Power serving

[lendl lives]

the babolat pc standard gives me a huge pop on my serve (4.5 and 5.0 players miss or give weak returns). its the first raquet that i've used that gives me the feeling of being able to crack the whip on he ball during a serve. however it is not my favorite for groundies. The other raquets i've tried yonex mp tour 90, lm prestige, are my two favorites. However i can't get that pop like i can on the babolat pc standard on my serve. the difference is huge. i suspect it is a weight or balance issue. i'd like to better undestand the difference. has anyone else experienced this?

 

[b.]

Here is my experience concerning weight <-> power question.

Since I'm now a "weekend warrior", just started to play again after a few years (I used to play OK), my strength and technique are very inconsistent. In other words - there are several players in myself

One day everything goes well, other - birds are in great jeopardy.
First time I played with LM Prestige Mid I happened to be in a good shape, and really enjoyed serving. Second time I was noticeably weaker (I skipped the breakfast ), and felt LM P to be too heavy to produce swing fast enough. Than I took my other, lighter stick (& more HL), and problem was temporally solved (I haven't said anything about where those fast balls ended up ).

When in good shape (or "modus" since it vary on daily basis) I can produce noticeably faster serve with heavier stick.

So - I guess, it's always strength <-> weight combination.

 

[lendl lives]

i think i've noticed the same. with the lm prestige mid, when i'm fresh i can get good power, but if i'm tired forget it. now that i'm remembering i was bangiing it with the lm but i was fresh and it was a different kind of bang. but i have to really bend my knees with the lm. any way i don't want to be a player who depends on a raquet for a big serve. take the babolat pc standard out of my hands and i'm vulnerable. maybe its just a matter of getting used to other raquets i don't know.

 

[lendl lives]

ps. babolat pc std strung with big banger (grey string) at 64lbs. 16g.

 

[rondallrp]

How bout keeping accuracy with good a pop serve.

I found a good motion that allows me to generate a lot more power and still get it in. However, I lose the ability to accurately move the ball around the box.

Same ole problem. Power verses control.

 

[lendl lives]

good point. i loose some control but i feel i can generally go for areas. the problem is when good players don't get it back it can make one lazy about accuracy. usually i aim it right at em. i'll keep this in mind next time on the courts. sometimes you can be so impressed with your speed you don't think about accuracy as much. obviously this can come back to haunt you. i'll pay more attention next time out to what my control is like.

 

[Kick Serve]

The Babolat PC is stiffer than the other racquets you mentioned. I've always found that I can serve better with a stiffer racquet, but prefer something more flexible for groundies. Eventually, I decided to sacrifice a little power on my serve to go with a more flexible racquet for consistency off the ground. I currently use a Volkl Tour 10 MP. It's got just enough pop on the serve without sacrificing control and feel on my groundstrokes.

 

[lendl lives]

kick serve,
thanks for the analysis. obviously i know very little 'bout equipment. I'll keep this in mind. Have you ever tried the prince original graph os? this is a raquet i love on the groundies but hate on the serve.

 

[Kick Serve]

Yeah, the POG OS is a great racquet for groundies but not so good on serves-- just ask Agassi, Chang and Coria (great groundstrokes, so-so serves). I think the large headsize of the POG OS combined with the weight make it an especially difficult racquet to generate optimum swing speed on the serve. Also, the flex doesn't help either. It's difficult to find that one racquet that does everything equally well -- just look at all of the different opinions expressed on this board. My advice is to find a racquet you feel confident with on all of your strokes. I would always go for consistency over power when choosing a racquet. There's a lot you can do with string types, tension and lead tape later on that can boost the power level of a racquet (albeit not a huge amount more, but usually just enough). Find a stick that feels good and then practice, practice, practice...

 

[b.]

I forgot one important thing:

lighter frame alows me to hunt for the badly thrown ball - to (almost subconsciencely) make last-1/100 second corrections!