Alcaraz adding weight

I'm not saying Alcaraz lost because of 5 grams. All I'm saying as aaron posted, is that it looks like Carlos hasn't addapted fully yet. To me his game just wasn't flowing like he intended.
 
Gerco said:
I'm not saying Alcaraz lost because of 5 grams. All I'm saying as aaron posted, is that it looks like Carlos hasn't addapted fully yet. To me his game just wasn't flowing like he intended.
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Your post reads like that. Anyways weight or no weight Novak is a tough opponent.
 
AAATSportingGoods said:
It’s crazy that people on here actually think 5grams to a top players racquet makes a visible contribution to why he lost to Novak freaking Djokovic today….
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Okay, I'm not gonna claim to be an expert but have you tried to play tennis then suddenly add 5g randomly to your racquet? Do you play tennis competitively? Are you able to play at that high level and go for your shots in high pressure moments with confidence again and again?

I certainly don't but I will say 5g is a massive amount to add for a pro relatively shortly before a Grand Slam. 10g is generally considered to be a different racquet all together. They make different models of similar racquets with only 10g difference. His team put it near the middle but it still might affect your confidence in moments and tennis can be a game of centimetres. Playing against an ATG putting your game under stress will not help

Try 3g or even 1g at the tip next time, you will know. I just wanted to say that today

I still think he was going to lose to Djokovic today, the way Djokovic adapted his game to his injury, however serious it really is, was impressive. Alcaraz did not have to ground game or tactics to win today. The little change to serve style also might not have helped. He likely needs a better coach and racquet setup. He's been able to get away with close to stock specs for much of his career due to his physicality and talent but some people it seems can see he needs to try too hard for too long to create that heaviness of shot, unlike Novak. Or what Wawrinka was able to do at times to Novak, I've yet to see Carlos do that consistently with his groundstrokes to Novak. You can see weight and quality of shot better in person and looking how it affects the opponent

The 5g near the middle was likely just for stability and power, maybe for returns or serve as we've been told. 5g total weight will still add power even if SW does not change as much
 
wind_sandstone said:
Okay, I'm not gonna claim to be an expert but have you tried to play tennis then suddenly add 5g randomly to your racquet? Do you play tennis competitively? Are you able to play at that high level and go for your shots in high pressure moments with confidence again and again?

I certainly don't but I will say 5g is a massive amount to add for a pro relatively shortly before a Grand Slam. 10g is generally considered to be a different racquet all together. They make different models of similar racquets with only 10g difference. His team put it near the middle but it still might affect your confidence in moments and tennis can be a game of centimetres. Playing against an ATG putting your game under stress will not help

Try 3g or even 1g at the tip next time, you will know. I just wanted to say that today

I still think he was going to lose to Djokovic today, the way Djokovic adapted his game to his injury, however serious it really is, was impressive. Alcaraz did not have to ground game or tactics to win today. The little change to serve style also might not have helped. He likely needs a better coach and racquet setup. He's been able to get away with close to stock specs for much of his career due to his physicality and talent but some people it seems can see he needs to try too hard for too long to create that heaviness of shot, unlike Novak. Or what Wawrinka was able to do at times to Novak, I've yet to see Carlos do that consistently with his groundstrokes to Novak. You can see weight and quality of shot better in person and looking how it affects the opponent

The 5g near the middle was likely just for stability and power, maybe for returns or serve as we've been told. 5g total weight will still add power even if SW does not change as much
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Yes, I am 10-15yrs out from my prime but still currently a training partner for several WTA players. Very involved with tennis. Textkng with one of the commentators throughout the match. Even retired, very picky with racquets. Even then, when I lose matches, it’s a million other things, not bc I’m uncomfortable from an additional 5grams on my racquet.

To “see” the difference 5 grams made in a match, 20-30ft above, through a tv screen, is crazy talk
 
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wind_sandstone said:
Okay, I'm not gonna claim to be an expert but have you tried to play tennis then suddenly add 5g randomly to your racquet? Do you play tennis competitively? Are you able to play at that high level and go for your shots in high pressure moments with confidence again and again?

