Carlos Alcaraz with pure aero VS in 2021

innoVAShaun

Legend
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ALC is currently smacking the felt off the ball and cleaning the lines against Monfils.

The racquet mystery is still not totally solved for me, but the setup is working for him, that's for sure.
 

mrravioli

Semi-Pro
Carlos is wreaking havoc with a begginers team racket and TTWs nerds have no answers on why is that possible.

I think Kyrgios said something like he attempted to tweak racquet to add power but eventually though fxxx it I'll just swing harder for more power
 
Carlos is wreaking havoc with a begginers team racket and TTWs nerds have no answers on why is that possible.
Carlos' 'endorsed' racquet is listed as 305g static, 98" headsize and 16/20 string pattern. Please explain how this is a 'beginners' racquet when it weighs more, has a smaller headsize and has a slightly denser string pattern than i) the model Nadal endorses; ii) the pre-modified specifications of the older model Nadal still uses.
P.S. Sorry if this comes across as trolling but you literally can't even spell 'beginner'.
 

Curtennis

Hall of Fame
Carlos' 'endorsed' racquet is listed as 305g static, 98" headsize and 16/20 string pattern. Please explain how this is a 'beginners' racquet when it weighs more, has a smaller headsize and has a slightly denser string pattern than i) the model Nadal endorses; ii) the pre-modified specifications of the older model Nadal still uses.
P.S. Sorry if this comes across as trolling but you literally can't even spell 'beginner'.
Not sure what you’re upset about.
A stock aero vs without any added weight or reduced stiffness in the layup would be considered to many here as some sort of tweener or beginners racquet. Compared to 95% of the rest of the top 50 his racquet is a clear outlier. His specs seem to go against the common idea on these boards that this racquet is not for serious playing.
 

pow

Hall of Fame
Not sure what you’re upset about.
A stock aero vs without any added weight or reduced stiffness in the layup would be considered to many here as some sort of tweener or beginners racquet. Compared to 95% of the rest of the top 50 his racquet is a clear outlier. His specs seem to go against the common idea on these boards that this racquet is not for serious playing.
I'm not following on the beginner's racquet either. If we consider powerful, open pattern, 98+ head, semi-stiff racquets as beginner's racquet wouldn't we consider the following players using beginner's racquets as well:

Nadal's APD, Berretini's Extreme, Casper Ruud's extended EZ 100, Cam Norrie Pure Strike, Shapo EZone 98, Isner's extended Beast 100, Lloyd Harris EZ 98, Thiem's Pure Strike, Kygrio's and Bublik's EZ 98, Fabio's PD, Paire's extended APD, Fucsovics' EZ 98, Rune and Felix using Pure Aero VS as well... The list goes on.

Heck, even Fed and Dan Evan's Pro Staff are 1 sq in away.

I feel like beginner's racquet may be a misnomer for these sticks in today's power spin game. Otherwise, the only "advanced" sticks in the top 50 are only the Blades, Radicals, Speeds, Gravitys, and Vcore Pros.
 

Curtennis

Hall of Fame
I'm not following on the beginner's racquet either. If we consider powerful, open pattern, 98+ head, semi-stiff racquets as beginner's racquet wouldn't we consider the following players using beginner's racquets as well:

Nadal's APD, Berretini's Extreme, Casper Ruud's extended EZ 100, Cam Norrie Pure Strike, Shapo EZone 98, Isner's extended Beast 100, Lloyd Harris EZ 98, Thiem's Pure Strike, Kygrio's and Bublik's EZ 98, Fabio's PD, Paire's extended APD, Fucsovics' EZ 98, Rune and Felix using Pure Aero VS as well... The list goes on.

Heck, even Fed and Dan Evan's Pro Staff are 1 sq in away.

I feel like beginner's racquet may be a misnomer for these sticks in today's power spin game. Otherwise, the only "advanced" sticks in the top 50 are only the Blades, Radicals, Speeds, Gravitys, and Vcore Pros.
I’ve only been on this forum a couple years and I’ve read the countless amount of posts about how any serious player needs at least a 330 swing weight. Alcaraz at a SW of 315 strung Clearly goes against the consensus of this forum. If you haven’t noticed these posts as well, then I’m surprised.
 
That´s because there are too many charlatans on here who think they know-it-all who then throw the toys out of the pram when it´s pointed out that they don´t.
They should focus more on actually playing tennis than pontificating about swing-weights, launch angles, spin-rates and grommit(sic)-positionings.
 

McEncock

Professional
I’ve only been on this forum a couple years and I’ve read the countless amount of posts about how any serious player needs at least a 330 swing weight. Alcaraz at a SW of 315 strung Clearly goes against the consensus of this forum. If you haven’t noticed these posts as well, then I’m surprised.
The reasons why racquet nerds, including myself, are more encline to believe 315 sw is unstrung, are those :
- Swingweight is most of the time, measured unstrung
- Modern history of men and women's tennis have shown that the average unstrung swingweight is around 320.
- Pros don't like to reveal their personal spec, so sometimes they deliberalty spread wrong numbers.
- Carlito has, imo, a style that would benefit from a higher swingweight than this mickeymouse 315 strung.
- 315 sw strung is lighter than retail, so impossible to reach if it's a retail racquet as you claim.

