Heavy topspin gamestyle : hesitation between two kind of raquet

[MrAchab]

Hello everyone!

I read the forum a bit too much to find information since i struggle with a raquet choice but I think i need to post a new thread, sorry about it. As a beginner I was told to get a 285g pure drive, then a 300g pure drive a few months later. Everything was fine until I wanted to move to something else when trying the Extreme MP from my coach. I've tried tons of raquet, from control stick to very powerful frame. I think i need a little bit of power since I can't hit flat with a lot of success.

I play almost everyday, I'm 36 years old, tall and athletic ; I play with heavy topspin from both side and it's my main weapon. My backhand is probably my strong side ; my ball is not that quick until it touch the ground, It's a bit round with a lot of rotation. Since tennis is my first real sport I think I lack some coordination with my footwork but I'm working on it. I guess it will always be a weak spot.

I'm torn between raquet like the Extreme tour (stock version) and raquet like the Extreme MP. Extreme MP is great on defense ; as my footwork is a weak spot I like the fact that it is a bit more forgiving and powerful when swinging short when I'm defensive. When I'm confident my ball can be really heavy with this stick. On the other hand in tournament I can lost my confidence, especially on my forehand and play too long wich is a vicious circle : I lose even more confidence in my shots and making more mistakes. That's why I'm playing the Extreme Tour : I know that I can swing a bit more without making too much mistake. I hit less winner, more short ball when I'm defensive but in match I think I make less mistake. At my level it's probably a good idea.

I guess that I'm far from being powerful like the pro and a lot of them like to play powerful stick like the Pure Aero. I don't know if I should stick with the MP, pushing with my legs even more and making more topsin to stop loosing my confidence in matches or if I should stick with an extreme tour that I might be not powerful enough to use correctly, giving short ball and framing a bit more.

Writing my toughts was already helpful but I would be happy to read some advices!

(I was also thinking about the Control Tour from Artengo in 16-19, it appears to be an Extreme Tour with a more open stringbed?)

 

[McLovin]

As you've stated, the main issue with higher powered racquets is it's a double-edged sword: When you're confident, you are hitting winners left & right, but when slightly off, you can spray some shots, which leads to lower confidence, which leads to more shots going awry.

What string/tension are you using? One thing to consider is maybe using the Extreme Tour, but dropping the tension a couple lbs/kg, or trying a slightly more powerful string. Or even trying a little lead at 3 & 9 to increase the Swingweight.

 

[MrAchab]

Yes, that's exactly the point ! I wonder if I can manage to work a bit more topsin and confidence with a powerful raquet that would also be better on defense or if sticking with a less powered raquet is a better option. For now I'm with the tour but with the incoming extreme auxetic I need to make a choice

Thank for your advice, I'll see with my stringer. On summer in the south of France it's quite hot so I string my Extreme Tour at 25kg (55lbs) and re-string every 10 hours to avoid losing too much control. I play with RPM rough 125 because it's a bit more lively that the Blast - not sure about it. I tend to play with RPM Blast on the Extreme MP with a bit more tension.

I've already tried some weight but I will try this again. I feel that I'm doing something wrong by altering a raquet and become paranoid when doing so, imputing mistakes in my game to changes in the raquet. It's hard to be objective when testing, the psychological side is always there

 

[McLovin]

I feel that I'm doing something wrong by altering a raquet and become paranoid when doing so, imputing mistakes in my game to changes in the raquet. It's hard to be objective when testing, the psychological side is always there

Yeah, I agree w/ the above. Unless you have two of the same frame, it's hard to mod a frame and tell if the modification really did anything, or if it's the 'ol placebo effect.

One important note is to do only 1 mod at a time. Don't drop the tension 5lbs AND add lead. Only do one at a time first, then maybe combine if you haven't found what you're looking for. Bottom line: Tinkering around w/ lead, different tensions, and different strings is usually cheaper than buying (and stockpiling) many frames (although admittedly the latter is WAAAYYYY more fun...).

 

[Rentege]

If you’re open to a new racket, the Speed MP sits in between the Extreme Tour and MP, leaning more towards the MP. That sounds like it would be a good balance of forgiveness and spin, but with more control than your Extreme MP. Easier on the arm too.

 

[Power Player]

Wild thing about frames like the Extreme, Pure Drive and Pure Aero is that pros use them a lot and beginners can too. The thing they do not tell you is that there is a grey area where you start competing and getting serious about tennis and suddenly while your strokes develop, that power can be tough to control.

