Up till very recently I've been playing with Wilson (K)Blade Tour (head 93, 324 g unstrung, 4 3/8 grip, 18*20, 10 pts HL).
Something like this --> http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Reviews/KBL93/KBL93Review.html
For a long time I was using poliester Luxilon tensioned at 24 kgs. Before that I had Wilson Sensation (multifilament string) at 24 kgs. Both string were 1,28 mm I believe, not sure, but definitely on the thicker side.
After transitioning to Luxilon I started to feel less power, as it was expected. But I like the aditional spin I achieved on forhend which allowed me to swing even harder at the ball, and a pretty stiff and control-based setup allowed me a lot of control in my shots.
I was able to hit big of both wings, but "framing" was becoming an issue on the backand (double) side. Moreover, I was never able to hit the serve no where near as fast as I'd like, and had a lot of problems with placing it on the AD side at the "T".
Anyways - after about 2 months, I started to feel discomfort and pain in my right sholder (Im rightie) and wrist after matches, and pain continued even after switching to softer (MSV Soft Control) strings with the same stick.
That is when I decided to go with a lighter racket, counting it should ease the pain cause by I pretty heavy (360g strung) and stiff setup for only a recreational player somewhere between 4.0-4.5 level.
I tried two test rackets and decided to go with very very similar stick to this:
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpage-61TMBX.html
It weighs 289g unstrung and is 4 points HL, those are only microdifferences.
Anyways, I've been using it in my last two matches, and it would be very mild to say it feels like another sport!!
Is it possible that only 35 grams lighter stick (ok when strung he is probably cca 10grams lighter than my previous one) can make me feel so much different when swinging my backhand???
In the first match I was like I dont know to swing or to hit the BH to fall in the court. And BH was always my more consistant weapon!! I was like "WTF??!"
The biggest problem is I have no feel whatsoever on the ball while making a contact on BH side. So it travels all the way around, just not where i would like it.
Obviously, lighter piece made me a bit "to strong" with my big BH swings, but what bothers me most is disastrous stability I feel on both hitting sides!!! I became affraid to hit with full power because there is to much probability of BLX twisting in my hand making a shot go wild!!
On the forhend side I noticed fantastic control on inside-in direction, its ok when going diagonal (normal cross court forhend), I even achieved much more of spin (but far less pace) in that direction... but control diminished in when going paralel with the right sideline.
On the serve I noticed more pace, which is good, but not as much I was hoping to achieve
And Im having hell of a trouble with controling second serves that I spin a lot! They go wildly out a lot of the time!
I have a big swing on forehand side, that's another reason I decided to try a lighter version, but overall, Im very unsatisfied, so Im seeking advice from experts here.
What to do?
If I switch back to heavier racket with a bit bigger head (say 97-100), shoulder will start hurting again (as will wrist) - although they hurt now too, but a much less...
If I stay with my current light racket, try to get used to it, Im not sure if I will manage to do that. Cause I really really dont like the unstability which is more than obvious and causes my all kind of problems in offense and defense.
(btw I strung my new 289g piece with Wilson Sensation at 24 kgs)
Advices and comments please...
Something like this --> http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Reviews/KBL93/KBL93Review.html
For a long time I was using poliester Luxilon tensioned at 24 kgs. Before that I had Wilson Sensation (multifilament string) at 24 kgs. Both string were 1,28 mm I believe, not sure, but definitely on the thicker side.
After transitioning to Luxilon I started to feel less power, as it was expected. But I like the aditional spin I achieved on forhend which allowed me to swing even harder at the ball, and a pretty stiff and control-based setup allowed me a lot of control in my shots.
I was able to hit big of both wings, but "framing" was becoming an issue on the backand (double) side. Moreover, I was never able to hit the serve no where near as fast as I'd like, and had a lot of problems with placing it on the AD side at the "T".
Anyways - after about 2 months, I started to feel discomfort and pain in my right sholder (Im rightie) and wrist after matches, and pain continued even after switching to softer (MSV Soft Control) strings with the same stick.
That is when I decided to go with a lighter racket, counting it should ease the pain cause by I pretty heavy (360g strung) and stiff setup for only a recreational player somewhere between 4.0-4.5 level.
I tried two test rackets and decided to go with very very similar stick to this:
http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpage-61TMBX.html
It weighs 289g unstrung and is 4 points HL, those are only microdifferences.
Anyways, I've been using it in my last two matches, and it would be very mild to say it feels like another sport!!
Is it possible that only 35 grams lighter stick (ok when strung he is probably cca 10grams lighter than my previous one) can make me feel so much different when swinging my backhand???
In the first match I was like I dont know to swing or to hit the BH to fall in the court. And BH was always my more consistant weapon!! I was like "WTF??!"
The biggest problem is I have no feel whatsoever on the ball while making a contact on BH side. So it travels all the way around, just not where i would like it.
Obviously, lighter piece made me a bit "to strong" with my big BH swings, but what bothers me most is disastrous stability I feel on both hitting sides!!! I became affraid to hit with full power because there is to much probability of BLX twisting in my hand making a shot go wild!!
On the forhend side I noticed fantastic control on inside-in direction, its ok when going diagonal (normal cross court forhend), I even achieved much more of spin (but far less pace) in that direction... but control diminished in when going paralel with the right sideline.
On the serve I noticed more pace, which is good, but not as much I was hoping to achieve
And Im having hell of a trouble with controling second serves that I spin a lot! They go wildly out a lot of the time!
I have a big swing on forehand side, that's another reason I decided to try a lighter version, but overall, Im very unsatisfied, so Im seeking advice from experts here.
What to do?
If I switch back to heavier racket with a bit bigger head (say 97-100), shoulder will start hurting again (as will wrist) - although they hurt now too, but a much less...
If I stay with my current light racket, try to get used to it, Im not sure if I will manage to do that. Cause I really really dont like the unstability which is more than obvious and causes my all kind of problems in offense and defense.
(btw I strung my new 289g piece with Wilson Sensation at 24 kgs)
Advices and comments please...