low swingweight and arm problems? (Prince Ozone Tour MP, Babolat Aero Plus, Head Prestige Tour)

[Ruvi the Kruv]

Hello Dears,
I played with Prince Ozone Tour for the last 10 years (strung with syn gut at 55). Along this period I had pain in my arm twice, and I had to quit playing for about 3 months. The model in TW SW is 321, while this one is 295. Flex rate is unknown, altough I read that it's usually below 65 in O3 series, which are known to be "arm friendly". Technique wise: My OHBH is a mix of slice and spin and it's not very pretty to the eye, to say the least. Recently I started having this pain again and also played against a high level players and lost more than I used to, but instead of quitting/resting I searched for extra power and... bought a new racket, Babolat Aero Pro Plus, with Babolat RPM blast strings (17). Now my timing is really bad (I mishit a lot) and my arm got much much worser... I played with Head Prestige Tour, which is quite a heavy racket with low flex and had no pain, but also not enough power. Now... I want to go back to Prince O3, since it's the racket that I feel most comfortable with, but I'm afraid that the pain will go back. Any advice?


Specs of Prince Ozone Tour MP :

• Length: 27.0 in
• Headsize: 100 sq in
• Cross Section: 18-20-18mm
• Weight: 10.9oz/310g unstrung
• Balance: 12.2 in/31.0 cm, Head Light
• Grip: DuraPro+
• Rec. Strings: Syn Gut w/ Duraflex 16
• Power Level: 800
• Swing Weight: 295
• String Pattern: 16 x 18

 

[Automatix]

That 295 swingweight is unstrung while the quoted 321 swingweight is strung.

 

[Ruvi the Kruv]

Are you sure? It's always like that? So 335 is 361?

 

[Automatix]

Are you sure? It's always like that? So 335 is 361?

Specs on TW USA are always strung. Specs on racquets themselves are unstrung.

 

[Christian Olsson]

321 in sw should be enough, I just conducted some experiments with my two Volkls, one is quoted 322 sw one is 316 sw. I used to make them 335 sw ish but I’m down now to stock. It’s Volkl Vsense 10-325 and Volkl super g 10-295 with 14 g lead at top of the handle. Short story, stock I can feel impact on the hand (low recoil weight) on the 295 without lead but with lead at 18 cm from butt it’s way more comfortable. Then there’s strings. How often do you restring? And what type of strings? Gauge? Tension? All this matters on arm comfort. Prestige isn’t usually a high sw racquet but often high static weight. Imho you don’t need per se high sw to get comfort. You need total mass and in some degree spread over the racquet. Buying a Babolat when your arm is hurting is in my book like shooting yourself in the head to get rid of the headache. Imho. I would go for softer strings and restring more often. There’s tons of knowledge here on board that can guide you to the right strings and string tension. Put some lead weight on your Prince racquet if new strings doesn’t help. Sell the Babolat. Imo.

 

[RobS]

The most important step by far is resolving the issue of the miss hits. Nothing creates more strain on your arm than off center contact. Identify the racquet specs that allows you to find the center of the strings with the greatest consistency. Weight, balance, length and swingweight all have an impact on your timing and mechanics and it's different for everyone. If it's the Prince or another racquet with similar specs, that's your starting point. Look at your string type and tension next. Soft strings and/or low tensions can enhance both comfort and power. A softer grip designed for shock absorption can also provide some relief. If you still feel like you need a little 'extra', experiment with adding total weight and swingweight in small increments.

 

[speedysteve]

Try a Volkl..

 

[fuzz nation]

Hello Dears,
I played with Prince Ozone Tour for the last 10 years (strung with syn gut at 55). Along this period I had pain in my arm twice, and I had to quit playing for about 3 months. The model in TW SW is 321, while this one is 295. Flex rate is unknown, altough I read that it's usually below 65 in O3 series, which are known to be "arm friendly". Technique wise: My OHBH is a mix of slice and spin and it's not very pretty to the eye, to say the least. Recently I started having this pain again and also played against a high level players and lost more than I used to, but instead of quitting/resting I searched for extra power and... bought a new racket, Babolat Aero Pro Plus, with Babolat RPM blast strings (17). Now my timing is really bad (I mishit a lot) and my arm got much much worser... I played with Head Prestige Tour, which is quite a heavy racket with low flex and had no pain, but also not enough power. Now... I want to go back to Prince O3, since it's the racket that I feel most comfortable with, but I'm afraid that the pain will go back. Any advice?


Specs of Prince Ozone Tour MP :

• Length: 27.0 in
• Headsize: 100 sq in
• Cross Section: 18-20-18mm
• Weight: 10.9oz/310g unstrung
• Balance: 12.2 in/31.0 cm, Head Light
• Grip: DuraPro+
• Rec. Strings: Syn Gut w/ Duraflex 16
• Power Level: 800
• Swing Weight: 295
• String Pattern: 16 x 18

If you don't unload that Babolat (you ought to be able to get some of you money back if you sell it - it's rather popular), get rid of the RPM Blast now. That stuff is overpriced garbage and I'm honestly getting sick of hearing from recreational players, even some very strong ones, who have run into arm troubles with it.

If you keep that racquet (the Babolat), I'd say restring it with either a synthetic gut or maybe a multifiber. Any syn. gut other than Prince SG (SG = syn. gut) w/Duraflex or Gamma SG w/WearGuard ought to be moderately soft. Those two syn. guts are rather stiff because of durable ribbons that are wrapped over their surface. Prince Original SG, Gosen OG Sheep Micro, Volkl Classic SG, and a few others are all decent performers. Premium multifibers are relatively pricey and often not as durable as syn. gut, but they're generally quite soft. I prefer syn. gut in my own frames and like the feel of 17 ga. over 16 ga. That's just me.

Sounds like your comfort zone for now is with the Prince. Since that frame has a dense string pattern (18x20), it might feel and play better with a lighter gauge of string. If you can get a 17 ga. syn. gut swapped in, that might work fine. In my experience, even a soft racquet that has a dense string pattern like your Prince can feel rather clunky when strung with 16 ga. string instead of 17 ga. option. The lighter, thinner syn. gut should have better feel and softness, but also give you decent durability in a dense layout - more strings effectively share the load.

I'm a happy Volkl nerd and I can also recommend a look at some of their options. Just keep in mind that any racquet will be easier on the arm with a softer string type, even if that racquet is rather stiff. On the other hand, a soft racquet won't do much to promote your arm's health if you pair it with a stiff, harsh poly string. Unless you're ripping the cover off the ball with really big swings, the polys won't work in your favor anyway.