Sports Tutor is one of the top tennis equipment brands today. One of their top products is the Sports Tutor Tennis Twist which is one of their most basic tennis ball machine offerings in their lineup. In this Tennis Twist ball machine review, we’ll give you the rundown on how it’s one of the best partners for beginners to start their tennis journey with.
Sports Tutor Tennis Twist
- Very compact and light
- Can be set up and used in any open area
- Great for kids and beginners
- Can be used for baseball toss practice and dog ball fetching
- Lacks any advanced features
- Relatively low ball capacity
The Tennis Twist comes in a battery-powered variant or an AC-connected variant. The battery-powered variant requires six D-sized batteries that will easily get you 5-10 hours of play time. Factor this in as a purchase decision depending on your court or gameplay needs.
Unique Spiral Design
The Sports Tutor Tennis Twist boasts a spiral design–which is where it gets its name from. The unique design can hold up to 28 regular sized tennis balls. It’s a fun and out-of-the-box design that’s sure to catch anyone’s attention on the court.
Lightweight and Compact
The Tennis Twist’s lightweight and compact build makes it very easy to lug around and set up. You don’t even have to go to a tennis court to set this up; if you have a spacious and free garden, garage, or even basement area, you can put this machine down and start using it for practice or play sessions.
Straightforward Use
The Tennis Twist is a fairly straightforward tennis ball machine to work with. Set this down, turn it on and you’re ready to go. It shoots the ball in a 10-20 ft distance which is great to practice short ball volleys. There are also five adjustable height settings which you can set the Tennis Twist to and practice at different ball heights.
More Useful for Hand Feeding
With its limited height and speed features, the Tennis Twist becomes more useful if you set it beside you on the same side of your court to toss the ball to you for hand feeding drills. With the lack of any advanced oscillation and drill settings, this is a great way for beginners to build muscle memory, focus on swinging the racquet right, and getting the basics down.
Cheap Option for Beginners
When you’re just starting out and learning the ropes of tennis, you stand to benefit from working with a cheap tennis ball machine instead of jumping over to using a more expensive machine with more complicated features. For its fairly limited features, you still get a lot with something like the Tennis Twist since it tosses or throws the ball to you at a consistent, fixed rate which gives you the opportunity to practice the basics.
Needless to say, even advanced players would still benefit in using cheap tennis ball machines as it’s an option they can use in the field to keep polishing their strokes.
At just about $300 on Amazon, the Tennis Twist is an accessible option for those who want to start getting into tennis as a training companion or just want to get into the sport recreationally.
Great Not Just For Tennis
The Tennis Twist is a great tool not just for tennis but for other recreational stuff as well like practicing baseball batting practices for baseball. This is a safer option than using baseball since baseballs are heavy and can damage windows and light materials in your property (or your neighbor’s), making it generally a safer option for kids.
It’s also a great tennis ball tosser for dogs that like playing fetch. A lot of dogs, especially those of the working breeds, require exercise to avoid any destructive behavioral problems. The Tennis Twist can be a handy tool to keep our best friends moving and stimulated so they also get their fair share of physical activity.
Other Cheap Tennis Ball Machine Alternatives
There are also several great cheap tennis ball machines in the market today that do the job as well as the Sports Tutor Tennis Twist.
The Scifanta Portable Tennis Ball Tosser is a really cheap option for beginners that helps as a tennis ball feeder when practicing swings and getting the hang of the basics. The Lobster Elite Liberty and the Spinshot Lite offer a bit more in the feature set department. If you’re looking for a bit more of an advanced feature set, the Sports Tutor ProLite is a really great option, though it does cost a bit much while still in the range of being a budget tennis ball machine option.
Final Thoughts
The Sports Tutor Tennis Twist takes a spot as one of our top picks for budget-friendly tennis ball machines in the market today. It’s a great tennis court buddy for those who want to start out or even for those who have kids that want to practice baseball tossing, and even for dog fetching. The Tennis Twist is a no-nonsense tennis ball machine that’s reasonably priced for its features set.
Post last updated on January 13, 2023