Greg Raven
Semi-Pro
I've posted the specs for Ana Ivanovic's Yonex and Svetlana Kuznetsova's Head here:
http://www.hdtennis.com/grs/pro_racquet_specs.html
http://www.hdtennis.com/grs/pro_racquet_specs.html
2008 PLO Women's finalist racquet specs
- Thread starter Greg Raven
- Start date
kungfusmkim
Professional
nice swing weight for kuznetsova racquet are extrmely highO_O..
kungfusmkim
Professional
how does her shoulder take that amount of pressure?
kungfusmkim
Professional
im thinking it is strung
tennissavy
Hall of Fame
I think they are unstrung, without overgrip. Normally, stringers and customizers list unstrung, without overgrip, specifications.
VGP
Legend
BreakPoint
Bionic Poster
Greg's specs are for STRUNG racquets. That's why he compares them with TW's specs for strung racquets for an apples-to-apples comparison.
tennissavy
Hall of Fame
If the specs are with overgrips and strings then, for those who think that they are heavy with high swingweights, Sharapova's racquets are heavier with higher sw.
Greg Raven
Semi-Pro
The specs are for the racquets as they appear in the photos -- ready to go. These are the specs for the racquets as they were handed to Ana's hitting partner and Svetlana, moments before the final began.
Serve n' Volley
Semi-Pro
Nice - how do you get all these players' racquets, if you don't mind me asking?
kungfusmkim
Professional
Greg Raven
Semi-Pro
I don't understand your question. Some of the sticks are in the possession of the U.S. Racquet Stringers Association. Other specs are courtesy of Star Stringing, the team that does the Pacific Life Open.
http://www.usrsa.com/
http://www.*************.com/ (Star Stringing dot com)
0d1n
Hall of Fame
She probably has good mechanics and swings in a nice relaxed motion (as you can see if you watch her playing) instead of snatching at the ball and trying to bludgeon it through arm and shoulder strength. Good technique goes a long way.
Greg, thanks for the link. I presume Nadal's racket is also measured strung ??? (in which case it should really be an eye opener for people saying that anything under 370 grams can't possibly be "stable enough for heavy hitting"
. I guess they play against heavier hitters than Federer and Djokovic.
master_stringer_mitchy
Banned
thanks for the post! just wondered if any of those racket have leather grips? also, does ana's racket have the same beam widths as the stock model, or is it a strait beam as im struggling to see with the pic, thanks greg!
Stringers at tournaments usually don't get racquets without overgrips, on them.
. . . Bud
feelingdown
Banned
Usually they post figures without overgrips though. They normally remove those overgrips and measure stats. They sometimes will be good enough to give stats with and without strings. Why do you pick on tennissavy?
feelingdown
Banned
Actually, with the proper balance those heavy, high swingweight frames are easier on the body. That is the case with any pro. Poor Ivanovic, no. SMART, PROFESSIONAL Ivanovic, yes.
hyogen
Hall of Fame
what is the proper balance sir? I'm looking at that site and am all confused with the different balance points.
for example ivanovic:
the retail RQiS has a swingweight of 325, 11.9oz (337grams) strung weight, and 9points head light.
Ivanovic's racquet is 335 grams.....which is less than what is posted on TW, has a balance point of 34 (which is..........what?) and swingweight of 358?
Ivanovics racquet has a balance at 34cm... measured from the handle? so it is even more head light than the stock 31.43 balance?
how do you customize the stock rqis to be like Ana's? very little lead at 12? or something? that's a big swing weight difference with less weight! help me understand
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Old_Crow
Rookie
You're backwards. 34cm is almost even balance.
Length = 27" * 2.54 = 68.6cm
even balance = 34.3cm
kungfusmkim
Professional
Yeah its true that women kind of just push through the ball except for Henin, Kuznetsova, Mauresmo who flick and flick and flick their forehaands.
hyogen
Hall of Fame
ah..so they made it LIGHTER and more even balanced...from being headlight. yet how is the swing weight 355?! wth?! someone explain please
Old_Crow
Rookie
It's only 2gr difference in mass from TW and USRSA. That's about half a percent and could be explained away by how the grips were wrapped, type of string, etc.
