Ball machines?

[lauren2009]

Hi,

Great site. Looking forward to improving my game once my calf injury heals. I tried to play all-out on my first day of tennis after a 15-year lay off. Ouch!

I live in a county devoid of tennis players willing/able to practice/drill with me. Most of them are older and are content to play dbls league once or twice a week. The nearest backboard, or rentable ball machine, is twenty miles away. So I think I need to buy a ball machine so I can practice all these tips I am seeing here at this marvelous site.

My forum search led me to the Ace Attack machine, but I can't afford that. A few days of googling leads me to think the Lobsters are the best at under $3000. Can anyone confirm that or lead me to a better choice? I will need a portable battery machine since there's no electricity available at my local courts.

Thanks so much!

[gmontjoy]

I used to own a Tennis Tutor ball machine--battery powered. Enjoyed it very much and regret selling it. Worked as advertised, very reliable, and well under $3000. Would purchase another tomorrow if needed, but my tennis club has a great deal right now, so I am using theirs. Hope this helps.

[johnyandell]

Ace Attack is worth every penny--I've used one for a few years. If not the basic playmate is a work horse and i think around $2500.

[EdWeiss]

ball machine

I too had great luck with my battery powered Tennis Tutor. Very reliable and when there was eventually a problem the company stood behind the product.

[mntlblok]

Tennis Tutor

I too had great luck with my battery powered Tennis Tutor. Very reliable and when there was eventually a problem the company stood behind the product.

My experience has been the same. I am not very handy with fixing things, but they've talked me through replacing (and diagnosing) every part over the phone over the years as the parts have worn out.

The small one is very portable and it does about everything that I want. If I could just figure out a cheap way to place it ten feet in the air so that I could practice service returns. . .

Kevin
Savannah