Racquet Weight and The Modern Game

[DoubleHanded&LovinIt]

Hi all. Was wondering on your thoughts about racquet weight and the modern game. Conventional thinking had us believing the we needed heavier racquets to hit with more power, to have stability, and to reduce injury. However, now that spin has become such a huge feature of the modern game, the ability to achieve it has forced us to reconsider the paradigm. It seems like lighter frames are the way to go because they are easier to whip around for topspin. It also seems to me, that because modern technique stressed the body less and because racquet and ball collision is less head-on (not as many flat drives) that stability is not as much of a priority.. What do you guys think? I'm seriously considering moving away from my C10's to something that will allow me to spin the ball more: 03 Tour, AeroPro Drive, Pure Storm, Pure Drive, TFlight 315, Tour 10 V-Engine MP, and Tour 9 V-E 16*19 are tops on my list of demos. Already tried out the Shark, RQ 7, and both versions of the Instint and wasn't impressed: all those frames were just blah...

 

[tschevap]

Hi...

i do agree: Modern tennis needs faster racket-speed to create the spin and angles...i played all the heavyweights: Prestige, 6.0 85, 200G, TF325...

Two days ago i played against a 5.5 player (like myself), who used the Storm...i had my TF 325 on court...
I was running out of gas after the second set...he was whipping that frame like crazy: the speed was just too fast for me and my heavy racket...i had soreness in the shoulder and couldnt serve those kickers anymore...i lost the 3rd in 25min

I am considering a lighter frame now, too! Modern tennis - fast tennis just forces you to be either on the top of your game and stamina, or to use a lighter, quicker racket, that saves you some energy for the 3rd set

As most of us (me too) arent on the top of their game all the time, we will have to rethink the weight-issue (our weight and the racket´s)...

T.

 

[Grimjack]

Regarding heavy vs light:

It will ALWAYS be in the player's best interest to use the heaviest frame he can...

1) swing at full speed for his whole match

and

2) keep the ball in the court with

It's just the physics of the thing. All else being equal, a heavier racquet will produce a heavier shot -- and this is good. Now, YES, the modern game does require a lot more ferocious swinging (and stress on certain smaller muscle groups) than the classic game. The result is that a move to a lighter frame will produce the best results for 1 & 2 above for MANY people.

But not for all.

It's not really cut and dried, or black and white. Use what works for ya. For me, heavy is still good. Five years from now? I doubt it will be.

 

[Rabbit]

To me, a heavier frame is better. If for no other reason, a heavier racket is easier on the arm. I do, however, agree with your point. While the pros use heavier frames, they have vastly superior timing and hand eye coordination than we do. A lighter frame allows you to really snap through the ball. Problem is the wear and tear on your arm doing that with a lighter frame. When I played with the Hammer 5.0, I hit with a lot more spin than I do now, even with a Continental grip. I was hitting such good spin that there was a natural break in my groundstrokes as they travelled through the air. I don't know if it was my choice of string (ProBlend), or tension, or combination of a light racket, string and high tension, but I developed a bad case of tennis elbow. I have thought of changing from the C10 myself, but nothing feels as good.

I also agree with Grimjack, in 5 years, I don't know that I'll be swinging a C10.