Is the 93p the right choice for me?

[nintendoplayer]

Thanks @Trip
I've also reverted back to Hyper G Soft as my main "competition string". Reason being that when comparing Focus Hex Ultra and Hyper G Soft in a match situation, especially against a big server / hitter, Hyper G Soft offers noticeably better control. And when comparing them side by side I also had the feeling that "control also means stiffness" or in other words "you need enough stiffness to feel the ball enough in order to hit a controlled shot".
FHU offers better comfort, but also feels mushier. Hyper G Soft has that weird mixture of a trampoline-stringbed combined with a level of stiffness that you can definitely feel if you don't hit cleanly. It has good touch but also quite a bit of stiffness. And for some reason that works a lot better against heavy balls than the more uniformly balanced FHU string.
My current tension sweetspot is at 24/23kg. When returning with that tension and HypGSoft with the PD Team customized to 328SW, quite a few returns will fly long, but most of the returns that land inside the court are hurting my opponent a lot. And usually I would then grab a racquet with a higher tension but I'm learning more and more that I have to get used to this certain amount of insecurity. Because with the higher tension most of my balls will then land half-court and I'll also have to put in a lot more effort and potentially hurt myself sooner.
I have to continue hitting returns and strokes with full confidence and don't hold back, and then after a few games consistency usually kicks in. And then this not-too-tight HypGS-stringbed has potential for powerful shots with lots of topspin, leading to many free points simply because it forces the opponent into errors with balls jumping like crazy on these messy clay courts.
So that's one of the mental challenges I'm working on right now and find very exciting, again. Trusting your strokes and getting into the right rhythm, even if many of your shots hit the fence first.

 

[muyun]

The stiffness measurement device is this one:

The Percept 97L is roughly 60RA strung by the way

Will check the specs, just wanted to report another swingweight lesson I learned today. Had another hitting session with this 16 yo guy who is very serious about tennis, playing 14 hours per week and attending tournaments every weekend. He hits a very(!) heavy spinny ball with his Pure Aero and RPM Blast. He also regularly has arm and elbow issues but that's another story
Anyway, I couldn't hold up against his balls with my SW320 Blade 98L (lead only at 3 and 9). I had already anticipated this possible stability issue and prepared another Blade 98L frame with SW 325, this time with lead at 3,9 and 12. And with this frame I was able to block back his balls much better, with a lot more stability, could also attack the ball and put him under pressure. So 325 for me from now on

P97L 60RA​

Is it that low?

TW EU it says 66RA . There's a big difference

 

[nintendoplayer]

P97L 60RA​

Is it that low?

TW EU it says 66RA . There's a big difference

You should take into account that I'm an amateur and not very experienced in measuring stiffness, so my measurement might be a few points off. So maybe the actual stiffness was 62 or 63, but the frame was definitely softer than expected, yeah. As you can read from my other measurements, there can be noticeable variances in stiffness when you purchase multiple frames of the same model. So I wouldn't be surprised if my measurements were correct, as well.

 

[nintendoplayer]

OK, call me crazy but now that I'm in Babolat territory, I had to try the Pure Aero. And it reminded me a lot of the Blade, the tighter string pattern (compared to the PD) feels very similar to the Blade's pattern. Actually the current PA feels like a mixture of the Blade V8 and the current Pure Drive. The stringbed feels very controlled, it also produces noticeably more vibrations, and these vibrations feel very similar to the 98L. But still the PA feels more comfortable, so vibrations alone don't seem to be the issue when it comes to comfort.
The frame feels much easier to swing, that aerodynamic beam design actually does something. On the other hand, the PA is noticeably softer, I also measured my frames again. The PD Team frames are between 67 and 68 RA while the current PA measures at 62 RA. It's also slightly over-spec, weighing 302g with an unstrung SW of 292, resulting in a strung swingweight (Hyper G Soft 1.25 + dampener) of 325.

Overall, the PA feels more predictable to hit with. Also makes sense according to racketpedia, the current PA is very evenly balanced across all areas on their website.

And I recognized again that I shouldn't surpass the 320g mark of static weight, as well as not leaving the 320SW range. One of the most interesting findings of my swingweight-experiments is that depending on the swingweight and balance, different parts of my body become sore. A swingweight of 325 leads to a lot more soreness in the legs, but less or no irritations in the shoulder, elbow, forearm. When adapting the tungsten in the hoop and doing shadow swings, I recognize how at a certain point the hips and legs automatically get more involved. And the lower I then go in swingweight, the more the arm will be affected, "dialing in the areas of soreness and inflammation" by adapting swingweight. So currently I'm again back to SW320-territory, with an overall static weight of 320g max.
319-320g static weight, 320ish swingweight and a balance of around 325-328 currently feels best to swing.

 

[Trip]

@nintendoplayer - Checking back in here. How is your journey going, and what have you discovered further about the Babolats, versus the 98L, or anything else?

 

[nintendoplayer]

@Trip Thanks for asking, I've mainly progressed in dialing in the PD (Team) for my game. Actually I'm steadily progressing in adapting my game to the PD. The result is that I'm now playing a lot more aggressively, producing a lot more unforced errors than with the 98L, 97P or any other control-type racquet before but also a lot more winners or shots forcing the opponent into an error.
Like in the last club team match where I lost two games just hitting double faults while in many other instances the serve produced a direct point because the opponent couldn't handle the speed or unusual bounce of the ball. With something like the 98L I had a lot more consistency but wasn't able to put nearly as much pressure on the opponent. The length of my shots has also increased with the PD, many forehands landing right before the baseline.
And especially in these regional leagues and the older the age-group gets you're playing (like in the above 40s league), opponents tend to hit with relatively slow pace but unbelievable consistency. And then my only chance is first strike tennis which works quite well against these guys, so far. They aren't used to opponents hitting that aggressively in their leagues.