I certainly don't but I will say 5g is a massive amount to add for a pro relatively shortly before a Grand Slam. 10g is generally considered to be a different racquet all together. They make different models of similar racquets with only 10g difference. His team put it near the middle but it still might affect your confidence in moments and tennis can be a game of centimetres. Playing against an ATG putting your game under stress will not help

Try 3g or even 1g at the tip next time, you will know. I just wanted to say that today

I still think he was going to lose to Djokovic today, the way Djokovic adapted his game to his injury, however serious it really is, was impressive. Alcaraz did not have to ground game or tactics to win today. The little change to serve style also might not have helped. He likely needs a better coach and racquet setup. He's been able to get away with close to stock specs for much of his career due to his physicality and talent but some people it seems can see he needs to try too hard for too long to create that heaviness of shot, unlike Novak. Or what Wawrinka was able to do at times to Novak, I've yet to see Carlos do that consistently with his groundstrokes to Novak. You can see weight and quality of shot better in person and looking how it affects the opponent

The 5g near the middle was likely just for stability and power, maybe for returns or serve as we've been told. 5g total weight will still add power even if SW does not change as much
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Alcaraz would notice the effects not us watching on the tv...

You're basically saying if pros added an extra overgrip on top of their current specs (4-5g) an average viewer would be able to see a significant difference in power levels.
 
AAATSportingGoods said:
Yes, I am 10-15yrs out from my prime but still currently a training partner for several WTA players. Very involved with tennis. Textkng with one of the commentators throughout the match. Even retired, very picky with racquets. Even then, when I lose matches, it’s a million other things, not bc I’m uncomfortable from an additional 5grams on my racquet.

To “see” the difference 5 grams made in a match, 20-30ft above, through a tv screen, is crazy talk
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I'm at work, you have to stop making me laugh, lol.
 
AAATSportingGoods said:
Yes, I am 10-15yrs out from my prime but still currently a training partner for several WTA players. Very involved with tennis. Textkng with one of the commentators throughout the match. Even retired, very picky with racquets. Even then, when I lose matches, it’s a million other things, not bc I’m uncomfortable from an additional 5grams on my racquet.
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Okay I guess we both agree then that it was not the most important thing to why Alcaraz lost today. I was too lazy to try go through someone's post history, thanks for giving a brief summary.

It's true it has to be many other things first. But I believe that 5g was a small factor overall. I also think changing from the Pure Aero VS to a slightly softer PA98 was a factor before for why he missed some more drop shots after briefly after switching but we have not way to tell for sure. This also seems like Carlos's worst GS surface and I think he does not prefer to play during the night unlike Novak, lots of factors anyway
 
aaron_h27 said:
Alcaraz would notice the effects not us watching on the tv...

You're basically saying if pros added an extra overgrip on top of their current specs (4-5g) an average viewer would be able to see a significant difference in power levels.
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No, I'm watching how it affects Novak mostly. And how fast or hard Carlos has to swing to create pace on his shot. I'm also watching the behaviour of the ball as it bounces on the ground and travels but that's last and hard to see with the normal court view on tv

It's also in the throat, and not the grip.

Stupid typos
 
AAATSportingGoods said:
Yes, I am 10-15yrs out from my prime but still currently a training partner for several WTA players. Very involved with tennis. Textkng with one of the commentators throughout the match. Even retired, very picky with racquets. Even then, when I lose matches, it’s a million other things, not bc I’m uncomfortable from an additional 5grams on my racquet.

To “see” the difference 5 grams made in a match, 20-30ft above, through a tv screen, is crazy talk
Click to expand...
So you say you are picky about your rackets. Lets say you where in a tight match, you´re playing with your modified racket and it´s not going well. Do you change mid-match to your old/trusty setup or you keep pushing it with the new one?
 
wind_sandstone said:
No, I'm watching how it affects Novak mostly. And how fast or hard Carlos has to swing to creat pace on his shot. I'm also watching the behaviour of the ball as it bounces on the ground and travels but that's last and hard to see with the normal court view on tv

It's also in the throat, and not the grip.
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5 grams in the throat is 1-2 SW pts. Not much different than an overgrip which adds 0.5-1 SW point. Are we really saying that as rec players/casuals we can see a difference on TV of 1-2 sw point? Seems far fetched to me but whatever.
 
Gerco said:
So you say you are picky about your rackets. Lets say you where in a tight match, you´re playing with your modified racket and it´s not going well. Do you change mid-match to your old/trusty setup or you keep pushing it with the new one?
Click to expand...

I change my footwork or my breathing first…again you won’t see the changes if I switch racquets…especially 20-30ft away on TV
 
aaron_h27 said:
5 grams in the throat is 1-2 SW pts. Not much different than an overgrip which adds 0.5-1 SW point. Are we really saying that as rec players/casuals we can see a difference on TV of 1-2 sw point? Seems far fetched to me but whatever.
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I'm not saying it was meant be big, but they clearly recorded Carlos having a faster average serve than before the change.

