I've demo'd 100 rackets

[ttwarrior1]

And I play exactly the same with everyone. Power spin, you name it, all the same .

Am I alone

[Chotobaka]

Originally Posted by ttwarrior1

And I play exactly the same with everyone. Power spin, you name it, all the same .

Am I alone

That is not my experience at all. I am curious, what is your playing style, experience and level of play?

I've been around awhile and have played with a wide variety of sticks over the years. I also take advantage of the TW demo program at least once a month just for *****s and grins. I can adapt and play my game with just about any racquet I pick up -- but they are all different in my hand.

Spin is simply a matter of racquet speed. Open, closed patterns and head size do not matter much to me. So this is not a big variable. Power? I can make my own swinging a log, but there are sticks out there that, with all swing factors being equal, can be missile launchers and need to be reeled in. When we get down to feel, that's where I experience a major difference in racquets. Ditto with control. These are the two factors that are the most critical for me in hitting the angles and pinpointing depth. When comfort and arm-friendliness comes into the picture, that is another area where differences between racquets becomes prominent.

I do not know whether you are blessed or cursed by your experiences. It might just be a good thing and save you a lot of headaches.

[Ess]

I have found that string type and tension are more responsible for variances in my game. The exception being control with head sizes in excess of 100 square inches. I have found if I use something close to my regular racquet with the same string and tension then all is well.

[raguhtheman]

Originally Posted by ttwarrior1

And I play exactly the same with everyone. Power spin, you name it, all the same .

Am I alone

Are you just figuratively speaking? Or did you really demo 100 racquets? LOL

[anirut]

Originally Posted by ttwarrior1

And I play exactly the same with everyone. Power spin, you name it, all the same .

Am I alone

Whenever I play, with anyone, I also play with power and spin, all the same, too.

[Chotobaka]

Originally Posted by anirut

Whenever I play, with anyone, I also play with power and spin, all the same, too.

Yep. Power and spin are what come easy with just about every racquet for me too. It's the other niggling stuff that distinguishes the subtle personalities of different sticks.

[anirut]

Originally Posted by Chotobaka

Yep. Power and spin are what come easy with just about every racquet for me too. It's the other niggling stuff that distinguishes the subtle personalities of different sticks.

LOL. Did you notice that I used the word "anyone" and not "any one".

I meant to say it as a person, as in playing with anybody.

And your statements are valid with me too.

[Lilguy1456]

I think people don't take user variance into account enough when judging a racquet. People are quick to say "this racquet gives me less spin" when they be simply swinging a little slower that day. People are quick to say "this racquet is great on serve" when they might simply be serving well then.

Unless we're spending MANY hitting sessions with a stick to weed out those variables, we can't judge a stick for sure, IMHO...

And since we only keep demos for a week, that's tough to do...

[pshulam]

Originally Posted by ttwarrior1

And I play exactly the same with everyone. Power spin, you name it, all the same .

Am I alone

Are you saying that you play the same way regardless of racquet type or your opponent or hitting partner?

[Lilguy1456]

I think FEEL is more than half of it. When I switch racquets, there might be little difference in the trajectory/power of my shots, but the feel is always what varies greatly from stick to stick, for me. Also, the swingweight needs to be in the sweetspot...as heavy as I need it to not get tired in a match...

[Wilson6-1]

Originally Posted by ttwarrior1

And I play exactly the same with everyone. Power spin, you name it, all the same .

Am I alone

While the outcome of my game is not dramatically changed with different racquets, I do play differently with them. For example, while I hit with power and spin (often to my detriment) my ground strokes, volleys and serve are noticeably different with the racquets I play.

When I play with my Wilson ncode 6.1 95, my serves have more pace and are heavier, along with my volleys and backhand slices, which are more penetrating; however, when I play with my Babolat PSL, my forehand and backhand are more controlled and my ground game is improved. Therefore, while I may lose some of the easy points on my serve with the PSL, I win more points on my returns, so the outcome is not really that different.

[matchmaker]

I have demoed quite a lot of racquets and they don't all feel the same to me. There are huge differences in power, feel, heft, plow through etc.

I play mids now and find they all have a different personality. However when I played MPs, I felt that with some minor adjustments I could play the same with any one of those.

[kazamzaa]

Originally Posted by ttwarrior1

And I play exactly the same with everyone. Power spin, you name it, all the same .

Am I alone

Have you tried different models?