My current go-to string is Hyper G Round 1.25mm. Tension between 22 and 24kg, depending on surface or outdoors / indoors. We now had several match days where we had to start on clay outdoors and then switched to indoors carpet because of the rain. In these instances 22kg worked fine on clay but on the fast carpet 24kg was the lowest tension possible to control the ball well.

The feel with Hyp G Round is better, I seem to like round strings more in general, more control and direct touch. Also the tension maintenance is a lot better than Hyper G Soft which was my previous go-to. But HypGSoft also looses tension to quickly, in our previous doubles league match I had issues with control by the end of the double match. Hyper G Round is a good compromise between the too-stiff vanilla Hyper G and too-fast-tension-loss Hyper G Soft.
And I re-discovered Tourna Grip, the original dry one. Works wonderfully in the humid conditions we have here in Europe in the summer. With every other overgrip I had issues with slipping after 1 set.

 

[Trip]

@nintendoplayer - Awesome stuff. Great update. It seems the exercise of "leaning how to control a light-enough power frame" is indeed turning out to be the better longer-term approach for you than "learning how to power a heavy-enough control frame". And I'm kind of glad for it, as it seems to be 1) making tennis easier while 2) also making you play better and win more.

And as for strings, very nice to hear that you found a match in Hyper-G Round. I have indeed been wondering if it's just basically a rebadged, repackaged Hyper-G in round form, but no, it appears Solinco applied additional R&D to H-G Soft (which, why should I be surprised, they're pretty careful about their string releases... as opposed to certain me-too poly brands out there right now).

On the over grip front, that's great that the original Tourna Grip has worked so well for you. I find that its only Achilles' heel is durability, which if that becomes an issue for you, I find is best remedied by Tourna Tough (new as of a year ago) or Volkl V-Dry, which is my personal favorite felt-style grip. Especially compared to the original Tourna grip, V-Dry is practically bulletproof. It's only slight fault is that it's a little bit short, to sometimes you have to wrap with narrower edge overlaps that you'd otherwise maybe like to. Still, a phenomenal option for a durable felt-style grip.

Keep up the good work!

 

[nintendoplayer]

@nintendoplayer - Awesome stuff. Great update. It seems the exercise of "leaning how to control a light-enough power frame" is indeed turning out to be the better longer-term approach for you than "learning how to power a heavy-enough control frame". And I'm kind of glad for it, as it seems to be 1) making tennis easier while 2) also making you play better and win more.

And as for strings, very nice to hear that you found a match in Hyper-G Soft. I have indeed been wondering if it's just basically a rebadged, repackaged Hyper-G in round form, but no, it appears Solinco applied additional R&D to H-G Soft (which, why should I be surprised, they're pretty careful about their string releases... as opposed to certain me-too poly brands out there right now).

On the over grip front, that's great that the original Tourna Grip has worked so well for you. I find that its only Achilles' heel is durability, which if that becomes an issue for you, I find is best remedied by Tourna Tough (new as of a year ago) or Volkl V-Dry, which is my personal favorite felt-style grip. Especially compared to the original Tourna grip, V-Dry is practically bulletproof. It's only slight fault is that it's a little bit short, to sometimes you have to wrap with narrower edge overlaps that you'd otherwise maybe like to. Still, a phenomenal option for a durable felt-style grip.

Keep up the good work!

Do I understand your post correctly that you assume Hyper G Round is based on Hyper G Soft?
Cause you stated I found a match in Hyper G Soft though I currently hit with Hyper G Round
Hyper G Soft is noticeably softer and more comfortable, but also noticeably less controlled with a tendency to becoming bouncy after a few hours.
Hyper G Round is more consistent for a longer time, is a bit harder on the arm and the joints, doesn‘t have that unpredictability like HGS has after a few hours.

I play different Tennis even with these two strings. With HGS i hit „chaos“ winners like forehands having such a high launch angle and spin that one opponent simply wasn‘t able to hit the ball regularly because of the weird bounce my shots had.
So PD and HGS can be too much chaos and bounce.

PD and HGR feel like a better match with the raised directional control, better launch angle for flatter strokes, longer consistency with better tension maintenance. It‘s a different game, a more methodical style of tennis with HGR at the cost of reduced arm comfort. And while HGS is borderline territory between chaos and control, HGR balances on a fine borderline between comfortable and hurtful strings with a tendency of leaning more into painful territory.

 

[Trip]

Sorry, I was referring to H-G Round, not Soft. Was a typo (fixed). And sorry to induce an unnecessary explanatory reply! By all means, it looks like the PD Team + H-G Round is a great combo!

 

[nintendoplayer]

Just a quick update with a few rallies on clay court, hitting with my PD Team & Hyper G Round 1.25 at 24kg

I had another PD with me strung @25kg and with this tension my balls landed way too short in the opponent's field, had to switch back to 24kg to be aggressive and deep enough with my strokes.
No comfort issues at 24 or 25kg, Hyper G Round is my new fav.

 

[Trip]

Looking good NP! Way more punch and authority in your game since you started this thread... amazing the turn of events, huh?

 

[nintendoplayer]

Looking good NP! Way more punch and authority in your game since you started this thread... amazing the turn of events, huh?

Absolutely Thanks

 

[nintendoplayer]

Some new video footage, still with the PD Team and Hyper G Round 24kg. (One on reserve with 25kg just in case I get an extremely heavy hitting opponent)

 

[pdparos78]

Chiming in here as i'm a long time 97p users. Tour Bite / Vanquish hybrid at 23/22 brings out the best in the 97p. It bites, has feel, decent power etc. I would try it.