If you get a power frame like the Extreme MP and stick with it, you could develop the skills to control the power of the racquet. In the long run it will pay off as you will save energy and tennis will be easier. Hitting with heavy spin properly is the key. I say properly because a lot of new players stress their arm and wrist to generate spin and doing that with a stiff frame can lead to injury.

If you want to dial up control the Extreme Tour is probably the way to go. There are other options and people will share lists of frames, but instead of trying a million racquets you may want to just carry a Tour and an MP to the courts and over time figure out which you prefer.

 

[legcramp]

Did you try using a less powerful string in the Extreme MP to tame it? Something low powered / dead like Yonex poly tour spin/Tier one durafluxx.

 

[MrAchab]

Thank you all for your input, I appreciate it.

@Power Player Thank you for your answer, I think that's a great advice ; I was probably starting to think this way. That's the confusing part of this forum - that I enjoy reading of course- a lot of users here tend to go for heavy control raquet, powerful raquet are mostly seen as beginner's one. I've done a lot of tests the last few months and I think that kind of raquet don't suit me at all : I tend to flatten my game a bit too much or hit a bit too short and low.

Right now I think I have a little more success with the Extreme Tour (stock version) over the MP. My backhand is really strong, even stronger with the MP but I tend to make mistake under pressure on my forehand. The Extreme Tour is helpful here because I make a little less mistake even with less topspin so I can keep my confidence in tournament. But If I understand correctly, on the long run I should probably take a powerful raquet like the MP and learn to control it with the right technique. This kind of frame would help me to hit with even more spin and depth with less effort.

A dilemma would be the extreme tour with a little more swingweight and a set of quite lively strings as suggested here or an Extreme MP with really low powered strings ass suggested by @legcramp

If you want to dial up control the Extreme Tour is probably the way to go. There are other options and people will share lists of frames, but instead of trying a million racquets you may want to just carry a Tour and an MP to the courts and over time figure out which you prefer.

Exactly ! I've done a lot of test. It was fun but quite costly, time consuming and I was kind of lost in my game a little while I was struggling with Gravity Pro and that kind of raquet. I don't want to become more obsessed about it and need to make a choice. I really like the extreme tour ; I think I can adapt to an extreme MP. It will be one of these two or it will neved end.

If you’re open to a new racket, the Speed MP sits in between the Extreme Tour and MP, leaning more towards the MP. That sounds like it would be a good balance of forgiveness and spin, but with more control than your Extreme MP. Easier on the arm too.

Thanks ! Exactly was I was thinking while I tested it : forgiving, close to the extreme MP but maybe not that powerful. I'm not able to tell why but I ended with an extreme tour instead and it was maybe a mistake? For the sake of my game and money I've narrowed my choice to Extreme Tour or MP but I'll think about it.

 

[Power Player]

Thank you all for your input, I appreciate it.

@Power Player Thank you for your answer, I think that's a great advice ; I was probably starting to think this way. That's the confusing part of this forum - that I enjoy reading of course- a lot of users here tend to go for heavy control raquet, powerful raquet are mostly seen as beginner's one. I've done a lot of tests the last few months and I think that kind of raquet don't suit me at all : I tend to flatten my game a bit too much or hit a bit too short and low.

Right now I think I have a little more success with the Extreme Tour (stock version) over the MP. My backhand is really strong, even stronger with the MP but I tend to make mistake under pressure on my forehand. The Extreme Tour is helpful here because I make a little less mistake even with less topspin so I can keep my confidence in tournament. But If I understand correctly, on the long run I should probably take a powerful raquet like the MP and learn to control it with the right technique. This kind of frame would help me to hit with even more spin and depth with less effort.

A dilemma would be the extreme tour with a little more swingweight and a set of quite lively strings as suggested here or an Extreme MP with really low powered strings ass suggested by @legcramp








Thanks ! Exactly was I was thinking while I tested it : forgiving, close to the extreme MP but maybe not that powerful. I'm not able to tell why but I ended with an extreme tour instead and it was maybe a mistake? For the sake of my game and money I've narrowed my choice to Extreme Tour or MP but I'll think about it.

