Do you look at the overall scores in TW reviews before you buy a frame ?

[Crocodile]

I was talking to one guy the other day and he commented that if a racquet reviewed by TW scored less than say 81 overall he wouldn’t consider buying it and if the comfort score also dropped under 80 he wouldn’t buy.
And I must say that while the testers scores are personal perceptions of what they think, and the comments are important, many would conclude that if one racquet scored 91 overall with comfort also at 90 then it’s probably a more liked and better playing racquet then one that scored in the 70’s.
Alternatively if you bought a frame that scored say 79 overall with comfort at 77, and you did some customisation, how much better could it move up the scale. The Diablo MP has an overall of 81 but the comfort is 77 which is not great when some of the Phantoms scored 92 for comfort and maybe comfort is a high priority for you. With the right customisation and stringing could you turn the comfort rating of the Diablo
from 77 to say 85 or is the nature of this frame such that you will feel everything through your arm because it’s super thin with not much dampening ?
Thoughts ?

 

[dr. godmode]

I remember a piece from Sean (old tester) who said there was a big learning curve when it came to scoring racquets. The more racquets he tried, the more accurate he felt he could score frames. The idea that scores, or any kind, could truly stand in for any kind of objective measure is simply outrageous. Add in the fact that TW does not have the same playtesters for every review and there’s even more room for interpretation.

This is one of the reasons I’ve stopped scoring frames, instead I try to rank them because it reinforces the idea that racquets testing is highly subjective and relational. The amazing comfort of the Clash means nothing if you can’t compare it to the Aero.

TL;DR: scores are a fun tool that should be taken as a soft guideline at most

 

[AmericanTwist]

Numeric scores should be used as a guideline only. We all see that there not just one frame that everybody raves about. Plus, like godmode said the variation in play testers really increases the random error factor. I think one needs to hit the full range of stiffness in frames then as one's game changes, perceptions of "optimal frames" will change. Ditto with the head size. Furthermore, string selection and tension are critical. So many variables. I would say look at the stiffness rating first then go from there. That's the number one thing I look at to start.

 

[aaron_h27]

I actually did when buying the DR 98...I didn't know anything about rackets back in 2017 so I just went off reviews.

 

[Soundbyte]

I listened to the reviews when Andy Gerst was there. I'll appreciate Chris's comments with regards to classic feeling frames.

Otherwise no. I care not.

 

[CosmosMpower]

Nope

 

[socallefty]

When my previous racquet is discontinued, I just look at specs and buy the racquet from my preferred brand Babolat that fits the spec range I look for. Then I tweak my stringjob till it plays exactly as I like and switch to the new model.

I just buy from one brand not because they make better racquets, but because I can play with any racquet that is in my spec range and I don’t need to go buying racquets from multiple brands to find a racquet I like. I keep my racquet buying process really simple as it is a very low-tech simple product without much differentiation - whatever differentiation there is can be fixed by tweaking my string job - string, gauge, tension.

I used to demo a lot of racquets in the past and realized that I was completely at the mercy of the stringjob on the demo - the same racquet played totally different if I demo’d it twice with different strings or even the same string as they were rarely at the same tension. Since I don’t do my own stringing, I don’t have the luxury of changing strings on demo racquets - I would rather just buy a racquet and tweak stringjobs at my leisure. Once I realized what my preferred spec range is and understood how to tweak string jobs to get the performance I want, I‘ve found that I am not picky about racquet models at all. A racquet is a stringed instrument and one stringjob reveals only a sliver of a wide performance range in terms of power, control, spin, comfort and feel. The specs I look for are related to head size (97/98), length (27), beam size (<21), weight (around 12 oz strung) and SW (around 330-340).

Once I played 3 or 4 games with a tennis pointer (https://www.functionaltennis.com/products/tennis-pointer) against my coach (without serves/returns) and played fairly well - that is when I realized that it is best not to over-think racquet choices.

 

[Guttersnipe]

When buying a new frame I look at Every bit of information out there lol. How do you think I came to frequent this forum.

Only thing you can really do have trust & faith in with a reviewer who has a similar taste, game or proved time and time again to be on the same page as you

At TW, I only really listen to Troy, Chris & Andy (when he pops back in).