 

[nintendoplayer]

Latest video footage, switched to the standard 300g Pure Drive, the Wimbledon Edition paint job, hitting mainly with MaxPower 1.25mm @24kg. Definitely stiffer than HyperG Round, but lots of more confidence swinging out during match play. With the PD team I didn‘t have enough stability from time to time, having to compensate with overexaggerated loop swings. I have the feeling that in the long run the slower, meatier swing-style with more stability on contact is better for my body.
And the sound when hitting with the heavier standard PD is highly addictive, as well

 

[Trip]

Looking good NP!

 

[nintendoplayer]

@Trip Also surprising how I now play with one of the stiffest racquets and one of the stiffest strings on the market, right?
MaxPower 1.25mm holds up about 3 sessions before I recognize loosing control. I now string at 24kg consistently and then switch to another frame as soon as I notice the tension drop.
My theory why I now reached this point consists of 2 factors:

1. Improved strength and conditioning of the shoulder and the whole body in general. Higher fitness and strength lets you endure stiffness for a longer time is my current perception. While I felt pain instantly when hitting with stiff setups last year, I can now hit pain-free for a longer time. But the issues will probably still come after up hitting many hours. Which will then over time and with furtherly improved strength also improve my ability to play for many hours.

2. Hitting more relaxed in general. This is kind of contrary and paradox but my feeling is that the stiffer, more controlled setup lets you swing out more freely than a soft setup. I have also adapted my serve motion further and can feel my arm swinging more relaxed than before.
And at some point the stiffer setup and more relaxed swinging both seem to reinforce each other. The longer you hit, the more you recognize that you have no other chance but to become more relaxed in order to be consistent throughout a long match. And I can then still feel at some point becoming weak and loosing my timing...which is always related to not being relaxed enough and using too much muscular strength in my strokes.

 

[pdparos78]

Is this a case of all roads lead to stiffer pleeners?

 

[Trip]

@nintendoplayer - Very telling observations once again, and I would definitely agree with both points. The whole "system" seems to work really well for where you're at now. Congrats on leveling up as much as you have!

@pdparos78 - In this case, it may seem so. But this case isn't everyone else's case. You may have different reasons behind and/or outcomes you're looking for from your tennis, which may or may not be enhanced by more tweener-ish racquet. In general though, if your playing environment has even the slightest elements of modern-day spin/power baselining and competitiveness is at least of partial interest, then yes, I think tweener qualities tend to help more so than hurt. But it's ultimately up to you to find the amount that are best for your game and physical capability. This is why I'm often suggesting "pleener" style frames for those who are, for example, in early to moderate middle age and have some older-school tennis DNA and/or biomechanical leanings, but who want to be at least some level of competitive and appear as though they would welcome the additional forgiveness and/or free power – hybrid-box-beam pleeners are a nice step in that direction, without being a full-blown departure from what one is used to. But ultimately, even those suggestions sometimes don't fit what a person simply feels better playing with, and if so, then so be it. You have to go your own way. I hope some of that helps!

 

[nintendoplayer]

Is this a case of all roads lead to stiffer pleeners?

From my point of view it is a case of "never exclude any type of racquet or string in your search for the best setup". And "some setups only work after you've conditioned your body enough". When I first tested the Pure Drive last year I couldn't control it and I couldn't endure the stiffness.
So it is also a case of "even if you're already demoed a racquet and come back to it later, it might work for you".

It's about fine tuning your setup to your needs. And also acknowledging that every setup is a compromise. And that you're getting slower and weaker with age.
In this case the biggest compromise is my backhand. I can hit nice backhands, yes. But in general the PD with its 100sq inch head and not being very headlight is tougher to swing on the one handed backhand than a Blade 98 for example. This becomes an issue at a certain level when my opponents are very fast. Then I'll loose the timing on the backhand and probably switch to slice.
I wouldn't have this problem with the Blade 98 but I would have a lot less (especially defensive) power and spin. But more control, better net game, more finesse...I loved playing with the Blade, especially indoors on faster courts. But on clay I need that spin and bigger head size to simply put enough force behind my balls. And let my opponent make the error.

 

[nintendoplayer]

Some interesting statistics, comparing the PD, Blade 98L and 97p when playing indoors on carpet.

PD strung with MaxPower @24kg, 98L (customized 320SW) with Super Smash @24/23kg, 97p with Hyp G Soft / Pro Line Evolution @23/22kg.

This is far from an optimal comparison, because it's been 6-12 months between hitting with the PD and the 98L / 97p, my technique and footwork have improved in the meantime, as well. But you can see a general trend. The PD to me looks statistically more evenly balanced overall with a measurable advantage in hitting deep while the Blade had some advantages on the backhand and straighter strokes. The 97p had the most power, probably related to the very high swingweight my frames had, like 335-340sw. The 97p also had very good consistency and control, but simply became too heavy after 30-45 minutes, making me loose my timing. The 98L had more control and finesse but I had to invest too much physical effort in the long run and as a result my strokes landed shorter and shorter over the course of a long match. This finesse-controlled playing style can work wonderfully on fast indoor carpets, but both the 98L as well as the 97p aren't as consistent or physically regularly endurable for me as the PD.

The PD Wimbledon frames also had better QC by the way. All 4 frames only slightly overspec around the 303g mark while the previous PD 2021 I had was massively overspec around 310g, most additional weight in the head.

