Head light vs head heavy. How would the racquet play differently?

[MasterZeb]

Same racquet. Assume they have the same swingweight. Just different static weight and therefore balance.
So one more head heavy and other head light. How would they play? Both have the same swingweight so I assume they will be similar to swing, with the head light one being slightly more harder due to the higher static weight? What else?

 

[golden chicken]

Swingweight is only a measure of how much effort it takes to rotate the racket around a point 10cm up the handle. It is felt mostly during pronation on serves and on groundstrokes if you use a windshield wiper.

If you have one 10 oz head heavy racket with a 330 swingweight, and a racket that is 13 oz head light and also has a 330 swingweight, they will feel totally different.

 

[landcookie]

You will feel the difference in shorter strokes ie volleys, bunts, etc, as the centre of gravity is closer to the power source (you).

Longer swings you won't feel the difference, although I would say a head heavy racquet feels more stable at impact.

 

[Dragy]

Counterbalanced racquet would be coming around (rotating) faster. It’s what you see in high level techniques for topspin groundstrokes, serves - once racquet face pivots into contact.
But overall heavier racquet would require more power/time/room to set it in the move. So it may be harder to use for players with later prep, shallow unit turn, armed strokes - or sometimes just pushed too hard by strong opponent.

But actually within reasonable range (like put 10g into the handle or keep it as is) it comes mostly down to what is familiar and comfortable for particular player. How his timing is tuned. Or maybe how he struggles a bit with excessive mass (getting tired after an hour or two, shoulder sore), or can’t find the timing with less HL frame... so kind of need reason to make change rather than seeking ultimate best.

 

[socallefty]

I have an ideal static weight range I like which is about 11.8 to 12.3 ozs strung - anything that weighs less than that feels unstable to me when I play against my usual opponents, particularly at the net. I feel that that lighter racquets twist on contact and I mistime balls - also, I have less power due to the lower mass.

I also have an ideal swingweight range (about 325-335) and anything that is above that starts feeling more unwieldy to swing meaning that my racquet-head speed (RHS) goes down - this will affect my timing on groundstrokes and also make it hard for me to serve/smash well as good RHS is vital for serving/overheads. If my RHS is lower than my ideal swing, my power goes down too.

Force = mass x acceleration. So, if the mass (correlates to static weight) is lower or if the acceleration (correlates to RHS) is lower, the force of my shot/serve (correlates to power) is lower and my shot speed will be less. I also need an optimal RHS to swing freely and generate my usual amount of top-spin. So, if a racquet has too much SW and I cannot generate my usual RHS, my spin will be less and my depth control might suffer as shots that usually stay in will go out - I might have to swing slower to have less pace to keep the ball in the court. On the other hand, if the SW is below my ideal range, I might find myself swinging so fast that I hit the ball with too much power out of the court also - again, I might have to slow my swing to keep the ball in or I might have to change my swing to have a more vertical trajectory to generate more topspin to keep shots inside the court.

So, every player will likely have an ideal static weight and ideal SW range that they like depending on their swing, strength, pace/spin of opponent's shots etc. This is because their swing and technique was probably based on a certain type of racquet that they started playing tennis with or played most of their tennis with. If they are given a very different racquet, they will have to adjust their swing/technique to adjust and this is not easy to do. A player with a Sock/Tiafoe/Kyrgios kind of FH swing likely will like lower SW racquets than a player with a FH swing like Djokovic/Nadal. Also, players who come to net a lot generally like racquets that are more head-light (>5-6 points) while some pure baseliners might like head-heavy or evenly-balanced racquets.

I mostly learned tennis playing with a Dunlop Max200G which is a thin-beam, heavy, flexible racquet and my tastes have not changed much - only the head-size of my current racquets are larger (98) and the ideal stiffness I like is mid-sixties instead of the <60RA of the Max200G.

 

[MasterZeb]

Ah I see. I’m asking cause I’ve leaded up my pro staff 95 which was very head light, and all the weight I’ve added has been in the head. It was 329g with a 308 swing weight but I’ve worked out now it’s about 351g with a 365 SW. it’s in a good range but I think I might need to take some off as I’ve noticed my RHS has decreased. So I’m wondering if perhaps I could put the lead I take off into the handle or maybe throat and how that would affect how it play. It wouldn’t make it easier to swing would it? I’m thinking it will make it less stable, but more whippy?

 

[Dragy]

365 SW is lots of... I’d tune it down to 340+ and add it (around 8-9g) on top of the handle (depolarizing effort). Should feel much faster and still pack great plow.

 

[MasterZeb]

365 SW is lots of... I’d tune it down to 340+ and add it (around 8-9g) on top of the handle (depolarizing effort). Should feel much faster and still pack great plow.

Yeah was thinking that. Would you say I should add it through the Handle, or wrap it around the very top perhaps? Would it make any noticeable difference?

 

[Dragy]

Yeah was thinking that. Would you say I should add it through the Handle, or wrap it around the very top perhaps? Would it make any noticeable difference?

