how things have changed

[Larrysümmers]

i was reading a tennis book from the late 60's early 70's and in the racket selection page it said how women should play with rackets 12.3-13oz and men should play with rackets between 13-13.9oz
these are for like rec players too.
just weird how things have changed and the majority of people use rackets below 12.5oz.

 

[Seth]

That's pretty interesting. I've been wondering what the "average weight" or a racquet was in the 70s. It seems many frames today target the 11.2-11.8 range.

 

[Agent Orynge]

I think those specs were for the women's olympic team in Russia.

 

[Larrysümmers]

it also had stuff about the WW follow though(i thought that was a new thing like 80's 90's)
. i believe the book was "fundamentals of tennis" i was bored at school and decided to read a book during lunch for once haha

 

[Larrysümmers]

I think those specs were for the women's olympic team in Russia.

hahhaha that is funny

 

[ollinger]

My first racquet as a kid weighed 14 ounces.

 

[Larrysümmers]

My first racquet as a kid weighed 14 ounces.

my uncle showed me his racket from his youth. it was a friggen club haha

 

[Dechizen]

thats coz everyone back then played like granville from TW lol

 

[Kirko]

light-mediums >>

from 12 yrs. onward until I stopped playing the wood Jack Kramer Auto. I used lt.-med. 13.5 unstrung. I now use a racket that weighs 12.4 . Jack Kramer summed it up in the days of wood "use the heaviest racket with the bigest grip you can manage".

 

[nickarnold2000]

i was reading a tennis book from the late 60's early 70's and in the racket selection page it said how women should play with rackets 12.3-13oz and men should play with rackets between 13-13.9oz
these are for like rec players too.
just weird how things have changed and the majority of people use rackets below 12.5oz.

Ball speed has also increased significantly. Check out youtube video of the pros back then and you'll be amazed how slow the pace was back then.

 

[Larrysümmers]

^ yeah that is true. Plus a lot of it was serve and get to net. It was all about the control.

 

[esgee48]

Wood racquets use to be categorized as Light (under 12-<14 oz), Medium (14-15.99 Oz) and Heavy (16 oz or more). That's if my feeble memory is still working. Amazing plow thru if you could hit the sweet spot due to weight and low string tension.

 

[borg number one]

Thanks for this thread LarryS. It's easy to forget how much heavier wood frames were, especially if you've never really played with them. Watch two players "clocking it" with heavy wood frames here. Some of these points are splendid to watch, especially from this angle, which really allows you to watch how they could construct points and execute shots that even Federer (S&V'ing), for example, would have difficulty pulling off with modern frames. Imagine doing these things with a "club" in your hand, so to speak. Beautiful tennis here in my opinion. It's apt that the commentator says once.."beautiful Tennis"and then..."like all of us, he likes a beer at the end of a long day". There was Aussie domination in Tennis during these years and Laver-Roche were definitely not hitting "powder puffs" out there. Don't try this at home folks, unless you stretch/workout regularly that's for sure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHaN2h21ANs (Laver vs. Roche, 1969, during Laver's GS run)

 

[Jeffy005]

you get lightweight racquet if you have a strong arm, you get a heavier racquet if you dont have a strong arm....

 

[sureshs]

Other people have pointed out that there were plenty of lighter wood frames out there. I myself have come across several.

 

[Pioneer]

So Soderling, Sampras, Berdych and Ivanisevic all have weak arms whereas Chardy, Murray and Santoro have strong arms?

you get lightweight racquet if you have a strong arm, you get a heavier racquet if you dont have a strong arm....

 

[VGP]

Other people have pointed out that there were plenty of lighter wood frames out there. I myself have come across several.

Yeah, but no serious player used them. Too little weight to get some oomph on the ball.

The majority of wood frames (i.e. Wilson JKA, PS, CEA) still available are in the "light" category. The heavier ones got played......played out.....and discarded.

I suppose you can lead them up if you wish.

 

[vsbabolat]

Yeah, but no serious player used them. Too little weight to get some oomph on the ball.

The majority of wood frames (i.e. Wilson JKA, PS, CEA) still available are in the "light" category. The heavier ones got played......played out.....and discarded.

I suppose you can lead them up if you wish.

Yeah but the Lights were about 12.5oz. Super Lights was about 12.0 from what I remember.

 

[Power Player]

That was a nice link to watch. Those guys hit the ball hard and clean.

Perspective : I was 9 or so and starting up higher level lessons for my age. I was using a wood racquet. The instructor told my parents to buy me a graphite OS or I would be blown off the court by the other kids. I remember her being stunned that I showed up with a woodie..lol. But it was all I had at the time and all I knew.

 

[vsbabolat]

That was a nice link to watch. Those guys hit the ball hard and clean.

Perspective : I was 9 or so and starting up higher level lessons for my age. I was using a wood racquet. The instructor told my parents to buy me a graphite OS or I would be blown off the court by the other kids. I remember her being stunned that I showed up with a woodie..lol. But it was all I had at the time and all I knew.

Check this video out. In it you will see Borg hit with a open stance forehand and a comparison to Federer's forehand. The notion that you could not hit topspin or hit open stance with wood is just a revision of history!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31IYa7VsZYg&feature=related

I was the last kid at my club that was using a wood racquet. Everyone else had gone to graphite. The most popular racquet at that time at my club was the HEAD Graphite Edge, Graphite Director, and Prince Graphite.

 

[borg number one]

That was a nice link to watch. Those guys hit the ball hard and clean.

Perspective : I was 9 or so and starting up higher level lessons for my age. I was using a wood racquet. The instructor told my parents to buy me a graphite OS or I would be blown off the court by the other kids. I remember her being stunned that I showed up with a woodie..lol. But it was all I had at the time and all I knew.

Good for you PP! I'm glad you liked the link of Laver vs. Roche. It's a lot to digest at that age and I think the pros were "coming to terms" with a new age at that time as well. I had a similar experience when my first coach (still my friend 30 years later by the way) told me, "no, you are going to stick with a wood racquet for now" when I asked him if my Dad could please buy we a graphite frame (well all the other juniors were getting them after all, I thought). You had to improvise and learn to adapt playing with a wood frame, especially vs. a junior playing with say a good junior playing with a Prince OS and then, as you matured and got better and stronger, the move to graphite frames was smoother. You would have already developed some very important skills (including the ability to hit nice shots with a much smaller sweet spot).

 

[Power Player]

VSB, that video was awesome. Wow, Federer really does everything like Borg including the placement of his off hand during the stroke. That is really cool.

 

[LeeD]

Think.
We used to hit with less spin than now.
We used to hit flatter, eh?
We used to hit the ball faster, if we were any good.
Now shots are all spin, less ball speed.
Need lighter, bigger racket to hit consistently with all that spin, unless we have great eyes and slow heartbeats.
Try thinking.

 

[Steve Huff]

I don't remember many rackets being 16oz. I have a Manuel Orantes Autpgraph wood that weighs less than 12 oz. It's the lightest wood I've come across. Most of mine are in the 13.7-15 oz strung range.

 

[coachrick]

The aerodynamic disadvantage of a big clunky wood racket was nothing to take 'lightly'. An Aldila Cannon would cut through the air 'like butta' compared to a Kramer Auto or Cliff Richey Ultra.