 

[Trip]

@nintendoplayer - Great post! And as we know, stats don't lie. I aligned them for easier comparison. Bold = best value per row; bold + green or red = a bit better or worse than the typical standard deviation:

Metric	Pure Drive '21 w/ Max Power @ 24kg​	Blade 98L v8 w/ Super Smash @ 24/23 kg	Phantom 97P w/ H-G Soft / PL Evo @ 23/22 kg​
1st Serve - Ad - % In	60%	66%	60%
1st Serve - Ad - Speed	109 km/h	109 km/h	125 km/h
1st Serve - Deuce - % In	56%	53%	56%
1st Serve - Deuce - Speed	115 km/h	116 km/h	120 km/h
2nd Serve - Ad - % In	80%	83%	80%
2nd Serve - Ad - Speed	105 km/h	110 km/h	119 km/h
2nd Serve - Deuce - % In	57%	57%	70%
2nd Serve - Deuce - Speed	120 km/h	115 km/h	122 km/h
1st Return - Ad - % In	77%	71%	63%
1st Return - Ad - % Deep	66%	42%	27%
1st Return - Ad - Speed	61 km/h	66 km/h	64 km/h
1st Return - Deuce - % In	80%	78%	84%
1st Return - Deuce - % Deep	61%	52%	68%
1st Return - Deuce - Speed	40 km/h	62 km/h	63 km/h
FH - XC - % In	86%	64%	88%
FH - XC - % Deep	73%	21%	44%
FH - XC - Speed	72 km/h	66 km/h	76 km/h
FH - DTL - % In	67%	67%	83%
FH - DTL - % Deep	29%	35%	55%
FH - DTL - Speed	67 km/h	68 km/h	69 km/h
BH - XC - % In	71%	85%	78%
BH - XC - % Deep	71%	42%	47%
BH - XC - Speed	78 km/h	71 km/h	80 km/h
BH - DTL - % In	77%	60%	51%
BH - DTL - % Deep	66%	50%	25%
BH - DTL - Speed	72 km/h	71 km/h	70 km/h

Pretty telling when you look at it like that, eh?

Before delving in further, what were the strung specs of each frame? I'm mainly curious as to the strung swing weight of each, for, aside from each frames general physical differences in beam, head size and string setups, variable enough SW could certainly explain a few different things (mainly average speeds).

Some take-aways just by the numbers above, though:

• Overall: you're playing more effective tennis with the Pure Drive; overall higher % and deeper tennis. And that's what wins at/around your (our) level more often than not.
• Feel: I bet the PD might not feel as sweet (yet) on certain shots (like the FH DTL or Deuce 1st Return velocity), but I bet things can still improve a little on that front over time.
• Universal thing to work on: Deuce-Side Serve % - Obviously some work to do here, most likely general technical/biomechanical cleanup, less so on optimizing a frame any which way.
• Racquet-Specific things to work on (with the PD specifically):
  • 1st Serve Return, Deuce side: Increasing confidence to move more strongly through the ball -- with control -- for higher velocity on returns without compromising % in.
  • FH's DTL: Making sure you get plenty up and under the ball, make an aggressive-enough cut at high enough speed, but also with enough spin/arc, to increase depth but also safety margin.
• Notes on each stick:
  • PD: The numbers bear fruit that you're hitting a more round, deep, plunging ball with the PD, which is where its higher launch and power/forgiveness-to-spec ratio really do help your overall game, for sure.
  • 98L: From the looks of it and the string job, I still maintain that it could probably benefit from a tightly-enough-strung non-poly / poly hybrid, more so than a full bed of poly, to help with easy depth.
  • 97P: Same a the 98L, I think somehow finding a non-p / p hybrid would probably help increase easy depth, which is clearly the biggest glaring weakness.

All-in-all, though, I like what I'm seeing already. I think it's obvious that you're playing better with the PD. I'm sure it's a bit "bleh" in the way it feels sometimes, but Babolat builds sticks for results, first and foremost before feel, purism, etc. Love it or hate it, the approach obviously works for the modern game, at all levels.

Keen to see more as you have time.

 

[Trip]

Ahh, you edited the reply while I was posting mine. I can see that yes, indeed, the additional velocity from the 97P was most likely from the higher swing weight. But if course you were suffering in other areas, still, and the PD at lighter spec and higher power-to-spec (so you don't need to dial it up to such high SW) it probably more optimal for your game, overall.

A nice note on quality control as well, and at least buying a group of frames at the same time, from the same retailer, that are all likely closely in serial number, or at least batch, will stack the odds massively in your favor of winning the QC lottery, abject of using a matching service anyways.

 

[nintendoplayer]

@Trip Great post, thx!
I don't have all specs lined up perfectly but closely:

98L 320 sw
97p 333-335 sw
PD 320-323 sw


I'm getting used to the feel, it's actually pretty muted with a dampener, especially when hitting the sweetspot. Less "boardy" feeling than a 98L, no matter how low I went in tension - and going below 20kg led to an uncontrollable Blade. I think it's primarily the stringbed being more narrow on the 98L, I had the same comfort issues with the current Pure Aero which also has a tighter stringbed in the middle.
And from what I've experienced, trying to raise power with softer strings doesn't lead to the same results as using a more powerful frame. The frame is stiff but stays consistent. Strings loose tension, are much more variable and I was never able to dial in power with strings as "exact and consistent" as when using another frame. U know what I mean?

I've also simplified my setup with the PD, in general. No more lead or any other customization, one uniform tension for mains and crosses, no hybrid stringing. With the 98L and 97p I was looking for that "magical string setup" and "optimal swingweight" but never could dial it in, perfectly. I'm quite happy about simplification and hope it continues to work out for my shoulder.

The Deuce-Serve, yes....still about the ball toss mainly, I toss too much to the right. The serve is definitely my biggest project on this journey.
Returns are a weakness as well, yes. I'd like to have a session with Patrick Mouratoglou on that one
And down the line forehands felt better with the 97p, yes.
Thanks for your detailed analysis, will pay attention to the things you pointed out.

 

[Trip]

Gotcha! And yes, I noticed the addendum to your previous post only after I posted.

