The most essential piece of gear is naturally the racket and one brand that's been garnering plenty of endorsements and considerable popularity in the professional tennis world is Babolat. The French brand outfits tennis stars like Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters. This year the company introduced a revamped version of its model Babolat Pure Drive- "generation 7."
The Pure Drive Roddick Junior ($104) caters to youth tennis players who want the racket's signature maneuverability and control. Some of the new updates with 2012 edition include innovative Cortex Active Technology for added power power and a lighter design.

With so many tremendous places to play tennis in New York City, Scooter expects to see a few young standouts hitting the courts as the Open approaches.

Image courtesy of Hit Mit

Professional baseball, beach volleyball and tennis are in full swing and just in time, Scooter has discovered a novel game that combines the skill-set of all three. Hit Mit is a hands-on volley game perfect for summer amusement in the outdoors.

The sporty game takes at least two players who use durable, lightweight EVA foam mitts to ping-pong a special ball back and forth. Each glove is designed for utmost control and power. Creator Fredi Brodmann said he “invented [the Hit Mit] while playing Velcro ball with [his] sons on the beach.” Each Hit Mit kit comes with two gloves and three soft foam balls, held in a simple mesh sack. Perfect for the beach, a family picnic, on the playground or at home in the backyard, Hit Mit will keep those energetic tykes busy for hours. The paddle sport, which was released this month, is sold online, at select J.Crew boutiques and other specialty stores.