, because the real tennis players get endless buffets of snatch thrown at them. When I was playing as a junior, we were the ones hooking up with the hottie female tennis cuties, while the rest of the guys were just trying to get peeks up their skirts.