Completely get your observation on trying to dial in a more fussy string setup, including go higher in tension with softer strings, opening up more "delta" of tension to lose, among other issues, for sure.

And it's great you've been able to "minimize" your setups to the bare basics in several ways. That tends to be easier with Babolats as well, as they tend to come more "highly tuned" right out of the wrapper, with higher twist weights, less lateral contortion on contact, higher power-to-weight ratio in general, etc. So it would sense that you've gone that "less is more" direction for sure.

As for improvements, glad some notes resonate - all were made with the best of intentions as well. At large, your game shows a ton of improvement!

Until next time, keep it up!

 

[pdparos78]

Some interesting statistics, comparing the PD, Blade 98L and 97p when playing indoors on carpet.

PD strung with MaxPower @24kg, 98L (customized 320SW) with Super Smash @24/23kg, 97p with Hyp G Soft / Pro Line Evolution @23/22kg.

This is far from an optimal comparison, because it's been 6-12 months between hitting with the PD and the 98L / 97p, my technique and footwork have improved in the meantime, as well. But you can see a general trend. The PD to me looks statistically more evenly balanced overall with a measurable advantage in hitting deep while the Blade had some advantages on the backhand and straighter strokes. The 97p had the most power, probably related to the very high swingweight my frames had, like 335-340sw. The 97p also had very good consistency and control, but simply became too heavy after 30-45 minutes, making me loose my timing. The 98L had more control and finesse but I had to invest too much physical effort in the long run and as a result my strokes landed shorter and shorter over the course of a long match. This finesse-controlled playing style can work wonderfully on fast indoor carpets, but both the 98L as well as the 97p aren't as consistent or physically regularly endurable for me as the PD.

The PD Wimbledon frames also had better QC by the way. All 4 frames only slightly overspec around the 303g mark while the previous PD 2021 I had was massively overspec around 310g, most additional weight in the head.

Are the 97p's modded much to get the swing weight that high?

 

[nintendoplayer]

Are the 97p's modded much to get the swing weight that high?

no modding at all, they‘re simply over spec

 

[nintendoplayer]

Latest findings: MaxPower 1.25 @24kg holds up 3 sessions for me then I have to cut the strings out and restring. And the PD showed its defensive capabilities in the latest video:

Especially when I'm getting pressured into the corners, the high power of the PD helps me out big time. And the slices are deadly indoors, wow. The main issue is that I'm hitting too many balls into the middle of the court, afraid of loosing control when aiming for the side lines. But it's getting better. Lots of touch I find in the PD when hitting drop shots or lobs.

 

[Trip]

@nintendoplayer - I realize it's mostly hand-picked highlights in your favor, but that's by far your best tennis of the entire thread, for sure. PD + Max Power for the win!

 

[nintendoplayer]

@nintendoplayer - I realize it's mostly hand-picked highlights in your favor, but that's by far your best tennis of the entire thread, for sure. PD + Max Power for the win!

Thx. You mean the latest vid explicitly?
Most highlights were in my favor, result 6:3, and there were even better rallies but with me being on the other side of the court which I normally don‘t release. What my pal recognized is that the balls fly at a much higher pace during my rallies than last year for example.

 

[nintendoplayer]

 

[nintendoplayer]

After experimenting with several tensions I'm currently dialed in at 24kg / 53lbs with Max Power 1.25.
25kg mainly leads to my balls landing a lot shorter behind the net but doesn't change much about control. I switched between 24kg and 25kg during my last match and whenever I switched to 25kg my opponent took hold of the momentum because of my balls landing shorter.
This experience is very interesting to me, how 1kg can make such a huge difference. I was up front 4:1 then thought "OK now let's try 25kg" and a few moments later we were at 4:4.
Then switched to 24kg again and won the set 6:4. My hitting partner recognized my returns landing a lot shorter with 25kg, so he was able to put a lot more pressure on me then.

I always thought "higher tension = higher control" but in this case it doesn't feel that way. But in general the PD also has a certain amount of insecurity "built-in" I think. I'm getting more and more used to it but there are still moments where I feel disconnected from the racquet, volleys are a good examples for that. I always, and especially with volleys, have to concentrate on putting my whole body into the stroke - even if I cannot feel the volley on the stringbed perfectly, sometimes even cannot feel anything. "Trusting in not feeling the ball" is an important part of handling the PD is my feeling. You have to hit every stroke with confidence and concentration, as if you were practicing strokes with your coach. And then get into a state of mind where you don't care anymore how "secure" you feel about your connection to the racquet. You kind of have to trust in the PD doing it's own thing - as long as you hit with enough confidence and concentration.

My serve has now become a very important part of my game, giving me lots of free points. Before switching to the PD my serve was a huge problem, regularly loosing my service games.
On my forehand I have to reduce my swing, "hold back" regularly, so the tension fits my backhand - which is a lot weaker than my forehand. And then 24kg is perfect on the backhand while I would prefer 25kg on the forehand many times - but there's no perfect setup.

And crazy as well: I now hit without any dampener. Main reason being that the swingweight was a tiny bit too much with the normal PD and a dampener. And I can now feel the ball better which from my perspective already leads to me hitting the sweetspot more often and thereby saving my arm from potential pain. And that's probably the biggest progress of all: I'm pain free during and after hitting. With the PD, with a very stiff string and no dampener.
But that's also related to me adding quite some upper body muscle mass, stabilizing my shoulder.

I would've never expected this but yeah...I think Nik from Intuitive Tennis was right with his assumption that a powerful racquet like the PD can actually save your arm.

