How racquet frame affects serve speed and spin

[fpsanti]

Hi,

I recently tested and compared the Tecnifibre TFight vs. Yonex Vcore both at 305g and 98 inches head size.
Both racquets were tuned with the same amount of lead tape at 3 and 9.
Both racquets had the same strings and tension and OG.
I tested them the same day on the same indoor hard court with identical conditions.

I noticed that the TF allowed me higher serve speed and more top spin
This was also confirmed by my opponents.
According to the specs the TF has a RA of 69 whereas the Yonex has a RA of 62.

Is the RA difference enough to explain the extra power and spin all the rest being equal?

Just FYI I chose the Yonex at the end because of the comfort after playing many hours, grip shape and quality control.

 

[kblades]

Hi,

I recently tested and compared the Tecnifibre TFight vs. Yonex Vcore both at 305g and 98 inches head size.
Both racquets were tuned with the same amount of lead tape at 3 and 9.
Both racquets had the same strings and tension and OG.
I tested them the same day on the same indoor hard court with identical conditions.

I noticed that the TF allowed me higher serve speed and more top spin
This was also confirmed by my opponents.
According to the specs the TF has a RA of 69 whereas the Yonex has a RA of 62.

Is the RA difference enough to explain the extra power and spin all the rest being equal?

Just FYI I chose the Yonex at the end because of the comfort after playing many hours, grip shape and quality control.

Other factors you didn’t mention are balance, swing weight, and string pattern/spacing. You’ll get more power from a higher swing weight as long as you’re able to maintain the same RHS. Balance will dictate how much you’re able to snap your wrist and impart more spin. More open string patterns will result in more spin than a denser pattern.


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[fpsanti]

Thank you. Forgot to mention that the string pattern was the same. Also, same static weight and balance. Only unknown to me was the swing weight.

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[kblades]

These are the two frames you are referring to?

Tecnifibre TFight 305 XTC Racquet

www.tennis-warehouse.com

And...

Yonex VCORE 98 (305) Red Racquets

www.tennis-warehouse.com

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[fpsanti]

The Yonex is correct.
The TF I tested was 16x19. The one you linked was 18x20.

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[kblades]

The Yonex is correct.
The TF I tested was 16x19. The one you linked was 18x20.

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Can you provide a link to the TF you are referring to? I can’t find any Tfight 305’s that are 16x19. I looked at the last 3 versions and all were 18x19.


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[fpsanti]

Sorry, you are right. The TF 16x19 was 300g. [emoji56]

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[blablavla]

Thank you. Forgot to mention that the string pattern was the same. Also, same static weight and balance. Only unknown to me was the swing weight.

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Same string pattern, for example 16x19 doesn't mean same spacing between strings.
In particular, the 6 main strings might have more or less space between them.
More space allows you to create higher speed & spin, all else being equal, as long as you can control this.
Less space allows you to have more control, which might make a difference when you have to play incoming top spin balls, again all else being equal between the frames.

 

[Sardines]

Hi,

I recently tested and compared the Tecnifibre TFight vs. Yonex Vcore both at 305g and 98 inches head size.
Both racquets were tuned with the same amount of lead tape at 3 and 9.
Both racquets had the same strings and tension and OG.
I tested them the same day on the same indoor hard court with identical conditions.

I noticed that the TF allowed me higher serve speed and more top spin
This was also confirmed by my opponents.
According to the specs the TF has a RA of 69 whereas the Yonex has a RA of 62.

Is the RA difference enough to explain the extra power and spin all the rest being equal?

Just FYI I chose the Yonex at the end because of the comfort after playing many hours, grip shape and quality control.

A stiffer racquet is usually more powerful. However, other factors can affect power, like the string pattern, as others said. Also putting the same weight on racquets that have different balance, twist and swing weights will change the play characteristics and not equalize anything, but increase the weight so much that it affected your racquet head speed and ability to swing. Depends on what your optimal specs are too.

Perception is usually quite good, but still flawed enough to be inaccurate. The most definitive way to assess a racquet is with new balls and a system like Playsight. Too many things, like the receiver being accustomed to the first racquet, that the 2nd racquet seems slower/less kick, to the balls losing pressure etc.