Modern Player 98sq 300/310g: Should them all feel undergunned?

[Moonarse]

(I get it that once you add up weight this thinner beams/flexier frames really start to feel solid)

but Im talking stock form. Every single one of those frames feel tiny compared to what I'm used.

And I play Aero with 2 OG.

Every time I try to hit with my opponents frame (vcore pro 310, blades (all strings and years, even pro), radicals, extreme tour, TF 40's.) I feel that I am really - but i mean really - "underracqueted". I just feel like there is no pop and no mass behind the ball. I feel sorry for them, it makes me feel like they are playing tennis on "hard" mode.

The crazy thing is that the worst part for me is the volley. From the baseline you sort of ajust and use the RHS and thin beam to your advantage, but once you get to the net it even hurts to volley, due to the lack of mass...

This is by any means a superiority/critique sort of post, but actually an honest doubt. As I've been playing with an Aero for 10 years and people always say that the tweeners are stiff and hollow but every time I try a player's frame at the same weight I feel undergunned.

Is it always like this? You just get used to and adjust your technique to it?

 

[Fed Kennedy]

Its true. They are all girly men. Which aero do you have

 

[Grafil Injection]

'Control rackets are not as powerful as Power rackets, and not as spinny as Spin rackets.' Shocker.

 

[lazywombat]

Yes they all feel undergunned if you played two decades with 320/330g racquets like I did. If you never used anything heavy than those feel perfectly normal. Can you get used to lower weight and make technique changes that accomodate more to it? Yes you can.

 

[jxs653]

I know what you mean. Babolat feels substantial at ball impact despite its light weight and hollowness people deride. Babolat is performance racquet, not connoisseur's racquet.

 

[Frankc]

@lazywombat Yes, one can change and go lighter.
Remember, 'tis all Physics. Mass and Velocity equals energy. Mass also provides stability (watch those joints).
Less mass and one must add far more velocity - just physics.
Imho, if one enjoys an all court game, then that means more neutral grips. That means mass (weight) is a given. The variety of an all court game is just too much fun...

 

[Moonarse]

'Control rackets are not as powerful as Power rackets, and not as spinny as Spin rackets.' Shocker.

Don't go that way, sir. What I'm saying is that it seems like a consensus that 100sq 300g should feel light and hollow compared to "player frames". I expected them to feel more stable/solid. And I mean this without critique, I was just shocked how "smaller" they feel.

 

[Moonarse]

Its true. They are all girly men. Which aero do you have

APD GT 2011.

 

[Moonarse]

BTW, I'm not stating the obvious, that heavier rackets feel more solid than lighter ones.

What I'm stating is that I wasn't expecting to feel that my slightly larger, lighter, stiffer and wider beamed racket, more stable/solid than this 98 gamma of modern rackets. Marketing and opinion wise, going towards them - the Modern 305 98's - should imply getting something heavier and more solid, shouldn't it?

I'm not comparing it to a PT630/6.1.

 

[Yamin]

Most 98 rackets are platform rackets these days. They come with low swing weight, higher twist weights.

I'm guessing the intent is to make rackets easier to play, and can have weight added just at the tip if people need, but the config gives nothing for offensive play.

 

[Trip]

2011 AeroPro Drive GT:

Playing it stock with 2 over grips, you add roughly 11-12g of static weight to the handle, so strung spec will be around 330-332g/~32cm(~7ptsHL)/~330sw/~20.4mgr/i/~171rw

So, at your strung spec, you're using a medium-weight, medium-high swing weight, thick, stiff tweener with a very rigid elliptical beam cross-section, with partial dampening and pretty high recoil weight. And you're wondering why most player/control sticks feel "undergunned" in comparison? I think the answer is pretty apparent: all of the APGT's physical attributes, coupled with medium-high swing weight, low (ish) MGR/i, high recoil weight, and dense central string area, combine together to apply much higher-than-average bludgeoning force and sheer friction on the ball, than your typical control stick will, at least not without moderate or more customization. For starters, the player stick's physical design will offer more "give" by it's very nature of being flexier and thinner, and while its recoil weight may be approaching that of the APDGT, its MGR/i is often higher, requiring more pushing motion through a linear swat, rather than pulling through a loopier drag, and the resulting ball will be more measured/fine-tunable, but less outright bludgeoned, on average. As a cherry on top, add in the extremely rigid elliptical beam design of the Aero, versus the designed-to-flex-and-give boxier designs of the narrow player sticks, and it pretty plane to see, you're dealing with completely different animals.

So that's your answer, in detail. Hope it makes sense enough.

 

[Fed Kennedy]

2011 AeroPro Drive GT:

Playing it stock with 2 over grips, you add roughly 11-12g of static weight to the handle, so strung spec will be around 330-332g/~32cm(~7ptsHL)/~330sw/~20.4mgr/i/~171rw

So, at your strung spec, you're using a medium-weight, medium-high swing weight, thick, stiff tweener with a very rigid elliptical beam cross-section, with partial dampening and pretty high recoil weight. And you're wondering why most player/control sticks feel "undergunned" in comparison? I think the answer is pretty apparent: all of the APGT's physical attributes, coupled with medium-high swing weight, low (ish) MGR/i, high recoil weight, and dense central string area, combine together to apply much higher-than-average bludgeoning force and sheer friction on the ball, than your typical control stick will, at least not without moderate or more customization. For starters, the player stick's physical design will offer more "give" by it's very nature of being flexier and thinner, and while its recoil weight may be approaching that of the APDGT, its MGR/i is often higher, requiring more pushing motion through a linear swat, rather than pulling through a loopier drag, and the resulting ball will be more measured/fine-tunable, but less outright bludgeoned, on average. As a cherry on top, add in the extremely rigid elliptical beam design of the Aero, versus the designed-to-flex-and-give boxier designs of the narrow player sticks, and it pretty plane to see, you're dealing with completely different animals.

So that's your answer, in detail. Hope it makes sense enough.

This guy said it. But, in other words the APDGT is a BRICK

 

[Dragy]

Don't go that way, sir. What I'm saying is that it seems like a consensus that 100sq 300g should feel light and hollow compared to "player frames". I expected them to feel more stable/solid. And I mean this without critique, I was just shocked how "smaller" they feel.

Player’s frames feel solid if they have decent SW like 330+. They also feel solid if you make clean contact every time.

If you just swap to thinner beam, smaller head, more flexy frame, which is 5g heavier but only to make it more headlight… And you also don’t care much about hitting the sweetspot with fast full swing — you do feel underpowered, dead, unstable.

300g 100 sqin frames with decent SW like 320-325 don’t actually feel tinny. Harsh maybe if stiff. But stable and powerful.

 

[Frankc]

Power, power, power...
( Hard to believe that there could be more to tennis than power, power...?
Varied, all court skills tennis, anyone? )

 

[Moonarse]

Power, power, power...
( Hard to believe that there could be more to tennis than power, power...?
Varied, all court skills tennis, anyone? )

I dont get why people relate power to attacking/bashing/outpowering faster balls game. For me, the power increase that really doesn't allow me to depart from the APD is exactly when I'm with my back agains the wall, hitting on the run, totally unbalanced, needing to place a slice deep in the court or slap a harder ball for them to volley.