Galileo "Swinging fast trumps muscling when hitting hard"

[spaceman_spiff]

How about doing a James Blake and swinging a frying pan at 100mph :mrgreen:...

On topic: As always it's about moderation. A heavier racquet does require more of a set up, which can result in late shots, plus the faster swing of the lighter racquets aids in the generation of spin giving you more margin. But a heavier racquet gives slightly more free power on a slow swing, and is more stable outside the sweetspot. You need the racquet you can consistently hit nicely with.

However, when you do get a nice shot you want to be able to hit it as cleanly and powerfully as possible right?

A faster swing gives you more topspin and more margin for error if, and only if, you get the timing right. In practice, people who try to use very fast swings often get the timing wrong and miss the sweetspot (often framing the ball) or miss their target by quite a bit. Timing a fast swing is difficult, especially if you're on the move or dealing with heavy spin.

On the other hand, a moderate swing, although it only gives a moderate amount of topspin, is easier to time correctly and gives you more margin for error if you get the timing slightly wrong. That's because you have more time during the swing to make minor corrections with your wrist and the racquet spends more time in the hitting zone.

If you take a frame that has a large sweetspot and consistent string bed (due to a hefty swing weight) and combine that with smooth, moderate swings, then you'll get more consistent results than you would with a lighter setup and fast, whippy swings. You'll also get better results on shots where you can't use fast swings, like volleys, defensive shots, and blocked returns.

So, if you're hitting good rally balls, returns, and defensive shots more consistently, then you should set yourself up with more chances to go for aggressive shots like approaches and winners. And when you get those chances, you should have enough time to prepare early and swing as fast as you need to in order to get the power that you want.

 

[GoudX]

A faster swing gives you more topspin and more margin for error if, and only if, you get the timing right. In practice, people who try to use very fast swings often get the timing wrong and miss the sweetspot (often framing the ball) or miss their target by quite a bit. Timing a fast swing is difficult, especially if you're on the move or dealing with heavy spin.

On the other hand, a moderate swing, although it only gives a moderate amount of topspin, is easier to time correctly and gives you more margin for error if you get the timing slightly wrong. That's because you have more time during the swing to make minor corrections with your wrist and the racquet spends more time in the hitting zone.

If you take a frame that has a large sweetspot and consistent string bed (due to a hefty swing weight) and combine that with smooth, moderate swings, then you'll get more consistent results than you would with a lighter setup and fast, whippy swings. You'll also get better results on shots where you can't use fast swings, like volleys, defensive shots, and blocked returns.

So, if you're hitting good rally balls, returns, and defensive shots more consistently, then you should set yourself up with more chances to go for aggressive shots like approaches and winners. And when you get those chances, you should have enough time to prepare early and swing as fast as you need to in order to get the power that you want.

Of course we all know that guy who swings as fast as he can on every single shot - but that's not really the point as there is no racquet that can help control your arm if you swing at 100% effort on every shot!

My experience is that the people I've played with fast loose swings are the ones who can easily beat me - by placing the ball well with a good consistently high pace, dictating the rallies, and very rarely missing. They also tend to use lower mass racquets, like blades or babolats.

Players who swing slow on the other hand tend to either push, or be prone to overhitting. The exception being players who step right into the court to hit on the rise a lot, as they are essentially half volleying the ball back.

 

[spaceman_spiff]

Of course we all know that guy who swings as fast as he can on every single shot - but that's not really the point as there is no racquet that can help control your arm if you swing at 100% effort on every shot!

My experience is that the people I've played with fast loose swings are the ones who can easily beat me - by placing the ball well with a good consistently high pace, dictating the rallies, and very rarely missing. They also tend to use lower mass racquets, like blades or babolats.

Players who swing slow on the other hand tend to either push, or be prone to overhitting. The exception being players who step right into the court to hit on the rise a lot, as they are essentially half volleying the ball back.

But don't you see? If you go around telling people that swing speed is the key to everything, then you're going to end up with players who try to swing way too fast all of the time. And when they're not swinging too fast and making unforced errors, they'll be coughing up weak balls because they don't know how to generate pace and depth with smooth swings when they're forced to defend or hit on the run.

The best players that I've faced in singles have smooth swings that they can use to either use their opponent's pace and redirect the shot or generate their own pace with good placement. They can be aggressive when the time comes, but even then they're often in a position where a smooth swing will get the job done.

For example, the best player I faced this summer has an LTA rating of 4.2 and is just outside the top 10 in the country for over-35 men. You can hit as hard as you want, and he'll just redirect it with smooth strokes until you cough up an error or a weak ball.

 

[GoudX]

But don't you see? If you go around telling people that swing speed is the key to everything, then you're going to end up with players who try to swing way too fast all of the time. And when they're not swinging too fast and making unforced errors, they'll be coughing up weak balls because they don't know how to generate pace and depth with smooth swings when they're forced to defend or hit on the run.

The best players that I've faced in singles have smooth swings that they can use to either use their opponent's pace and redirect the shot or generate their own pace with good placement. They can be aggressive when the time comes, but even then they're often in a position where a smooth swing will get the job done.

For example, the best player I faced this summer has an LTA rating of 4.2 and is just outside the top 10 in the country for over-35 men. You can hit as hard as you want, and he'll just redirect it with smooth strokes until you cough up an error or a weak ball.

That's funny, that's the same rating as the person I was thinking of - although the one I'm thinking of is in college and beats you by hitting cleaner than you can at a higher pace dictating play, swinging fast without ever looking like he's trying to hit hard.

 

[tkoziol]

"Don't glue a iron skillet to my racket"

Check

Andy uses and iron skillet....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eolRfWXRZ60