 

[nintendoplayer]

Received some interesting feedback after our last club team season match from the owner of the local tennis hall who has seen players of all rankings in the past few decades.
In his opinion I have no „inner peace“ while playing, I‘m too hectic and not relaxed enough, especially on my forehand. In his opinion I don‘t use the opponent‘s energy enough, don‘t use my whole body on my forehand enough but hit it more with muscle strength. I could be a lot more successful if I would hit with more full body rotation and relaxed in his opinion, from his point of view I‘m „thrashing“ the forehand too much, making me loose too much energy over the course of longer rallies and longer matches. He also thinks I run too hectic on court.
He also stated that he prefers players with a „pokerface“ who don‘t show a lot of emotions and I‘m way too emotional on court for his taste. Showing lots of emotions gives the opponent too much information about your strengths and weaknesses in his opinion.
@Trip What do you think about that feedback? The forehand and „effortless power“ has been a topic in this thread, as well.

What I definitely recognize is that I changed my forehand grip to a more western grip since I use the PD, because otherwise I‘m having a hard time controlling it with a more eastern-tendency. This makes me „whip“ the forehand a lot more than previously with a Head PT 2.0 for example.

 

[Trip]

@nintendoplayer - Hi NP. Hope all is well. While on the one hand I can see how he might come to some of those conclusions, and yes, you might be having to exhibit certain less-than-Michelangelo-looking body mechanics and/or levels of character intensity to wield the PD how you like, but on the flip side of things, at least in the competitive sense, the results on the court seem to speak for themselves. At least to my eye, you're hitting as big, deep and explosive a ball as I've ever seen you've hit in this entire thread, and playing what appears to be some of your more effective tennis ever. So for how all of this weighs out, I guess we have to reconfirm what the whole point of showing up to your tennis sessions is really about, for you. If you're showing up for a beauty contest and/or to contemplate the Buddhistic states of being, while in the midst of a ground stroke or between serves, then I suppose this guy's commentary should be weighed as equally anything else that contributes to winning, or whatever else makes you enjoy your time out there. Short of that, though, I wouldn't overweigh it for more than it might be worth.

Put another way, as we know, no two players hit the ball in the same way or carry themselves and/or their energy the same way. And for as easy as it might be to point out that you might not have as Federer-esque a carriage about yourself while you're out there, neither did Nadal. Or Djokovic. etc. Point made there. Additionally, as for the racquet having anything to do with it, it could also very well be that this person's opinions might not have been any different if/when watching you hit, now or at any point in the past, with any number of racquets or strung specs in your hand. So, I'm not sure it's just a racquet and/or spec thing that are responsible for what he's talking about. I think you can perhaps work on and improve those items, independent of yet another racquet switch – if, again, these things he's talking about are of enough interest/importance.

TL;DR - I don't mean to say all that to belittle that person's comment altogether, but more so to just level out the take-away. In the end, he's probably not wrong, at least on some level. But then again, it sounds like he'd say the same about most of us, in some way or another. So I would take it in stride, as I know you probably are, and put it on the list of items to work on, maybe now, maybe later.

 

[nintendoplayer]

@nintendoplayer - Hi NP. Hope all is well. While on the one hand I can see how he might come to some of those conclusions, and yes, you might be having to exhibit certain less-than-Michelangelo-looking body mechanics and/or levels of character intensity to wield the PD how you like, but on the flip side of things, at least in the competitive sense, the results on the court seem to speak for themselves. At least to my eye, you're hitting as big, deep and explosive a ball as I've ever seen you've hit in this entire thread, and playing what appears to be some of your more effective tennis ever. So for how all of this weighs out, I guess we have to reconfirm what the whole point of showing up to your tennis sessions is really about, for you. If you're showing up for a beauty contest and/or to contemplate the Buddhistic states of being, while in the midst of a ground stroke or between serves, then I suppose this guy's commentary should be weighed as equally anything else that contributes to winning, or whatever else makes you enjoy your time out there. Short of that, though, I wouldn't overweigh it for more than it might be worth.

Put another way, as we know, no two players hit the ball in the same way or carry themselves and/or their energy the same way. And for as easy as it might be to point out that you might not have as Federer-esque a carriage about yourself while you're out there, neither did Nadal. Or Djokovic. etc. Point made there. Additionally, as for the racquet having anything to do with it, it could also very well be that this person's opinions might not have been any different if/when watching you hit, now or at any point in the past, with any number of racquets or strung specs in your hand. So, I'm not sure it's just a racquet and/or spec thing that are responsible for what he's talking about. I think you can perhaps work on and improve those items, independent of yet another racquet switch – if, again, these things he's talking about are of enough interest/importance.

TL;DR - I don't mean to say all that to belittle that person's comment altogether, but more so to just level out the take-away. In the end, he's probably not wrong, at least on some level. But then again, it sounds like he'd say the same about most of us, in some way or another. So I would take it in stride, as I know you probably are, and put it on the list of items to work on, maybe now, maybe later.

Thanks @Trip, you're the best! What that guy also kind of pointed out is that he thinks I have "kind of a Federer playing style but without the Federer relaxation". So a bit of "Federer playing style with Nadal muscling of the ball" Which simply doesn't fit for him. And I can definitely see that. I have more of an all court game but especially since using the PD and switching my forehand more into western territory, I became kind of a "hybrid". Still very oldschool backhand and net play, but with a possibly unusual way of hitting the forehand. Or am I now overanalyzing myself? Mh....

