Poll: XL Racquet? Or Not?

[Xenakis]

After seeing those pro racquet stats someone posted earlier from Bercy 2007 I wondered how many players here use XL frames, it seems a lot of pros do.

I'm currently using a 28in Vantage 95. Was using an i.Prestige Mid XL before that (27.75.)

Please add some info about why you use what you use, if possible.

For me it's because I have a 2hbh and like to hold both hands on the grip (not one on the throat.) Also because I get more leverage/power in general and because I'm just over 5ft 9 (as opposed to 6ft plus.)

 

[Xenakis]

Quickly counting these up (i.e. might have miscounted one or two) 26 out of 45 pro players in this list from Bercy 2007 are using XL frames..

58% of pros in this list use frames longer than 27in/68.5cm
42% use standard length frames 27in/68.5cm

DANIEL NESTOR 374 GR 29.1 EQ 69.5 CM

JUAN MONACO 367 GR 31.4 EQ 70 CM

MARIO ANCIC 366 GR 29, 3 EQ 69 CM

JAMES BLAKE 365 GR 30.5 EQ 68.5 CM

KEVIN ULLYETT 360 GR 29,5 EQ 70 CM

STANISLAS WAWRINKA 359 GR 31 EQ 68.5 CM

MAX MIRNYI 359 GR 30,4 EQ 68,5 CM

ANDREAS SEPPI 356 GR 30.8 EQ 70 CM

NICOLAS KIEFER 350 GR 32.2 EQ 69 CM

JONAS BJORKMAN 349 GR 30.2 EQ 70 CM

JUAN IGNACIO CHELA 349 GR 32.8 EQ 70 CM

RICHARD GASQUET 349 GR 31.5 EQ 68.5 CM

JARKKO NIEMINEM 348 GR 30.5 EQ 71 CM

ARNAUD CLEMENT 348 GR 30.8 EQ 70,5 CM

SIMON ASPELIN 348 GR 31 EQ 68.5 CM

NICOLAS LAPENTTI 348 GR 31,5 EQ 68,5 CM

PAVEL VIZNER 347 GR 31 EQ 69.5 CM

IVO KARLOVIC 347 GR 31.5 EQ 69 CM

VINCENT SPADEA 347 GR 30.5 EQ 68,5 CM

FILIPPO VOLANDRI 347 GR 30.8 EQ 68,5 CM

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN 345 GR 31,7 EQ 71 CM

NENAD ZIMONJIC 344 GR 30.7 EQ 69.5 CM

PAUL HANLEY 340 GR 30.4 EQ 70 CM

TOMMY ROBREDO 340 GR 31.5 EQ 69.5 CM

MARC GICQUEL 340 GR 31.2 EQ 68.5 CM

PAUL HENRI MATHIEU 338 GR 31.3 EQ 68,5 CM

NICOLAS ALMAGRO 337 GR 31.2 EQ 68,5 CM

POTITO STARACE 336 GR 31 EQ 68,5 CM

G GARCIA LOPEZ 336 GR 31.5 EQ 68.5 CM

J.W TSONGA 335 GR 31 EQ 69,5 CM

FERNANDO VERDASCO 335 GR 30.4 EQ 68.5 CM

MICHAEL LLODRA 333 GR 30.8 EQ 68.5 CM

OLIVIER ROCHUS 331 GR 31.1 EQ 71.5 CM

THOMAS JOHANSSON 331 GR 31,2 EQ 68,5 CM

JC FERRERO 330 GR 32.5 EQ 71,5 CM

DAVID FERRER 330 GR 32 EQ 71 CM

NIKOLAY DAVYDENKO 330 GR 32 EQ 70 CM

FABRICE SANTORO 328 GR 31 EQ 71 CM

GILLES SIMON 327 GR 31 EQ 68.5 CM

MIKHAIL YOUZHNY 320 GR 31 EQ 68.5 CM

RAFAEL NADAL 319 GR 32.5 EQ 68.5 CM

ALBERT MONTANES 316 GR 33 EQ 70 CM

JURGEN MELZER 314 GR 31.2 EQ 70.5 CM

FELICIANO LOPEZ 312 GR 32.4 EQ 70 CM

CARLOS MOYA 306 GR 36.2 EQ 69 CM

 

[tsongaali]

I don't like the extra length. To me it makes my arm not fully extended when hitting the ball compared to a 27 inch that allows my arm to be fully extended.

 

[ae1222]

I finally just made the move to 27.5" and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It did take a little bit of getting used to, but I do have more leverage and feel like I get much better spin on the ball with the extended frame. I especially like the reach on the serve, being a 5.0 player that is only 5'7" I need all the help I can get.

 

[Danstevens]

Xenakis, I believe that Fernando Gonzalez uses an extended length stick as well.

I'm a shorter player so I really like the added reach of my 28 inch racket (pro stock Wilson 95 sq. inch - marked "Classic" in the throat). The reach comes in particularly handy on the serve. I think extended rackets also give you a little bit more spin potential and once again, that's a nice property for a frame to have. I haven't really noticed any of the drawbacks of extended length rackets enough to make me reconsider using one so I imagine that I'll be playing with extended rackets for quite some time to come.

 

[Xenakis]

Dan: I thought the Bercy stats were a decent random sample of pro players. Agreed that quite a few others use XL frames too and these stats are a few years old.

No surprise that that standard length racquets are way out in front in this poll. Probably reflects more or less the ratio of standard to XLs on sale currently.

I wonder why so many pros use XL frames but so many of us club/rec players don't?

Hmm.

 

[journeymonk]

... because they are huge people?

 

[jazar]

I wonder why so many pros use XL frames but so many of us club/rec players don't?

availability.

 

[Danstevens]

availability.

That could certainly be a big factor. I would imagine that if a pro wants an XL frame, there's very little stopping them getting a particular frame in a particular length. We amateurs generally have a much weaker selection of extended length rackets and there are certainly very few extended length players' frames available today - most extended rackets seem to be tweeners or granny sticks. If more good XL frames were available, I can imagine more people playing with them, as it is though, they certainly occupy a minority group in the amateur market.

I'm very tempted to give Vantage a go, I like the sound of their 90 and 95 sq. inch models and everyone seems to give them rave reviews so I might give them a try at some point.

 

[ae1222]

Danstevens,

I have had a few vantages, they are nice. If you can grab one used it is well worth it. I only have one left in the standard length, wish I had an extended one...

 

[Ivan Lendl's Backhand]

Yeah, its strange that there aren't more XL racquets on the amateur / non-pro circuit. I guess the retailers are simply catering for the masses and the massives buy whatever is being marketed or used by the likes of Federer and Nadal. Bit of a Catch-22 situation. Manufacturers won't heavily market it because only a small number of people buy them. Only a small number of people buy them because they're not heavily marketed. So retailers don't want to hold stock that doesn't sell or only sells in small numbers.

The XL market needs an XL poster boy.

Personally, I'm REALLY tempted to try a 27.5" version of my own racquet. The only doubt I have is not the length but whether its going to change the feel, balance, manouvrebility etc.

 

[Xenakis]

What racquet do you use Ivan?

You could always extend one using the balsa stack method (that someone posted a thread about recently.)

I did that to my RDS001MP. Took it from a 27 to about 27.75. Was a few hours work to do and didn't require much in terms of materials and tools. Racquet plays really well now, basically a nice long handle for 2hbh and it's great for serving.