Please don't be one of those people that saw a 320g 335SW is that same as a 340g 335SW racquet. Not close, you don't have to swing as fast with the heavier racquet to create the same pace or heaviness of shot.

I don't think the change was meant to be too big for Carlos, but they made the change before the draw came out and it's probably a long term strategy. Carlos is only getting older, possibly stronger, but he's not getting faster
 
wind_sandstone said:
I'm not saying it was meant be big, but they clearly recorded Carlos having a faster average serve than before the change.

Please don't be one of those people that saw a 320g 335SW is that same as a 340g 335SW racquet. Not close, you don't have to swing as fast with the heavier racquet to create the same pace or heaviness of shot.

I don't think the change was meant to be too big for Carlos, but they made the change before the draw came out and it's probably a long term strategy. Carlos is only getting older, possibly stronger, but he's not getting faster
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No I don't think that. I think 5 grams is noticeable to a player especially depending on the placement but surely not to someone casually watching on tv. The faster average serve could be the motion change and not the lead. Too many factors at play.
 
wind_sandstone said:
I'm not saying it was meant be big, but they clearly recorded Carlos having a faster average serve than before the change.

Please don't be one of those people that saw a 320g 335SW is that same as a 340g 335SW racquet. Not close, you don't have to swing as fast with the heavier racquet to create the same pace or heaviness of shot.

I don't think the change was meant to be too big for Carlos, but they made the change before the draw came out and it's probably a long term strategy. Carlos is only getting older, possibly stronger, but he's not getting faster
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Yes the change is meant to be long term and I think will pay off later. Like I said earlier in the thread I think he could benefit from a bit more HL set-up but I'm just a weekend warrior. Nadal played around with specs throughout his career and to maximize his results.
 
Gerco said:
Looks like you are not that picky with rackets after all. Also from now on, only court side seats TT members are able to comment.
Click to expand...

No, I just realize that some things are more important than racquets. You’re exposing yourself as the 3.5 i assumed that you were. I can tell just by the way you approach the game.
 
aaron_h27 said:
Yes the change is meant to be long term and I think will pay off later. Like I said earlier in the thread I think he could benefit from a bit more HL set-up but I'm just a weekend warrior. Nadal played around with specs throughout his career and to maximize his results.
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Mmm, I dunno I wouldn't mind if it was more HL since he has a straighter arm forehand but he also has a 2 handed BH. Hard to say

The service motion change is a good point but I have to check I thought they also said he had a faster avg forehand speed this year over last year but that could also be a few things. Should try looking, don't even remember if it was an article or a commentator mentioning it
 
5g will make a difference to the player 100%. Pro players notice the smallest differences. But doesn't necessarily mean they will win or lose a match because of that.

Alcaraz today lost plain and simple because he was not firing and not moving as good as we got used to.
I didn't see anybody notice but his right hamstring was taped up under his shorts from before he came on the court. Not sure if it affected anything or not but he just wasn't all there.
He was always going to struggle mentally against Nole because Nole will pull all his tricks out and Carlos is too nice to bite back.

Hawkeye data that is available to AO players shows that Carlos' serve is 9kph faster on average than last year (199kph) and he is winning more on it. He is winning less on his 2nd serve though even though it's 1kph faster. FH and BH speeds are about there (1kph faster). So I'm sure that 5g didn't change his serve by 9kph but more likely the motion change contributed to that massively.
What hawkeye also shows is that his FH and BH speeds dropped MASSIVELY in the 2nd set. FH from 130 to 115kph and BH from 120kph to 113kph. Which is below average even for WTA.
Which is what Nole was saying basically throughout his interviews. If you read between the lines he said "Carlos fell for my injury as he was mostly looking at what I'm doing than at what he's doing.". Guys falling for that trick should not be a thing anymore. Not saying Nole is not feeling any pain but it always seems to be something, yet he's able to move better than before being injured...

Edit: One thing that's also worth mentioning is that he stepped closer after winning the 1st set and wanted to take more balls on the rise. It was clear to see that it's not working as the speed of shots slowed down that way and Nole like that. Whenever he stepped back he was winning more points but his tendency is to stand closer which is where modern tennis is going. But it just didn't work today.
 
wind_sandstone said:
Mmm, I dunno I wouldn't mind if it was more HL since he has a straighter arm forehand but he also has a 2 handed BH. Hard to say

The service motion change is a good point but I have to check I thought they also said he had a faster avg forehand speed this year over last year but that could also be a few things. Should try looking, don't even remember if it was an article or a commentator mentioning it
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I don't think he should go super HL like a doubles player but somewhere around 32.3 would be good. Novak is 32.4 bal. He is currently at 32.7 but before the 5 grams were added he was 32.9 I believe.
 
