Hard surface vs Clay surface: Do players ever switch racquets for each..

[redpurusha]

I'm just playing my first time on clay courts and finally getting the idea of how different it is from hard surfaces. Do players in general ever use different racquets or strings just so they can play more clay court friendly shots (ie spin)?

[dr325i]

Originally Posted by redpurusha

I'm just playing my first time on clay courts and finally getting the idea of how different it is from hard surfaces. Do players in general ever use different racquets or strings just so they can play more clay court friendly shots (ie spin)?

Rarely switch the rackets and strings. They do, however, use different string tension and sometimes different racket balance/customization.

[Bdarb]

I use different shoes sometimes but I don't care to mess with my racquet too often, especially because I play 50/50 har tru and hard courts. It would be weird I think. What would a player change about their racquet to adjust?

[dr325i]

Originally Posted by Bdarb

I use different shoes sometimes but I don't care to mess with my racquet too often, especially because I play 50/50 har tru and hard courts. It would be weird I think. What would a player change about their racquet to adjust?

I believe he was talking about the pro players
The ball bounces totally different from clay to grass, so I can see them adjusting the (swing) weight to adjust for shots/timing...

[Jonny S&V]

Originally Posted by dr325i

I believe he was talking about the pro players
The ball bounces totally different from clay to grass, so I can see them adjusting the (swing) weight to adjust for shots/timing...

Agassi switched string patterns for the French towards the end (or at least, Radical to Instinct pjs).

[gavna]

Pretty common for the players to switch tension based on court and weather conditions....also many add a bit weight on the clay....back in the day you would see players like Noah, Connors, Vitas add or remove lead tape during changeovers. Havn't seen any of the modern players do it as all seem to be using high profile 3rd party folks do all he work for them but I'm sure weights get tweaked a bit depending on court conditions.

[movdqa]

I like to add weight when playing outdoors compared to playing indoors. This might be just adding a dampener or a little lead at 12:00. It's obviously cheaper for me to do it this way than to restring for conditions.

Pros can afford any approach that they prefer. I imagine that it probably looks better to just reach into the bag and take out something a bit looser or tighter for conditions. That way your opponent doesn't necessarily know what you are doing.

That and you don't look silly trying to peel the backing off the lead tape on camera with your fingernail.