Can you make your racquet play stiffer?

[new2tennis]

I have two racquest, which you can see in my signature. The Prestige is much stiffer than the hornet, which I like. I was wondering if I could make the racquet play stiffer by adding weight anywhere. I know i can make it feel stiffer by stringing at a higher tension, but then i loose the "cupping" of the ball.

 

[DRtenniS1112]

The FXP Prestige Tour has a stiffness rating of 57 and the MP version of the Hybrid Hornet is 70. You said the Prestige was stiffer but it is actually far more flexible so I am not sure what to recommend here.

 

[new2tennis]

could it feel stiffer due to the denser string patter?

 

[Rafa's best friend]

You will have to smelt it in a boiling molten steel that storm holloway is so fond of and add some more titanium or nickel kadmium composite to the frame........................

 

[new2tennis]

You will have to smelt it in a boiling molten steel that storm holloway is so fond of and add some more titanium or nickel kadmium composite to the frame........................

i would, however im at school and i left my racquet melting pot back at home 14 hours away

 

[Rafa's best friend]

i would, however im at school and i left my racquet melting pot back at home 14 hours away

So you spend 28 hours a day in a school bus driving back and forth from school to home >????????

 

[fuzz nation]

Wow. Stiffness ratings really don't tell you much about the feel of one racquet against another, do they? Frames with the same ratings can actually have throats and hoops that don't flex the same and I can't think of much you could do besides trying different types and tensions of string set-ups for a firmer or softer feel.

 

[snoflewis]

Wow. Stiffness ratings really don't tell you much about the feel of one racquet against another, do they? Frames with the same ratings can actually have throats and hoops that don't flex the same and I can't think of much you could do besides trying different types and tensions of string set-ups for a firmer or softer feel.

true...but when comparing a racket w/ a flex of 60 and 70...you definitley can feel the difference in stiffness.

a racket w/ a low rating can feel quite stiff and the other way around. but for me, i usually dont go w/ rackets w/ flexes higher than 64 (hence the redondo)

 

[Midlife crisis]

I have two racquest, which you can see in my signature. The Prestige is much stiffer than the hornet, which I like. I was wondering if I could make the racquet play stiffer by adding weight anywhere. I know i can make it feel stiffer by stringing at a higher tension, but then i loose the "cupping" of the ball.

You can make the racquet play stiffer by increasing its effective dynamic stiffness. To do this, all you have to do is increase the head-heaviness of the racquet, either by adding weight to upper 60% of the hoop (most effective) or by removing weight very low in the racquet handle (less effective unless you have a lot of weight there you can remove). Doing both of these also decreases the recoil weight of the racquet and will give you a bit more shock on impact, another characteristic of a stiff racquet.

 

[new2tennis]

You can make the racquet play stiffer by increasing its effective dynamic stiffness. To do this, all you have to do is increase the head-heaviness of the racquet, either by adding weight to upper 60% of the hoop (most effective) or by removing weight very low in the racquet handle (less effective unless you have a lot of weight there you can remove). Doing both of these also decreases the recoil weight of the racquet and will give you a bit more shock on impact, another characteristic of a stiff racquet.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Rabbit]

A racket will also feel stiffer if you use a stiffer string at a higher tension.

 

[python]

Hmm, is that just a matter of feel though, or is there actually a material change in ball speed?

 

[NoBadMojo]

I dont think you can make a racquet play stiffer...you can, however, make the stringbed part of the system play stiffer which would give you overall stiffer feedback. In fact, if you make the stringbed stiffer by using a stiffer string/stringing tighter, you may actually make the frame part feel softer relative to the strings. If your racquet is too flexy for your liking, i suggest you buy a stiffer frame