Brooks using stock Blade?

Hit 'em clean

Hit 'em clean

Semi-Pro
With no obvious Wilson contract (soon to change) Brooks y appears to be using a retail Blade frame. Has the velvet paint scheme, etc. I’m sure he has it weighted to his spec, but still nice to see.

I’m seriously impressed by his moxy, unique game… like a modern day Brad Gilbert but with better strokes. He plays his style with belief and commitment that I haven’t seen in a while. Korda will easily surpass him but on I really enjoy watching someone get it done differently.
 
Hit 'em clean

Hit 'em clean

Semi-Pro
Nostradamus said:
no wonder his serve stinks. how is he think he can hit bombs with No lead on the head with that light racket?
Click to expand...
I think his serve issues have a lot more to do with his technically flaws than the racquet. Very little shoulder turn or hip rotation/load. He could easily gain 10-15mph overnight with a few simple changes. I’m sure he’s been told/instructed, but the bigger issue is what do you have confidence in. Unfortunately as a defensive player he can get away with it... even against Djokovic to a degree. The tough part is convincing the player how much easier their life will be... even if they might be or ‘feel‘ less consistent.

I‘ve seen a lot of kids hit 120mph serves with light stock racquets. Weight can make some things easier, but mostly it brings weight of shot. Pure mph is mostly rhs regardless of how powerful a racquet is. You might gain a few mph, but reality is that rhs will get you a lot further than additional weight. Weight only really helps for the most part if you don’t lose rhs.

What i find most impressive is if Brooksly is really using a Blade in an off the shelf weight... returning serves and heavy groundies as well as he did was impressive. He seemed pretty unaffected by Djoker’s heavy shots. His mobility and fitness let him down in the end. Had he been as fit and strong... that match would’ve been a real barn burner.
 
X

xlv

New User
First time I saw a pro use stock V7. Not sure if he has sponsor form Nike. Looks like he wear clothes with his tennis academy logo.
 
Nostradamus

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
Hit 'em clean said:
I think his serve issues have a lot more to do with his technically flaws than the racquet. Very little shoulder turn or hip rotation/load. He could easily gain 10-15mph overnight with a few simple changes. I’m sure he’s been told/instructed, but the bigger issue is what do you have confidence in. Unfortunately as a defensive player he can get away with it... even against Djokovic to a degree. The tough part is convincing the player how much easier their life will be... even if they might be or ‘feel‘ less consistent.

I‘ve seen a lot of kids hit 120mph serves with light stock racquets. Weight can make some things easier, but mostly it brings weight of shot. Pure mph is mostly rhs regardless of how powerful a racquet is. You might gain a few mph, but reality is that rhs will get you a lot further than additional weight. Weight only really helps for the most part if you don’t lose rhs.

What i find most impressive is if Brooksly is really using a Blade in an off the shelf weight... returning serves and heavy groundies as well as he did was impressive. He seemed pretty unaffected by Djoker’s heavy shots. His mobility and fitness let him down in the end. Had he been as fit and strong... that match would’ve been a real barn burner.
Click to expand...

He should switch to Pure drive , then he can serve 125 mph
 
volleynets

volleynets

Hall of Fame
Hit 'em clean said:
With no obvious Wilson contract (soon to change) Brooks y appears to be using a retail Blade frame. Has the velvet paint scheme, etc. I’m sure he has it weighted to his spec, but still nice to see.

I’m seriously impressed by his moxy, unique game… like a modern day Brad Gilbert but with better strokes. He plays his style with belief and commitment that I haven’t seen in a while. Korda will easily surpass him but on I really enjoy watching someone get it done differently.
Click to expand...

Since he is sponsored by Solinco they do some basic matching to all his rackets before providing them. Other than that they start stock.
 
P

PistolPete23

Hall of Fame
I love that Brooksby uses a retail Blade. There’s nothing magical about pro stocks. If anyone thinks playing with a pro stock will elevate their game, they are deceiving themself. On another note, I think it would be really cool for Brooksby to rock a small brand like Diadem. The Elevate and Elevate Tour are sweet sticks.
 
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volleynets

volleynets

Hall of Fame
PistolPete23 said:
I love that Brooksby uses a retail Blade. There’s nothing magical about pro stocks. If anyone thinks playing with a pro stock will elevate their game, they are deceiving themself. On another note, I think it would be really cool for Brooksby to rock a small brand like Diadem. The Elevate and Elevate Tour are sweet sticks.
Click to expand...
Ya the reason most pros use them is because it's the frame they're used to. That's why the younger players use more of the frames we know rather than old ones. But in the future they might use pro stock of blade v7 etc if they don't like the feel of newer.

There is still some magic around pro stocks. Tsitsipas basically uses the blade but the specs are all wildly off. So a pro stock blade they actually make with proper specs and higher qc standards. Then he gets to keep using the original blade he liked as all the newer generations feel a bit different.

To sum it up prostock gives you:
1. Perfect specs and matched
2. Access to the same model you want forever or access to a non retail
 
P

PistolPete23

Hall of Fame
volleynets said:
To sum it up prostock gives you:
1. Perfect specs and matched
2. Access to the same model you want forever or access to a non retail
Click to expand...

Those are good points. Pro stocks can indeed give you frame consistency, and for obvious reasons that would be super important for professional players.
 
am1899

am1899

Legend
Nostradamus said:
no wonder his serve stinks. how is he think he can hit bombs with No lead on the head with that light racket?
Click to expand...
Nostradamus said:
He should switch to Pure drive , then he can serve 125 mph
Click to expand...

LOL. Doesn’t matter what racquet is in his hand. With his abysmal technique, he has zero hope of hitting 125.

I thought I heard during one of his matches that a former pro (perhaps Roddick?) had suggested he could fix his serve in a matter of hours. Perhaps Brooksby should reach out and take him up on it.

Another commentator suggested improvements had already been made to Brooksby’s serve. It’s a mystery to me what improvements these are and by whom they were made. Maybe Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder? Seriously, improved or not, this is still one of the worst serve motions at the male pro level I’ve ever seen.
 
A

Arvid

Semi-Pro
Well even Michael Chang managed to develop a decent serve so considering Brooksby is 6'4 it really should be a no brainer...
 
Z

Zoid

Hall of Fame
PistolPete23 said:
Serve speed is almost all technique. Taylor Fritz' racquet is 299 g unstrung but he's one of the biggest servers on tour.
Click to expand...

Yes and no. Static weight is a poor measure of how much power a racquet has. Fritz's frame would have all the weight in the head, so the swingweight would be quite high.
 
jmacdaununder2

jmacdaununder2

Legend
am1899 said:
LOL. Doesn’t matter what racquet is in his hand. With his abysmal technique, he has zero hope of hitting 125.

I thought I heard during one of his matches that a former pro (perhaps Roddick?) had suggested he could fix his serve in a matter of hours. Perhaps Brooksby should reach out and take him up on it.

Another commentator suggested improvements had already been made to Brooksby’s serve. It’s a mystery to me what improvements these are and by whom they were made. Maybe Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder? Seriously, improved or not, this is still one of the worst serve motions at the male pro level I’ve ever seen.
Click to expand...
Possibly still second to de Minaur, although Brooksby has a huge height advantage. On that note, I saw Max Gawn - elite AFL ruckman, 6’10” - having a very social hit a few months ago, and his serve was very average, even for a non tennis player. (Just another feather in the ‘it’s not the length, it’s what you do with it’ cap. 8-B
 
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