Joking aside... Even my coach tells me the same. He says he plays the same with any racquet. He plays regularly with atp pro players, and people generally speaks of him as the best coach around my area. Myself on the other hand I notice even monor differences ie. couple of grms lead, dead strins etc. I have hours of adjustment period when I switch racquets with different weight, balance or power.
I guess its just that some people have natural talent of adapting to variables in a racquet. And with a perfectly devoloped swing hittin ss 100% of the time its goes well no matter what.
For me it is important what happens when I don't hit the center of the ss. And what is the feel.
Although I do belive what my coach is telling me, I still think if I replaced his wilson 6.1 ps90 with an OS granny stick his performace would be clearly weaker agaist someone his level.

[tball]

There is a certain style of play which is impervious to racquet differences. For me it is a fail-safe mode which produces the most consistency.

However, this style does not always win. When pushed, I have to step outside the routine, and do some more creative or far more aggressive shots. For those shots, the racquet matters a great deal. Many racquets, which are completely fine in fail-safe mode, fail miserably on me when I push to the limits. Certain racquets just are not suited to certain tricky shots, or they start to bend and twist under extreme hitting. Off-center behaviour, or even minute differences in maneuverabilty become a matter of life and death on the court.

Those subtleties are hard to judge unless you take a racquet to a few very tough matches where you are pushed way out of your comfort zone.

[Wilson6-1]

Originally Posted by kazamzaa

Have you tried different models?

Joking aside... Even my coach tells me the same. He says he plays the same with any racquet. He plays regularly with atp pro players, and people generally speaks of him as the best coach around my area. Myself on the other hand I notice even monor differences ie. couple of grms lead, dead strins etc. I have hours of adjustment period when I switch racquets with different weight, balance or power.
I guess its just that some people have natural talent of adapting to variables in a racquet. And with a perfectly devoloped swing hittin ss 100% of the time its goes well no matter what.
For me it is important what happens when I don't hit the center of the ss. And what is the feel.
Although I do belive what my coach is telling me, I still think if I replaced his wilson 6.1 ps90 with an OS granny stick his performace would be clearly weaker agaist someone his level.

I think coaches say that because a racquet will not materially change a player's level or game. Although it will certainly help in certain aspects, it won't change a 3.0 to a 4.0, etc. And, I think many players believe that the racquet is holding back their game (to some degree). Repetition is important to deliver consistency.

In the end, although I could play with any racquet with similar results (my results are based on my skill level - not my racquet), I don't support the notion that all racquets deliver the same result for every component of the game.

[Frankauc]

you must be really bad

[slowfox]

Originally Posted by Frankauc

you must be really bad

Or good...

[anubis]

Originally Posted by Wilson6-1

I think coaches say that because a racquet will not materially change a player's level or game. Although it will certainly help in certain aspects, it won't change a 3.0 to a 4.0, etc. And, I think many players believe that the racquet is holding back their game (to some degree). Repetition is important to deliver consistency.

In the end, although I could play with any racquet with similar results (my results are based on my skill level - not my racquet), I don't support the notion that all racquets deliver the same result for every component of the game.

Perhaps coaches should also say that even tho a racquet can't make you a better player, the wrong racquet can make it harder for you to succeed.

[Wilson6-1]

Originally Posted by anubis

Perhaps coaches should also say that even tho a racquet can't make you a better player, the wrong racquet can make it harder for you to succeed.

Agree, and I think some coaches do. But I would anticipate that the coach would provide general ranges (weight, size, stiffness, etc). Then the player can try the one best suited for them.

I doubt that the coach would say this model is better than that model, when they are generally similar racquets, but who knows.

[Relinquis]

It's the player, not the stick, that matters.

I play with both a modern 100 sq inch tweener and a 90-93 sq inch graphite from the late 80s/early 90s. While they feel different, it doesn't really affect the way i play.

The tweener is lighter and stiffer, but they are both headlight and neither is abnormal in any way. While the tweener is light, it is not sub 310 swing weight, while the older stick has a smaller head-size it isn't sub 90 sq inch. They both have normal string patterns for their respective head-sizes. The tweener a stock grip, the 90s graphite a thick comfort grip that's moulded to my hand due to use.

They feel different though. The older racquet feels "plush", like catching the ball with a well fitted leather glove, whereas the tweener feels like I'm spanking it with a cane. I'm exaggerating to illustrate the point. Both very satisfying feelings, but the result is pretty much the same. A ball that goes long 10 centimetres because I'm trying to look like Roger Federer!

All kidding aside, for your main stick, just get one that isn't too abnormal. You can experiment more with your next ones if you decide to become a racquet-aholic.

This is the right attitude to have... Kid has one racquet... Just wants to play tennis...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhIJiV9aMCI