I was actually on the fence today, seriously considering purchasing a Vcore 95 2023 which is currently on discount at a german tennis store. Was imagining I would possibly have an easier time on the backhand, remembering the 95, 97 and 98 sq inch racquets that simply felt easier and more natural on the backhand.
But then I also thought "stick with what you have and currently works very well, improve your technique further. Resist the addiction!!"
That 100sq inch PD frame gives me so much forgiveness, penetrating spin and easy power...but yeah, on the top spin backhand I often feel like wielding a bulky log, but that supposedly is just my feeling, because at that last season match I had a few friends watching and they all pointed out how nice my backhand looks, especially the backhand. One pal also pointed out that it looked to him as if I would "throw my whole body into every backhand, as if I would lift off the ground and fly away with the ball with my whole body" - he found it to be looking quite extreme (in comparison to the other players he saw playing). So that also somehow fits into the older guy's feedback about me possibly "being too intense".
What I'm definitely planning next is to experiment with a bit lower tensions and Max Power. 20kg, 22kg, 24kg in comparison. Because in that last club team match I switched from 24 to 25kg again very quickly because my balls went too long. And after the match and after listening to those comments, I suppose I actually was tight under the pressure again and then switched to higher tension to cope with my tightness instead of getting into a relaxed rhythm. The same I did with the Head PT 2.0 when I also had 2 or 3 different tensions with me and regularly switched to the higher tensions during a serious match.
So these symptoms all somehow fit into that guy's feedback. But yeah, on the other hand that intensity also makes me win, I regularly talk to myself during these matches, as if my former coach would stand right next to me, always pushing me to keep my concentration and intensity up. And it works....but it probably also costs lots of energy and I didn't have a 3 set match lately, I regularly was able to overcome my opponents with the PD's power and spin. The rallies are also regularly quite short, either I hit a ball out or I force the opponent into an error or I hit a winner. Always aiming to put my opponent under as much pressure as possible as early as possible, not even letting him get into a real rhythm. That worked very nicely with the PD so far.
It all seems to work in combination with me also building up quite some muscle mass in the upper body and shoulder area, getting more and more into "Nadal plowing mode", working a lot with muscle strength. And the serve......I now hit lots of service winners which was almost impossible with the control racquets I used previously...so yes, the results definitely say "stay with the PD!". And my current main focus in practice is the ball toss. That already helped big time for that last match, I recognized that I was able to nearly 100% hit a consistent serve when my toss was consistent as well. Serving suddenly became quite easy - and very effective. And that alone is such a game changer, my serve was so weak before I switched to the PD.
But there's also always that certain feeling of uncertainty, a little element of chaos. In the end, in almost all matches I played lately, the result depended 100% on me. If I hit too much unforced errors, the set went in the opponent's direction, if I was able to hit my targets with consistency, I was controlling the match.

 

[Trip]

What that guy also kind of pointed out is that he thinks I have "kind of a Federer playing style but without the Federer relaxation". So a bit of "Federer playing style with Nadal muscling of the ball" Which simply doesn't fit for him. And I can definitely see that. I have more of an all court game but especially since using the PD and switching my forehand more into western territory, I became kind of a "hybrid". Still very oldschool backhand and net play, but with a possibly unusual way of hitting the forehand.

Absolutely nothing wrong with that, IMHO. If it works for you, your body and tennis is as fun as ever for you, then I would say that's a win-win-win – again, irrespective of anyone else's idea of how you should/shouldn't look and/or the vibe you give off.

As for other sticks, I think you've been down the rabbit hole long enough now to realize that there is no silver bullet. Everything is going to be a compromise in one form or another. The '23 VC95 is no different. Yeah, it might feel comparatively like a hot knife through warm butter on your 1HBH and serve, and you might feel and maybe even look like Federer with ballet slippers on while wielding it, but the real question is: what does your overall game end up looking like? At least as far as this thread would suggest, I bet you take an overall step back, at least in terms of playing your most winning tennis. By leaving the PD for the VC95, sure, you pickup much quicker maneuverability in most strokes, more variety, higher precision and quite possibly a more flowing, natural biomechanical marriage, but you also lose the base-level stability, forgiveness, power-to-weight, energy injection, easy depth, defensive bailout ability, and probably a couple more items I'm neglecting.

Now, I know we can cherry pick pro's and con's about stuff all day long, but just for a minute, consider the thoughts of this 6.0+ ITF player with as clean a 1-hander as you or I could ever hope to have, on the VC95 simply being less forgiving that even he has the leniency for at his level (video starts at 4:32, where he makes the point I'm eluding to). And yes, from a devil's advocate point of view, one could of course argue that he's blowing this supposed "major flaw" out of proportion. But then again, for a player of such a caliper, who has tried pretty much every frame there is to try, to bring it up all, let's you know it's least some degree of an issue:

Obviously, the frame has plenty of upsides of course. But in the grand scheme of things, I think the VC95 and most other 95-98 player-ish frames will end up being awfully similar to places you've been before, and you'll come away with very similar conclusions as to where they fit in the pecking order of things. That said, sure, maybe a higher-powered flavor of sub-100 would still be the best fit in the long run (ex: EZ98, TFight, PA98, '25 PD98, etc.) but those, too, will have their trade-offs. But I get it. Just because the underlying principles of yet more switching might not be sound, doesn't mean we can't have fun still trying things in spite of that. So if you must do so once again (and don't let me of all people stop you), then go ahead and have at it, chronicle the minute differences, and have fun doing so, but just know that the likelihood of finding some panacea is very low, and at some point, as I've said before, you'll start to reach the point of diminishing return, whereby yet another switch yields so little benefit, that at some point the overhead incurred by switching becomes soundly outpaced by the value of simply staying the course. And if this thread's history is anything to go by, you may be at that point with the PD, though who am I to really know. But I would say you're at least very close. As for whether that is grounds to keep up the search, only you can know.

I can tell you one thing, though: I think in times to come, I'll be able to point many a seeking rec player to this thread as an example on how we think/feel we play, versus how we actually look and do while playing, on real video, over the course of changing gear, etc. And for that, you are to be commended once again, for being so transparent, and sharing your journey with us!

 

[nintendoplayer]

@Trip Thanks for your reply, great insights again!

