Is "extreme headlight balance" the only immutable clause for great OHB?

[Moonarse]

out of all great OHB players, there seems to be a wide variety of specs.

String pattern, stringbed tension, stiffness, headsize, racquet length, beam width.

But, the only aspect that never seems to change is the "extreme headlight balance".

Seems to be a rule, isn't it?

 

[li0scc0]

The funny thing is my 1HB is better with a head-heavier (e.g. 2-4 points HL) balance vs. 8 points or more.
But I don't have a great one

 

[haedulus]

I wouldn't call Thiem's and Dimitrov's balance "extreme headlight"
I also prefer pretty headlight rackets but in the end it's all personal preference (just like every other spec as you mentioned)

 

[BlueB]

out of all great OHB players, there seems to be a wide variety of specs.

String pattern, stringbed tension, stiffness, headsize, racquet length, beam width.

But, the only aspect that never seems to change is the "extreme headlight balance".

Seems to be a rule, isn't it?

I don't think that either Tiem, Gasquet or Wawa have extreme HL balance...
What is "extreme" anyways?

 

[mhkeuns]

I’m not sure about others, but I definitely hit backhands better with the rackets that are on the heavier side, HL in balance, thin beamed and have good plow through - like most mids and player’s frame like the Prestige MP. I guess for having one handed backhand it makes sense to prefer the ones that are easier to swing through the air while having enough plow to control the shots.

 

[rafa_prestige89]

Quite the opposite I would say, from my personal experience my one handed backhand got much better when I changed my frames balance from 32 cm to 33 cm strung...also Guga Kuerten, Thiem and Dimitrov all use frames around or above 33 cm balance.

 

[eman resu]

Henin disagrees.

 

[bkfinch]

Interesting thread

 

[Backhanded Compliment]

All i know is that I need to feel the racquet head coming through the ball as a function of momentum but it has to boss the ball at the moment of impact too. What was Edberg's balance, Don Budge? Guga?

I like it between 7-9pts hl 10-12 is too much, its too fast. 9 is perfect, when im in good form Im happiest at 9pts. That's all I know. My backhand is a combo of Budge and Edberg's... and I use a lot of Guga's patterns... basically I stole a lot of his playbook.

 

[rafa_prestige89]

Guga’s racquets were almost even balance, he played bare handle with 2 overgrips and lots of lead all over the hoop.

 

[TennisCJC]

Henin disagrees.

yea, I don't remember her specs but I think it was light less than 11 oz, near even balance and relatively high SW. Like she took a light racket and plopped a load of lead at noon.

 

[1HBHfanatic]

Its whatever your arm got used to using
I like 10-12pts HL
anytime I hit with8pts HL, my arm starts to complain

But I see other one handers who prefer a 4pts HL balance

I should clarify, that if you "just slice the 1hbh", than the specs can change, and youll find more even balance frames on this group of one.handers..

 

[flanker2000fr]

I’m not sure about others, but I definitely hit backhands better with the rackets that are on the heavier side, HL in balance, thin beamed and have good plow through - like most mids and player’s frame like the Prestige MP. I guess for having one handed backhand it makes sense to prefer the ones that are easier to swing through the air while having enough plow to control the shots.

I found the same thing. Also, seeing that I slice about 80% of my backhands, a 18X20 pattern makes a substantial difference.