Is it fake? Check a racket before you buy

Fake Yonex, Li-Ning and Victor rackets are common on marketplaces and social media. They look right in photos but are usually heavier, weaker and unsafe to string at normal tension. Check the price first, then the signs.

• Price far below what UK shops charge. A current flagship sold for well under the usual UK shop price by a seller you can't identify is the most common counterfeit pattern. Price alone proves nothing either way: old stock can be cheap, and some fakes are sold at full price. source
• Full price is not proof. Counterfeits are sometimes sold at the genuine racket's price, so paying the normal amount does not make an unknown seller safe. source
• Seller is not on the brand's own stockist list. Brands warn that fakes reach buyers mainly through unauthorised websites and third-party sellers. Check the seller against the brand's own UK locator, not a badge or claim on the seller's page. source
• No receipt or warranty card naming the shop. Yonex UK gives no after-sales support for private sales or rackets without a verifiable purchase history, such as a warranty card that names the authorised retailer. A seller who can't name the business or give a proper receipt leaves you with nothing to claim against. source
• Weight or balance doesn't match the marked class. Weigh the racket and compare it with the U class marked on the frame; VICTOR defines 4U as 80-84.9 g and 3U as 85-89.9 g unstrung, and strings and grip add a little. A frame well outside its class is suspect. source
• Feels heavy, head-heavy or lopsided. A documented fake Yonex was a few millimetres longer than the real model, felt much heavier in the swing and tipped to one side when balanced on the shaft. source
• A hologram on its own proves nothing. Genuine and fake rackets both carry hologram stickers; the differences are in how they look and how firmly they stick. Treat a convincing hologram as supporting evidence only. source
• Smudged or slightly undersized lettering. Side by side with a genuine racket, a well-made fake showed a slightly smaller logo and smudged fonts even though its paint quality matched. Compare closely rather than at a glance. source
• Engraved serials can be faked too. Some counterfeits now carry engraved serial numbers on the shaft and cap that look the same as genuine ones, so a crisp engraving is not proof. source
• Frame distorts when strung. A UK Yonex stockist reports customers bringing in fakes for restringing that looked nearly identical but bent out of shape as soon as tension went on. source
• Bargain flagship arrives strung with cover and grip. One documented fake top-end Yonex came with matching cover, branded string and grip already fitted, which makes a cheap 'ready to play' flagship look convincing. (one source, unconfirmed) source
• A code checker link supplied by the seller. QR codes and links can point to lookalike verification sites. Open the brand's checker from its official website yourself, and never trust a 'genuine' screenshot from the seller. source
• A code that was already checked before you bought it. Li-Ning's checker shows how often a code has been looked up. If your first check shows earlier lookups or a locked code, the label may have been copied from a real racket onto fakes. source
• Two or more warning signs together. No single detail settles it. Treat a racket with two or more of these signs as suspect until the brand or its UK distributor has looked at it. source
• Fakes can be unsafe, not just poor value. Yonex warns that counterfeit rackets differ in specification, are lower quality and can cause injury or accidents, and they carry no warranty. source