Today I hit with the PD and a Blade V9 98 18x16 295g, both strung with Max Power @22kg. I was kind of "shocked" how much I felt the Blade frame bend on contact, felt really extreme in comparison to the PD. Directional control and straight strokes felt perfectly controlled, lots of directional control on the serve as well, volleys felt like butter. The (relatively straight) backhand definitely felt more natural, as well. But a lot of less spin potential, power and forgiveness as well. So everything went as expected, although I didn't expect that extreme feeling of the Blade "bending" on contact.
Maybe the Blade 100 could be worth demoing sometime. The 98sq inch frame size definitely has limitations regarding spin, I can feel that very intensely now that I'm mainly hitting with the PD spin monster regularly. But from time to time I think especially my backhand being a straighter type of stroke "likes" the Blade 98. Like switching between these frames in a competition match, driving the opponent crazy with a mixture of extreme spin (PD) and straighter serve and volley play (Blade)
But the video also shows that I'm generally able to play the same tennis with both frames, with every frame having certain advantages on specific types of strokes. I love the Blade's directional control and buttery net play and I love the PD's power and spin. A perfect racquet would give me a mixture of the PD on serve, defense, slices and aggressive top spin shots and the Blade on straight directional shots, volleys, touch shots.

 

[Trip]

I completely get your comments regarding hitting with flexier, boxier, more constant-beamed sticks, feeling better on a more linear 1HBH, as I often get the same sensation when I switch back to my Prestige MP-L's after hitting with various more elliptical/tweener-ish frames. That said, at least if you're evaluating things on how you do competition-wise, you have to look at your game overall, and while yes, it would be great to find a frame with the combination of of all the qualities you listed (ironically enough, that's what I'm currently evaluating in the novel-but-overlooked-and-discontinued Dunlop Revo CZ 98D, which I profile in this post), that theoretical racquet will still have certain trade-offs. And as objectively as I can say it, I think the PD has done more for your game than anything else you've shown in this thread, by a pretty wide margin, even your backhand included, which quite honestly I don't think looks that bad. You're still hitting with good margin, deep and fairly accurate with it, so I'm not sure of what more you could want, at least from a results standpoint. As for feel, biomechanical match and the intangibles, I get it, but based on what I'm seeing, perhaps they're worth back-seating, for the sake of how well you seem to be playing with the PD?

 

[nintendoplayer]

Absolutely, the PD rules currently. I‘m slightly worried about the shoulder in the long run, potential stiffness issues coming up with the PD the longer the matches go, but so far I‘m fine. But that‘s part of the reason why I‘m still watching potential alternatives with an open eye. And with the PD I regularly have these backhands where I‘m a bit late and have the feeling of swinging a cumbersome club. You then also see me leaning back regularly on video, trying to compensate for being late. When I have enough time to prepare there aren‘t any issues but as soon as the rallies become very fast the top spin backhand regularly is no option because I‘m often too late and then switch to slice - which works perfectly with the PD. So yeah, I‘m adopting my game to the PD and have more margin for error, more forgiveness.
But as you can also see, switching between Blade and PD currently works seamlessly as well, making me think that I could’ve potentially now reached a state (with the help of the PD) where I‘m able to hit relatively pain-free with multiple racquets.
Going lower in tension to 22kg also worked nicely, although I also have the feeling that MaxPower doesn‘t like going too low, raising more unpleasurable sensations in the arm the lower I go. But that could again be me being hyper-sensitive and overthinking

 

[Trip]

Yeah, I gotcha. I think the issue with lateness on the backhand is just indicative of having a frame with tweener proportions and a balance that's just head-heavy enough to combine into a heft that is felt whenever you try and rush the racquet into position and/or through the motion too much. But do know, many great frames share this characteristic. Now, you could work to get around that by adding a bunch of handle weight, allowing you to more easily pivot the frame about the balance point with less effort, but then you'd be loading on static weight just for that privilege, and it may very well mess up some of the benefits you get in other areas of your game, independent of your 1HBH (such as serve, being able to whip your forehands, etc). So, as I keep circling back to, it's all a trade-off. It just seems like, even despite some of these issues, the PD has the fewest trade-offs for you, overall. And I bet with continued play, you might be able to condition yourself into an ability to compensate for more and more of the physical shortcomings on the BH side, for now you know what to expect there, and maybe some additional training on anticipation could bridge the gap well enough.

 

[nintendoplayer]

Hit with 20kg today and understood what the old dude was talking about. I was hitting winners with a lot less effort and way more relaxed swinging. I had to reduce my swing speed and had to focus more on placing the ball, thereby overhitting a lot less. From time to time I even had the impression of having more control and being able to "paint the lines better" now that I didn't have to put as much force into each stroke. Feels like my new normal. My hitting partner primarily recognized my backhand slices landing a lot deeper and my forehand winners being more deadly without me having to put in much effort.

 

[nintendoplayer]

First recording hitting on a US OPEN surface tennis court - I absolutely love hard courts. Much more reliable than the usual carpet, much more control.

I re-tested Hyper G Round in this session, strung at 20kg - and loved it. Doesn‘t feel that much less controlled than MaxPower but probably with a bit more shooting power. Comfort wasn’t noticeably better, actually - maybe even a bit worse than MaxPower?
Will have to look into comfort during longer matches.
At least currently they both feel very comparable, with MaxPower being a bit deader, a bit less powerful, a bit less comfortable - maybe. But not all that far apart from each other.

I especially recognized that I don‘t moan anymore which I account to the lower tension reducing the need for me to put in as much physical energy when hitting.


EDIT: HyperG Round is definitely stiffer and less comfortable, can feel it in the arm. But also more powerful while still being very controlled. MaxPower is much less powerful, more adequate for blocking and redirecting high paced balls. HypGR is better for dominating. Currently I prefer HypG.