Buying good tennis equipment is important.  It's tough to know what you need, especially if you're new to the sport.  This short guide is intended to help sort out the good stuff from the not-so-good stuff.

Racquets

First off, you'll need a tennis racquet.  Which company makes the best racquet--Wilson, Head, Prince, or some other brand?  The short, glib answer is: "The best racquet is the racquet that's best for you."  The slightly longer answer is: "The best racquet is one that suits your needs best, and feels best in your hands."

Let's elaborate on that a bit.  There are three basic types of tennis racquets.  At the lower end of the scale in terms of quality are the extremely lightweight racquets (10 ounces or lighter), usually very expensive, with oversize heads (110 square inches and up).  These racquets are a bit of a marketing gimmick; new players often see the big price tag, feel the light weight, and think to themselves: "This must be the best racquet I can buy."  In fact, the opposite is usually true.  A lightweight racquet will have trouble hitting the ball back because it doesn't have enough mass to counter the incoming momentum of the ball.  The lack of weight and mass in the racquet also tends to lead to arm problems, as the shock of hitting the ball can't be absorbed by the low mass of the racquet.  Try to stay away from this type of racquet.

A step up in quality are "tweener" racquets.  These racquets usually weigh between 10 and 11.5 ounces and have slightly smaller heads (between 100 and 110 square inches).  They're a good choice for beginners who aren't sure what racquet they'll want to use.  They have enough mass to hit the ball back fairly well, and are relatively inexpensive.  They also tend to be "head heavy"--in other words, the weight of the racquet is concentrated mostly in the head area of the racquet.  A head heavy racquet will help plow through the ball--the weight of the head swings around like a hammer.  However, head heavy racquets tend to have less control, and also tend to lead to arm problems--the elbow and wrist become strained when they have to stop the racquet's momentum as it swings around.

If you're serious about your tennis, you'll want the highest-quality racquet--a "player's" racquet.  These racquets are usually above 11.5 ounces in weight, have relatively small head sizes (below 100 square inches), and are head light--the weight of the racquet is concentrated closer to the handle.  These are what the pros play with.  Their head light balance enables great control, and the greater mass of the racquet makes for a very stable ball-hitting platform.  Recreational players sometimes feel that these racquets are too heavy, especially over a long hitting session.  However, if you can handle the weight (and hey--many years ago, children played tennis with 14-ounce wooden racquets!), these racquets will ultimately be the ones that are competition-class. The caveat, of course, is that if you're buying a racquet for a child starting out in tennis, something lighter-weight would likely be easier for them to use as they begin to learn to play.

While player's racquets are generally recommended, each person is different, and some people might find that a tweener racquet feels best to them, or even a lightweight, oversize racquet.  The only way to know what will work for you is to try different racquets if you can, and see which ones you like best.  Every manufacturer makes at least one line of racquets in each of those three categories, so there should be no problem finding something that works perfectly for you.

More to come!