PS : Many times, when we hoped a pro player was actually using an off the shelf racquet, we then learnt that it was a custom lay-up, a custom mold, a custom drill, etc... So much lies from the companies that we now are more vigilant!
 
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McEncock

Professional
That´s because there are too many charlatans on here who think they know-it-all who then throw the toys out of the pram when it´s pointed out that they don´t.
They should focus more on actually playing tennis than pontificating about swing-weights, launch angles, spin-rates and grommit(sic)-positionings.
Like all stupid and arrogant people, you despise something when you don't understand it.
 

Hansen

Professional
i personally don‘t care with what he plays, neither i recommend super high swingweights, but if these numbers are correct i would be suprised if these stay the same the next couple of years. i mean he has great technique and is strong. so what would he loose if he would go up at least 10- 15 points, nothing. what would he gain ? comfort, stability, power. i doubt that returning 200 kmh serves with such a swingweight is a lot of fun.
 

McEncock

Professional
I think Alcaraz is lying his face off.
I mean, the sheer audacity of not being so manly as to swing with such a ´Mickey Mouse swingweight´
:rolleyes:
That's the point! There is no correlation between SW and muscle mass! There is no virile SW ; Gilles Simon uses a high SW racquet ; so does Sharapova (361 strung).
Kyrgios said that he REMOVED his lead after he hit the gym...
I get it! You think that high SW = mannish.
 

mikele

Rookie
For me the main point here is that retail SW is 321 and yet we keep saying his racquet is 315 and it is a non pro-stock, retail. Can anyone explain this?
 

McEncock

Professional
Well, that actually could be. Prostock racquet come without commercial weight, so I guess you could have and an extreme low swingweight stick.
 
That's the point! There is no correlation between SW and muscle mass! There is no virile SW ; Gilles Simon uses a high SW racquet ; so does Sharapova (361 strung).
Kyrgios said that he REMOVED his lead after he hit the gym...
I get it! You think that high SW = mannish.
Who's more of a Man?
Nick Kyrgios or Marat Safin ...
 

bogdan101

Semi-Pro
The reasons why racquet nerds, including myself, are more encline to believe 315 sw is unstrung, are those :
- Swingweight is most of the time, measured unstrung
- Modern history of men and women's tennis have shown that the average unstrung swingweight is around 320.
- Pros don't like to reveal their personal spec, so sometimes they deliberalty spread wrong numbers.
- Carlito has, imo, a style that would benefit from a higher swingweight than this mickeymouse 315 strung.
- 315 sw strung is lighter than retail, so impossible to reach if it's a retail racquet as you claim.

Another reason those specs cannot be strung:

- a strung racquet with a balance point around 32.5 cm will have a sw numerically close to the mass in grams. So a strung racquet weighing 330g with a balance point of 32.4 cm will have a sw in the neighbourhood of 330; 315 is practically impossible.
 
Another reason those specs cannot be strung:

- a strung racquet with a balance point around 32.5 cm will have a sw numerically close to the mass in grams. So a strung racquet weighing 330g with a balance point of 32.4 cm will have a sw in the neighbourhood of 330; 315 is practically impossible.
Lolololol get a life, ffs
 

Zoid

Hall of Fame
Another reason those specs cannot be strung:

- a strung racquet with a balance point around 32.5 cm will have a sw numerically close to the mass in grams. So a strung racquet weighing 330g with a balance point of 32.4 cm will have a sw in the neighbourhood of 330; 315 is practically impossible.

Yeah those numbers aren't adding up for me. Has to be unstrung SW.
 

HeavyHitter

Rookie
So I replicated his setup last night on my Aero VS I'm currently testing. Good amount of lead at 12 and small amount in the handle. 330g/32.4cm with 1.25 RPM Blast. Used the Swingtool app to measure the swingweight, did 3 tests and they all came out at around 330~. I know the Swingtool isn't 100% accurate but usually its not too far off. So cyanide43 originally posted the specs, supposedly from USopen 2021, not Tennisnerd. Not sure how credible he is with the data.
 

Lukhas

Legend
Another reason those specs cannot be strung:

- a strung racquet with a balance point around 32.5 cm will have a sw numerically close to the mass in grams. So a strung racquet weighing 330g with a balance point of 32.4 cm will have a sw in the neighbourhood of 330; 315 is practically impossible.
That's a neat bit of racket trivia I wasn't aware of. Is it a rule of thumb or there's some article I can read about that?
 

bogdan101

Semi-Pro
That's a neat bit of racket trivia I wasn't aware of. Is it a rule of thumb or there's some article I can read about that?
It's something I noticed; there can be variations depending how polarized the racquet is, but it holds pretty well. Just look at some racquet specs on TW.
 

moon shot

Hall of Fame
Roght.
Because it's the racquet that wins you Majors, right? :rolleyes:
I know right? Off the top of my head Wilson is doing very well in the slam count but Dunlop may still have the lead from the wood days. Head is next in the graphite era and Babolat comes up third.