WNB93 said:
5g will make a difference to the player 100%. Pro players notice the smallest differences. But doesn't necessarily mean they will win or lose a match because of that.

Alcaraz today lost plain and simple because he was not firing and not moving as good as we got used to.
I didn't see anybody notice but his right hamstring was taped up under his shorts from before he came on the court. Not sure if it affected anything or not but he just wasn't all there.
He was always going to struggle mentally against Nole because Nole will pull all his tricks out and Carlos is too nice to bite back.

Hawkeye data that is available to AO players shows that Carlos' serve is 9kph faster on average than last year (199kph) and he is winning more on it. He is winning less on his 2nd serve though even though it's 1kph faster. FH and BH speeds are about there (1kph faster). So I'm sure that 5g didn't change his serve by 9kph but more likely the motion change contributed to that massively.
What hawkeye also shows is that his FH and BH speeds dropped MASSIVELY in the 2nd set. FH from 130 to 115kph and BH from 120kph to 113kph. Which is below average even for WTA.
Which is what Nole was saying basically throughout his interviews. If you read between the lines he said "Carlos fell for my injury as he was mostly looking at what I'm doing than at what he's doing.". Guys falling for that trick should not be a thing anymore. Not saying Nole is not feeling any pain but it always seems to be something, yet he's able to move better than before being injured...

Edit: One thing that's also worth mentioning is that he stepped closer after winning the 1st set and wanted to take more balls on the rise. It was clear to see that it's not working as the speed of shots slowed down that way and Nole like that. Whenever he stepped back he was winning more points but his tendency is to stand closer which is where modern tennis is going. But it just didn't work today.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the detailed post!
 
WNB93 said:
5g will make a difference to the player 100%. Pro players notice the smallest differences. But doesn't necessarily mean they will win or lose a match because of that.

Alcaraz today lost plain and simple because he was not firing and not moving as good as we got used to.
I didn't see anybody notice but his right hamstring was taped up under his shorts from before he came on the court. Not sure if it affected anything or not but he just wasn't all there.
He was always going to struggle mentally against Nole because Nole will pull all his tricks out and Carlos is too nice to bite back.

Hawkeye data that is available to AO players shows that Carlos' serve is 9kph faster on average than last year (199kph) and he is winning more on it. He is winning less on his 2nd serve though even though it's 1kph faster. FH and BH speeds are about there (1kph faster). So I'm sure that 5g didn't change his serve by 9kph but more likely the motion change contributed to that massively.
What hawkeye also shows is that his FH and BH speeds dropped MASSIVELY in the 2nd set. FH from 130 to 115kph and BH from 120kph to 113kph. Which is below average even for WTA.
Which is what Nole was saying basically throughout his interviews. If you read between the lines he said "Carlos fell for my injury as he was mostly looking at what I'm doing than at what he's doing.". Guys falling for that trick should not be a thing anymore. Not saying Nole is not feeling any pain but it always seems to be something, yet he's able to move better than before being injured...

Edit: One thing that's also worth mentioning is that he stepped closer after winning the 1st set and wanted to take more balls on the rise. It was clear to see that it's not working as the speed of shots slowed down that way and Nole like that. Whenever he stepped back he was winning more points but his tendency is to stand closer which is where modern tennis is going. But it just didn't work today.
Click to expand...
I agree with most of this. That match had little to nothing to do with any alleged or real racquet spec changes ha. That was about Alcaraz playing one of the worst big matches I've ever seen Alcaraz play. To lose his serve so many times in the third set was wild. Some of the shot selection was poor too. I really don't see Djokovic beating Zverev and then likely Sinner. I haven't seen anything truly great from Djokovic in this tournament yet, including the Alcaraz win. Alcaraz looked more like a really talented up and coming player in that match versus the champion we've all seen in the past.
 
Wait you didn't think Djokovic changing his game style again and playing super aggressive returns and groundstrokes wasn't truly great?