Yep, happy to help and you are understanding correctly. I think you should just play with both frames for a bit and the answer will be there for you after some time. The one thing is I see newer players sometimes say they like to flatten the ball, but I would suggest not thinking that way too much. You want to get under the ball and generate topspin so you are consistent. Even the flattest hitters get under the ball, but they have the technique (racquet head speed) to generate just enough spin to keep the ball in.

As a newer player it's a better idea to add more shape than less. You don't have to pull straight up the back of the ball and finish over your head, but you want a swing path that can generate enough topspin even when you are inside the court and hitting an approach.

Anyway keep this in mind when you are testing the frames. The key ways to win in rec tennis are being more consistent than the opponent and using less energy so you can chase down shot after shot and hit your returns deep. It's pretty rare that big flat hitting wins at lower levels unless those first 2 keys are there already. If you are hitting heavy spin that is deep and consistent while not using too much energy to do so, you will be in a good spot racquet wise.

 

[sureshs]

The Solinco frames are getting lots of attention these days

 

[MrAchab]

Yep, happy to help and you are understanding correctly. I think you should just play with both frames for a bit and the answer will be there for you after some time. The one thing is I see newer players sometimes say they like to flatten the ball, but I would suggest not thinking that way too much. You want to get under the ball and generate topspin so you are consistent. Even the flattest hitters get under the ball, but they have the technique (racquet head speed) to generate just enough spin to keep the ball in.

As a newer player it's a better idea to add more shape than less. You don't have to pull straight up the back of the ball and finish over your head, but you want a swing path that can generate enough topspin even when you are inside the court and hitting an approach.

Anyway keep this in mind when you are testing the frames. The key ways to win in rec tennis are being more consistent than the opponent and using less energy so you can chase down shot after shot and hit your returns deep. It's pretty rare that big flat hitting wins at lower levels unless those first 2 keys are there already. If you are hitting heavy spin that is deep and consistent while not using too much energy to do so, you will be in a good spot racquet wise.

Thanks you for the advice, on gamstyle and raquet ; I'm completly going this way ; that is quite natural for me anyway. Going for a quick and flat winner isn't for me right now, I really need to work my opponent with my regularity and heavy topspin to have some success in tournament!

I'm going to get both raquets in my bag and see over weeks. I like the Extreme Tour but the Extreme MP might give some free power if I can handle it under pressure.

 

[SinneGOAT]

Extreme tour is the way to go. I’ve tried both and the tour is better for being confident in your shots. The tour has all the spin of the MP (more you might say because you can swing out more) but is more controlled and softer. If you are at all worried about the overpowered feeling of the MP, the tour is a safe choice.

 

[Aestheticsaboveallelse]

Did you try using a less powerful string in the Extreme MP to tame it? Something low powered / dead like Yonex poly tour spin/Tier one durafluxx.

Yea you can always just put in a low power string to control any racquet like big banger original or extremely low power string like kirshbaum max power

 

[MrAchab]

Thanks all ; after a few days of testing and thinking, I'm going for the next Extreme MP. Actually I don't have much success with the extreme MP right now and I'm playing really well with the extreme tour, almost unmodded, I added just 1 gram at 9 and 15 because it feels better on my two-handed backhand. Anyway I think @Power Player made a good point. I'm not an experienced player with only a few years, my game is still improving and pedagogically speaking I think a more powerful raquet will force me to work hard on my legs and my game to control it while the Extreme Tour would just keep the ball in without too much effort. I expect losing a bit more at first but that's not a big deal. The next Extreme MP Auxetic also seems to have a more tight 16/19 and a little less power than the current one so that appears to be a logical move.

End of the raquet quest for me, that was painful !

 

[AmericanTwist]

My advice is to go with the most flexible frame that you can still get acceptable power from... If you play a super spin oriented style you can go with the stiffest frame yet still have some control over. Also depending on what kind of players you play and strings you like to use....lotsa variables. Bon chance!

 

[Aestheticsaboveallelse]

My advice is to go with the most flexible frame that you can still get acceptable power from... If you play a super spin oriented style you can go with the stiffest frame yet still have some control over. Also depending on what kind of players you play and strings you like to use....lotsa variables. Bon chance!

What are the top options for some of those more flexible racquets that arent very low power?

 

[AmericanTwist]

Power is subjective...Look at the stiffness numbers. There is always a trade off. Lower flex, more control but less power. Frame sizes can be enlarged to compensate power but you do lose some touch.