Look at the flex. Her stick is a completely different layup than the standard model. They concentrated more mass in the head while leaving the weight the same = higher swingweight & even balance.
When she first switched there was an article where Yonex said she had about 30 variants she was trying and when she settled, it would 'go into production'. It looks it was easier to fake Ivanovic using a RQiS1 than Hewitt so they gave her the PJ and let Hewitt go back to the new version of his old PJ.
0d1n
Hall of Fame
If it's not a completely different layup than the stock one (which it may well be) they can probably choose the ones that are the lightest / head heaviest of the available ones.
Also ... if you look at the slightly older pictures with Ivanovic (from when she switched to Yonex), she had a truckload of lead at 3&9 on her sticks.
I can't see any lead on the racket in Greg's pictures, so maybe they have found a way to incorporate the weight in the racket's head (or they place it under the bumper somewhere).
Either way... take a slightly lighter than stock RQIS, place lots of lead in the head, to bring the racket close to even balance and you will have your high swing weight quite quickly.
Gasquetrules
Semi-Pro
Flex...
I noticed that almost all these pros used frames that were a good bit more flexible than the standard frame. This is interesting. I figured they would like the extra power of a stiffer frame. I was most surprised to see that Sampras' racquets were much more flexible than the standard pro staff 6.0. That's the main reason I've never played with that frame or the newer small-headed Wilsons. They swing great and have wonderful balance, but are just a little too stiff for my tastes. And I don't know how to make a frame more flexible.
For this reason I like the old Yonex R-22 better than the original Pro Staff 6.0 Same weight and headsize, but much more control because of the flexible frame.
I also like the Gamma Tradition 18 and Gamma G325 better than the mid-sized Wilsons. They are thin-beamed, about 12 ounces but are a lot more flexible and much more forgiving and easier to control. I think the Gamma G325 is about the best control-oriented frame for advanced players that I have played with and that is now available and being produced. Great balance, feel, weight and control -- and comes with plenty of flex off the shelf -- which makes it an excellent choice to use with Big Banger-type strings. The flex of the frame reduces the amount of shock you get with today's stiffer string sets. You don't need to use a hybrid string job to avoid arm problems.
I noticed that almost all these pros used frames that were a good bit more flexible than the standard frame. This is interesting. I figured they would like the extra power of a stiffer frame. I was most surprised to see that Sampras' racquets were much more flexible than the standard pro staff 6.0. That's the main reason I've never played with that frame or the newer small-headed Wilsons. They swing great and have wonderful balance, but are just a little too stiff for my tastes. And I don't know how to make a frame more flexible.
For this reason I like the old Yonex R-22 better than the original Pro Staff 6.0 Same weight and headsize, but much more control because of the flexible frame.
I also like the Gamma Tradition 18 and Gamma G325 better than the mid-sized Wilsons. They are thin-beamed, about 12 ounces but are a lot more flexible and much more forgiving and easier to control. I think the Gamma G325 is about the best control-oriented frame for advanced players that I have played with and that is now available and being produced. Great balance, feel, weight and control -- and comes with plenty of flex off the shelf -- which makes it an excellent choice to use with Big Banger-type strings. The flex of the frame reduces the amount of shock you get with today's stiffer string sets. You don't need to use a hybrid string job to avoid arm problems.
AlpineCadet
Hall of Fame
Thanks for sharing, GR is def. a great poster. Please try to get Djokovic's frame, I'm sure the specs will be close to his old Head frame. :shock:
Greg Raven
Semi-Pro
Djokovic's frames are handled by Nate and Ron at Priority 1, so I didn't have access to his frames. I hate to admit that last year I could have measured his frame on Star Stringing's Babolat RDC right before he played the final, but it was already in the bag and I didn't feel like going through the "effort" of unbagging it. Live and learn, I guess.
Ron was nice enough to let me know Djokovic's string and tension, however, which will be posted along with 250+ other players in the Pro Equipment Logs section of RacquetTECH.com (the USRSA) site, as soon as I can nail down some of missing data points.
Ron was nice enough to let me know Djokovic's string and tension, however, which will be posted along with 250+ other players in the Pro Equipment Logs section of RacquetTECH.com (the USRSA) site, as soon as I can nail down some of missing data points.