He jumped on anything he could that was short and had someone on the run 16 years his junior around the court, being on top in most rallies and being ahead and having break points in nearly every service game. Some of that was Carlos' less than stellar play today but he turned it on when he needed to today. Out of nowhere really for the whole match. Never saw a good hint of that in the previous rounds

Also yes Carlos had less speed on groundstrokes from the 2nd set on, but most of that was Djokovic being aggressive and not letting Carlos dictate.
aaron_h27 said:
I don't think he should go super HL like a doubles player but somewhere around 32.3 would be good. Novak is 32.4 bal. He is currently at 32.7 but before the 5 grams were added he was 32.9 I believe.
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Yeah the PA 98 is more chunky in the throat, because of that being closer to Novak's balance might be a good idea actually

Hard to change what I assume he's used to, but it all looks pretty close anyway so there should be a way to get it all to feel right to him
 
wind_sandstone said:
Wait you didn't think Djokovic changing his game style again and playing super aggressive returns and groundstrokes wasn't truly great?

He jumped on anything he could that was short and had someone on the run 16 years his junior around the court, being on top in most rallies and being ahead and having break points in nearly every service game. Some of that was Carlos' less than stellar play today but he turned it on when he needed to today. Out of nowhere really for the whole match. Never saw a good hint of that in the previous rounds

Also yes Carlos had less speed on groundstrokes from the 2nd set on, but most of that was Djokovic being aggressive and not letting Carlos dictate.

Yeah the PA 98 is more chunky in the throat, because of that being closer to Novak's balance might be a good idea actually

Hard to change what I assume he's used to, but it all looks pretty close anyway so there should be a way to get it all to feel right to him
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Random point, but can you believe Osaka is playing with a more headlight racket than Alcaraz (and most of the ATP singles players actually) 31.8 cm balance for her and she rarely ventures to the net. I think Alcaraz could benefit from a more HL racket even as a 2 hander. The men rely on net play a lot more than the WTA players.
 
aaron_h27 said:
Random point, but can you believe Osaka is playing with a more headlight racket than Alcaraz (and most of the ATP singles players actually) 31.8 cm balance for her and she rarely ventures to the net. I think Alcaraz could benefit from a more HL racket even as a 2 hander. The men rely on net play a lot more than the WTA players.
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They can also produce much more power so they favour manoeuvrability over power a lot of the times.
Girls seem to like lower static weights and more head heavy rackets, although not all obviously.
 
WNB93 said:
They can also produce much more power so they favour manoeuvrability over power a lot of the times.
Girls seem to like lower static weights and more head heavy rackets, although not all obviously.
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Yeah her specs are 341g, 32cm, 324 SW

very similar to mine actually
 
johnmccabe said:
According to Marca:
Juan Carlos Ferrero was clear that they had to exploit the strengths of his pupil. And that meant generating more speed with his forehand. That is why they worked with several Babolat rackets with different weights in the neck of the racket until they found the most suitable one. This, according to MARCA, is five grams more, distributed through lead tapes.

Question:
Why adding weight to the throat of PA 98, assuming neck means throat?
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is this the reason that he lost to novak ? :unsure: light good, heavy bad.......
 
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WNB93 said:
Interesting.
That would mean she adds 20-21g of weight on the racket which is a lot.
Leather grip + lead?
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There's 8-10g in the hoop (clearly visible) and a leather grip. So sounds about right. Her racket must've been really low SW in stock form.
 
hereforthepopcorn said:
why would he add weight after the season he had last year, just sounds a stupid thing to do at this stage of his career
Click to expand...
As a top professional athlete they're probably always looking for that extra 1%. Nadal tinkered with different specs throughout his career. Federer switched from 90-97. Djokovic had a spec change a few years ago.

Madison Keys just switched to Yonex and full poly and is having a breakout season so far in 2025. There's nothing wrong with being open to trying new things.
 
AAATSportingGoods said:
Not too shabby for matching, silicone, and custom pallets and extending my frames ;)
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besides extending the racquet and the custom pallets, all the rest are super easy to do yourself.
But wait, you need custom pallets and extend your racquets? You are actually a racquet nerd!
 
McEncock said:
besides extending the racquet and the custom pallets, all the rest are super easy to do yourself.
But wait, you need custom pallets and extend your racquets? You are actually a racquet nerd!
Click to expand...

Yea but u want to get pallets and extend my racquets….i guess it depends how you define nerd but yea probably. Still don’t care too much about codes/lore tho
 
bobeeto said:
What frame you playing with? Is it a long time commitment or for the year?
Click to expand...

The 305S! That’s why I found it cool that Karue switched a week after I switched. Finally committed to something to this level after probably 10-15 yrs of messing around with everything including pro stocks….hopefully this is it for the long run!
 
lidoazndiabloboi said:
carlos-alcaraz-pre-season-training.jpg
carlos-alcaraz-pre-season-training.jpg
Click to expand...
What is "1" in the box under date?
 
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