Lobster is one of the most respected brands in the tennis ball machine industry. The Lobster Elite Freedom tennis ball machine is the most basic and inexpensive version Lobster offers. Let’s go over its features.
Random Horizontal Oscillation
The Liberty Elite Freedom has a button that when enabled, allows the machine to shoot balls randomly from side-to-side. This is very helpful because it is more realistic of a real tennis match.
Ball Speed
This machine shoots balls at a speed of 10 to 65 mph depending on what setting you put it on.
Ball Machine Size and Ball capacity
The Lobster Elite Freedom weighs 35 pounds making it a very portable machine. It holds a generous 150 balls.
Feed frequency
The Lobster Elite Freedom can feed a ball as quickly as once every 2 seconds or as slowly as once every 10 seconds. Another nice feature is that it doesn’t start feeding the ball immediately once you turn on the machine, rather when you turn on the machine it allows 20 seconds or so for you to jog to the other side of the court before it starts feeding.
Ball Feed Height
There is a manual knob on the side of the machine that allows you to lower or raise the ball feed. It can be adjusted anywhere from 0 to 50 degrees, which allows for low groundstrokes to high lobs.
Final Thoughts
Very few opponents will ever hit the ball with no spin, which is why the Elite Freedom is a bit unrealistic. Although the Elite Freedom is a great machine, I do recommend the Elite Liberty instead. It is only $100 more and you have the option to add topspin or underspin to your feeds, which is a night and day difference.
If you are a complete beginner and/or can’t afford the extra $100, then go ahead and get the Elite Freedom otherwise the Elite Liberty is your best bet due to its spin control feature.
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For my full review and video on the Lobster Elite Liberty, click here.