No difference, wrapping some lead tape on top of handle and then covering it with overgrip comes out neat to my liking.

 

[fuzz nation]

Yeah was thinking that. Would you say I should add it through the Handle, or wrap it around the very top perhaps? Would it make any noticeable difference?

When I've gone through some home tunings with my own gear, I'll usually put 1/2" lead tape on my handles and cover that with an overgrip. I want the extra weight to be as far down my handle as I can place it so that it can most effectively bring the racquet's balance toward a more HL layout.

I like to have a little bit of a flare at the butt cap so that the handle doesn't feel like it can easily slip through my fingers when gripping with only moderate pressure. So my first application with the lead tape is usually two layers around the butt cap - about 1/4" up from the bottom edge so that it's easy enough to cover with my overgrip.

If I need more handle weight after that, I'll put a strip of lead tape - maybe 4"-6" - on both of the bevels that are parallel with the edge of the frame, not the string bed. I call this handle-leading a "stirrup". Because this extra weight is effectively in my hand when I hold the racquet and not out on the hoop, it generally doesn't make the frame feel any more cumbersome for me. I've actually made a couple of my racquets easier to handle and swing around after leading only their handles. These include the pair of Volkl C10's I have in my bag - leaded handles give them a balance up at around 11 pts. HL and they weigh in at 12.5 oz. This gives me a great fit for my all-court game.

Sounds like you added a LOT of lead to your hoop. I'd recommend starting over and adding only a few grams total up there at a time - I like placing it at 3/9 o'clock to get the most stability (twist weight I guess). I'll bet that when you arrive at that spot where you have just enough of the stability that you want, you'll be able to feel it. But once you get there, you obviously don't want much extra beef or the racquet might be working against you.

A racquet with a bit more HL balance than another will naturally pivot around your hand a little more quickly - because its center of gravity is closer to your gripping hand. This can make a heavier frame much easier to maneuver up around the net, but it will also affect your strokes and serves. The less HL racquet will want to pivot or "release" through a longer arc when we swing it and this can be most noticeable with your serve. A less HL racquet will force you to toss a little further out ahead of you so that the racquet has more room to turn over. Strokes with a less HL racquet than your personal normal will likely feel a little better with a contact point that's a little further out ahead of you, too.

I'm convinced that racquet balance is maybe the most underappreciated racquet spec out there. Any frame can feel way more familiar for me when its balance is right. Even though a middleweight racquet might be easier to lift and accelerate, it won't move right for me if its balance is significantly different from my regular players. Also keep in mind that as racquets get heavier overall, they generally also need to be progressively more HL so that they don't get to be too sluggish. A 10.4 oz. frame can be manageable with a close to even balance (or even slightly head-heavy balance), but when they get up around 12 oz. or more, they generally require at least 7-8 pts. HL balance to not feel like we're swinging them under water.

Be patient with your experiments. Tuning with lead tape can be a great way to tailor a racquet to suit you better, but it seems to require small steps and at least a little bit of trial and error. I've been frustrated with a couple racquets that just wouldn't cheer up for me after some rounds of tuning and trying different string layouts. But I've also saved more than a couple from the classifieds when I tweaked them and coaxed out some big improvements in feel and performance.

 

[MasterZeb]

When I've gone through some home tunings with my own gear, I'll usually put 1/2" lead tape on my handles and cover that with an overgrip. I want the extra weight to be as far down my handle as I can place it so that it can most effectively bring the racquet's balance toward a more HL layout.

I like to have a little bit of a flare at the butt cap so that the handle doesn't feel like it can easily slip through my fingers when gripping with only moderate pressure. So my first application with the lead tape is usually two layers around the butt cap - about 1/4" up from the bottom edge so that it's easy enough to cover with my overgrip.

If I need more handle weight after that, I'll put a strip of lead tape - maybe 4"-6" - on both of the bevels that are parallel with the edge of the frame, not the string bed. I call this handle-leading a "stirrup". Because this extra weight is effectively in my hand when I hold the racquet and not out on the hoop, it generally doesn't make the frame feel any more cumbersome for me. I've actually made a couple of my racquets easier to handle and swing around after leading only their handles. These include the pair of Volkl C10's I have in my bag - leaded handles give them a balance up at around 11 pts. HL and they weigh in at 12.5 oz. This gives me a great fit for my all-court game.

Sounds like you added a LOT of lead to your hoop. I'd recommend starting over and adding only a few grams total up there at a time - I like placing it at 3/9 o'clock to get the most stability (twist weight I guess). I'll bet that when you arrive at that spot where you have just enough of the stability that you want, you'll be able to feel it. But once you get there, you obviously don't want much extra beef or the racquet might be working against you.