Oh, and clothes do make the man, nike must have a hearty lead there.
 

glenWs

Semi-Pro
I read this thread thinking I might find out CA’s racket specs and most of what I got was the Aero VS has no feel, no control, it’s too light, no chance Alcaraz use a stock frame. It’s a tweener frame for juniors, too light for serious tennis, etc. So much Babolat trolling. When you get your butt kicked by a guy using an old beat up Pure Drive, or a Pro Staff with the hoop guard practically worn off the frame, or an off the shelf Aero you begin to realize that the racket has far less to do with wins and losses than the person swinging it.
 

mikele

Rookie
I read this thread thinking I might find out CA’s racket specs and most of what I got was the Aero VS has no feel, no control, it’s too light, no chance Alcaraz use a stock frame. It’s a tweener frame for juniors, too light for serious tennis, etc. So much Babolat trolling. When you get your butt kicked by a guy using an old beat up Pure Drive, or a Pro Staff with the hoop guard practically worn off the frame, or an off the shelf Aero you begin to realize that the racket has far less to do with wins and losses than the person swinging it.
It is sad, isn´t it? I can tell you my opinion on the racquet. I used to play competitively years ago, counter puncher baseliner, rarely go to the net. I have 2 , bought them in the pack that Babolat sells matched, with Babolat RPM blast 1.25 at 21kg, I added 1 gram of lead 0,25 at 10, 0,5 at 12, and 0,25 at 2, I did it in order to reduce the small vibration I was getting when hitting with the tip of the racquet, and to get a bit more power changing the balance to more HH, but as I said, just a little, and IMHO it helped, especially with the vibration part. If I would have to review it would be like this:

1- Power- 6/10 - I like the power , not too much, but you have to work on your strokes, it is not free power, and if you hit outside the sweetspot, the ball falls short, I attribute this to my technique more than the racquet.
2- Control- 7/10 - Do not expect Control level frames, small head, tight patterns, but it is much more controllable than the Pure Aero, more in line with the aero pro drive original, in terms of felling , and more control, but not ultra control.
3- Feel and flex- 5/10 - It is not a plush feeling racquet, and it has vibrations, especially outside the sweet spot, which in this frame it is tiny. It is a small sweet spot, although nice when you find it, which in my experience, not many times, again due to my technique, not the frame. It is not flexi, true, better than the aeropro drive, but if you string it high and your technique is not the best,you might get TE, I did get it, strung it with RPM blast Rough at 25kg. Again, this can be due to my technique more than the frame itself.

Overall I like this racquet, it is better than the aeropro drive ( i had the original and the V2) , but it is not an easy frame, I still keep them in the bag and play from time to time but as I am aging I bought the Ezone 100, the 2020, version to get a bit softer feeling( not much ) bigger sweetspot and better free power , sacrificing a bit of control, which I did, and I am happy about.

Hope it helps!
 

Mischko

Professional
to me those specs seem like strung with 1.25 with overgrip. you can't get there otherwise, but I might be wrong of course.

my 3 frames are approx at that spec too, stock 285sw 304g 31.4cm, if you string them with 1.25 rpm blast and put an overgrip you get around 315sw 328g 32.3cm

on the placard (paper/carton that comes with a new racquet) it says 290sw as spec, but you can't match many racquets if they aren't slightly below spec. 315sw unstrung would mean that there is 7-8g of lead under the bumper - a lot - which would then drive the balance point higher than 32.4cm if the total weight is 330g
 

HeavyHitter

Rookie
to me those specs seem like strung with 1.25 with overgrip. you can't get there otherwise, but I might be wrong of course.

my 3 frames are approx at that spec too, stock 285sw 304g 31.4cm, if you string them with 1.25 rpm blast and put an overgrip you get around 315sw 328g 32.3cm

on the placard (paper/carton that comes with a new racquet) it says 290sw as spec, but you can't match many racquets if they aren't slightly below spec. 315sw unstrung would mean that there is 7-8g of lead under the bumper - a lot - which would then drive the balance point higher than 32.4cm if the total weight is 330g
Look at my previous post on this thread. I already replicated his specs with my Aero VS.
Needed plenty of lead at 12 and a small amount in the handle. I measured the swingweight with the swingtool app and it came out to 330~
I've compared the swingtool with a real dunlop swingweight machine and its not accurate as the real machine but its not too far off.
The weight and the balance seems realistic but the swingweight doesn't make sense.
 
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