Effective ways to maintain your badminton racket

Want your racquet to last longer? Here are some extremely effective ways to maintain your badminton racket!

As a badminton player, you know the most important equipment in your kitbag is your badminton racket. Badminton rackets can be a costly affair, especially if you play at a competitive level.

Besides being expensive, it can take quite some time to find your ideal racket. Hence maintaining and taking care of your badminton racket should be of prime importance.

Of course, cleaning it and stringing it regularly are a few things that you should be doing. But besides that, there are a few tips you should do to take care of your badminton racket.

Here are some of those effective ways you can maintain your badminton racket:

Store it correctly

One should store their badminton racket in a dry and safe place. Preferably in its cover and a place where it doesn't catch moisture as it can cause damage to the shape of your racket.

While the grip of a racket should be dried under a fan or the sun, keeping a badminton racket in the sun for a long time could do more harm than good. The intense heatof the sun can cause structural changes to the frame of your racket. Make sure you don’t keep your racket in a considerably hot environment.

Cut strings as soon as they break

Most players don't realise that once their racket strings break, the first thing they should do is cut the strings carefully with a pair of scissors. This is because if the racket is left as it is, the chances of frame damage increase.

The force of the tension the strings are gutted at, becomes uneven when one string breaks. Thus, causing an uneven force on the frame of the racket and then leading to damage or cracking of the racket frame.

Grommets are important

Grommets are small black plastic cylinder-like objects that are placed around the frame of the racket and where the strings pass. They act as a barrier between the string and frame. When they are broken or damaged, they need to be replaced or it could damage your racket frame and even the strings. 

During the process of stringing or picking the shuttle with your racket, grommets can get damaged. Immediately replacing these grommets can increase the life of the strings and racket. From time to time, ensure that all the grommets on your racket are intact and in good condition.

Stringing tension

At an international level, players tend to string at an extremely higher tension, possibly one higher than recommended on the racket. But these players have many rackets that they can afford to do this with.

To make sure your racket lasts for a long time, you must stick within the tension range mentioned on the racket itself. Going above this range can be damaging. Even a small clash is enough to cause a dent in your racket frame.

Avoid hitting anything with the racket except the shuttle

Predicting a clash is impossible and sometimes inevitable. At times players tend to hit the floor with their badminton rackets which can cause paint damage. Continuous paint damage and pressure on the same area of the frame can cause a racket to break.

Be mindful of the general banging of the racket on various surfaces as this can lead to unavoidable damage.