A racquet with a bit more HL balance than another will naturally pivot around your hand a little more quickly - because its center of gravity is closer to your gripping hand. This can make a heavier frame much easier to maneuver up around the net, but it will also affect your strokes and serves. The less HL racquet will want to pivot or "release" through a longer arc when we swing it and this can be most noticeable with your serve. A less HL racquet will force you to toss a little further out ahead of you so that the racquet has more room to turn over. Strokes with a less HL racquet than your personal normal will likely feel a little better with a contact point that's a little further out ahead of you, too.

I'm convinced that racquet balance is maybe the most underappreciated racquet spec out there. Any frame can feel way more familiar for me when its balance is right. Even though a middleweight racquet might be easier to lift and accelerate, it won't move right for me if its balance is significantly different from my regular players. Also keep in mind that as racquets get heavier overall, they generally also need to be progressively more HL so that they don't get to be too sluggish. A 10.4 oz. frame can be manageable with a close to even balance (or even slightly head-heavy balance), but when they get up around 12 oz. or more, they generally require at least 7-8 pts. HL balance to not feel like we're swinging them under water.

Be patient with your experiments. Tuning with lead tape can be a great way to tailor a racquet to suit you better, but it seems to require small steps and at least a little bit of trial and error. I've been frustrated with a couple racquets that just wouldn't cheer up for me after some rounds of tuning and trying different string layouts. But I've also saved more than a couple from the classifieds when I tweaked them and coaxed out some big improvements in feel and performance.

It’s so tough because there’s so many variations you could do. I’ve added lead all the way from 9 to 3 actually. Not all in one go but progressively, starting at the 12 spot. I think in hindsight the sweets pot may have been for about 10-2. So I’ll try that the next time I go out and see how it fares.

It’s annoying as I only have once racquet atm so it’s tough the compare, but should have one more by the middle of next week so should be a lot easier. Perhaps weight one to be more head light and see how I like that. The racquet initially was very headlight with a 329 static weight and 308 SW, and what I found was that it had great control, but just lacked power and stability, and so I just carried on adding weight to the head until I found a weight where I felt I could manage it. But now I think I’ve gone overboard and sacrificed some spin.

 

[MasterZeb]

No difference, wrapping some lead tape on top of handle and then covering it with overgrip comes out neat to my liking.

I think at wrapping around may be what i try too. I feel like perhaps applying it through the handle would work if I’m adding a lot, and also I may be able to feel it through the grip.

 

[HitMoreBHs]

I have an ideal static weight range I like which is about 11.8 to 12.3 ozs strung - anything that weighs less than that feels unstable to me when I play against my usual opponents, particularly at the net. I feel that that lighter racquets twist on contact and I mistime balls - also, I have less power due to the lower mass.

I also have an ideal swingweight range (about 325-335) and anything that is above that starts feeling more unwieldy to swing meaning that my racquet-head speed (RHS) goes down - this will affect my timing on groundstrokes and also make it hard for me to serve/smash well as good RHS is vital for serving/overheads. If my RHS is lower than my ideal swing, my power goes down too.

Force = mass x acceleration. So, if the mass (correlates to static weight) is lower or if the acceleration (correlates to RHS) is lower, the force of my shot/serve (correlates to power) is lower and my shot speed will be less. I also need an optimal RHS to swing freely and generate my usual amount of top-spin. So, if a racquet has too much SW and I cannot generate my usual RHS, my spin will be less and my depth control might suffer as shots that usually stay in will go out - I might have to swing slower to have less pace to keep the ball in the court. On the other hand, if the SW is below my ideal range, I might find myself swinging so fast that I hit the ball with too much power out of the court also - again, I might have to slow my swing to keep the ball in or I might have to change my swing to have a more vertical trajectory to generate more topspin to keep shots inside the court.

So, every player will likely have an ideal static weight and ideal SW range that they like depending on their swing, strength, pace/spin of opponent's shots etc. This is because their swing and technique was probably based on a certain type of racquet that they started playing tennis with or played most of their tennis with. If they are given a very different racquet, they will have to adjust their swing/technique to adjust and this is not easy to do. A player with a Sock/Tiafoe/Kyrgios kind of FH swing likely will like lower SW racquets than a player with a FH swing like Djokovic/Nadal. Also, players who come to net a lot generally like racquets that are more head-light (>5-6 points) while some pure baseliners might like head-heavy or evenly-balanced racquets.

I mostly learned tennis playing with a Dunlop Max200G which is a thin-beam, heavy, flexible racquet and my tastes have not changed much - only the head-size of my current racquets are larger (98) and the ideal stiffness I like is mid-sixties instead of the <60RA of the Max200G.

Excellent points made. It's true that most players will have a comfortable range that they can play within, so there is really no need to obsess over the chase to find the "perfect spec for me". What matters more is that the racquets are sufficiently similar so that it reduces the need to make adjustments when switching between racquets during a match.

I also agree that preferences tend to get ingrained over years of play. Despite my intention of moving to a new, lighter racquet (Gravity Tour) when I hit my fifth decade, I seem to find myself weighting up the new stick increasingly and it's now approaching the specs of the one I've largely used for more than 20 years (Prestige Tour). Old habits die hard!