Switching to a heavier racquet- Pro weighting

So we know that the vast majority of professional tennis players are using much heavier racquets than factory racquets...

I am recently making a switch to a 12 oz racquet. At first i had alot of trouble being late on ground strokes. I quickly realized the key to not being late is to always keep your racquet moving. My serve felt great because it seemed like my racquet was almost forcing me to do my form perfectly.

My forehand grip shifted downwards which is very weird. down to a FULL western. i dont know if this is due to the fact that when i swing my racquet, the energy from swinging is continuing forward much more and i cannot turn over it quite as well. it drives through the ball much more.


Anyone with experiences of playing higher level tennis 4.5 and above id appreciate your thoughts on this as what you have experienced or what you believe you must do different to hit with a heavier racquet. Please state how much you experienced playing with the heavier racquet.

Thank you

The big question though... which racquet have you switched to?

Ross K said:

The big question though... which racquet have you switched to?

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I didnt want "specific" racquets to get into the ideas of switching ot a heavier racquet. But ive switched to the prince Ozone Pro Tour

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Restate your question.

Well, I started off with a 12.5+ aluminum racket with a Headsize of about 90. Then I switch to a n5 OS (biggest mistake I ever made). Then I switched to a Gamma Ipex 7.0 MP (after an overgrip and dampener, weighs roughly 12 ounces). My strokes are no different with each racket. All I'm doing is swinging through the ball and hitting early. I don't know about switching grips, as the racket shouldn't have much to do with switching grips.

A heavier racquet means you'll need to improve your technique, especially in terms of preparation. Get ready earlier, so that you can still me the ball out in front of you body. In relation to your body, do you make contact in front, or further back in your stance?

Heavy rackets can be tough to get used to. I added 12 grams of lead at the 3 and 9 and 6 grams of lead at the 12 o'clock positions. I did this on a K90 and I like it, the weight is 13.1 ounces.

Heavier rackets are more demanding to proper weight shifting.

Lighter rackets may let you get away with a more open stance preparation and mostly using your arm to generate pace, but you probably will not last for too long trying to swing a 12+ oz stick that way. Body rotation and stepping into the ball, esp on backhand will noticeably improve your stroke's power, ease and consistency with heavier frames.

On forehand, players using heavier frames usually tend to grip the racket semi-western and those using stiffer, lighter rackets usually go to full-western as their game improves.

Anton said:

Heavier rackets are more demanding to proper weight shifting.

Lighter rackets may let you get away with a more open stance preparation and mostly using your arm to generate pace, but you probably will not last for too long trying to swing a 12+ oz stick that way. Body rotation and stepping into the ball, esp on backhand will noticeably improve your stroke's power, ease and consistency with heavier frames.

On forehand, players using heavier frames usually tend to grip the racket semi-western and those using stiffer, lighter rackets usually go to full-western as their game improves.

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I dont understnad what you are trying to say in the bottom paragraph where it talks about gripping the racquet with western and semi. Can you please clarify

themitchmann said:

A heavier racquet means you'll need to improve your technique, especially in terms of preparation. Get ready earlier, so that you can still me the ball out in front of you body. In relation to your body, do you make contact in front, or further back in your stance?

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I understand all of this. i tend to hit the ball in front of me. i am strong 5.0 player so the preparation early and contact early is already ingrained into me.

iambt21 said:

I dont understnad what you are trying to say in the bottom paragraph where it talks about gripping the racquet with western and semi. Can you please clarify

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full western grip is better for more spinny, brushing sort of stroke, semi-western makes it easier to drive the ball - so those using full western usually use stiff, more head heavy rackets on the lighter side and bigger head sizes (like most babolats) and those who use semi-western mostly prefer to go for heavier, more head light frames (think wislon 90 series)

Anton said:

full western grip is better for more spinny, brushing sort of stroke, semi-western makes it easier to drive the ball - so those using full western usually use stiff, more head heavy rackets on the lighter side and bigger head sizes (like most babolats) and those who use semi-western mostly prefer to go for heavier, more head light frames (think wislon 90 series)

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I thought most babolats were headlight not headheavy.

caverick said:

I thought most babolats were headlight not headheavy.

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From TW Babolat page...

Headlight Babolats:

Pure Storm
Pure Storm Tour
Pure Storm Tour Plus
Aeropro Drive Cortex
Aeropro Drive Cortex Plus
Aeropro Control
Aeropro Control Plus
Aero Storm
Aero Tour Original
Pure Drive Cortex
Pure Drive Cortex Plus
Pure Drive 107

Headheavy Babolats:

Aero Blast
Aero 112
Drive Z 110
Drive Z 118
Drive Z Oversize
Drive Z Lite
N.S. Drive Oversize
VS NCT Control

Headlight-12, Headheavy-8...

You are correct, most Babolats are headlight, but they are not as headlight as, a KBlade Tour, for example...

Exceptions are underlined...

racquet_jedi said:

From TW Babolat page...

Headlight Babolats:

Pure Storm
Pure Storm Tour
Pure Storm Tour Plus
Aeropro Drive Cortex
Aeropro Drive Cortex Plus
Aeropro Control
Aeropro Control Plus
Aero Storm
Aero Tour Original
Pure Drive Cortex
Pure Drive Cortex Plus
Pure Drive 107

Headheavy Babolats:

Aero Blast
Aero 112
Drive Z 110
Drive Z 118
Drive Z Oversize
Drive Z Lite
N.S. Drive Oversize
VS NCT Control

Headlight-12, Headheavy-8...

You are correct, most Babolats are headlight, but they are not as headlight as, a KBlade Tour, for example...

Exceptions are underlined...

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Good call...I was actually surprised that there are that many head heavy babolats out there. I stand corrected.

caverick said:

I thought most babolats were headlight not headheavy.

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I didn't say they were head heavy, I said they were MORE head heavy.