Racket Advice and Wrist Pain

[Hazmat]

Hi,

I am currently using the Wilson Blx Blade 98 (Black and Gold version) and I am fairly happy with it. My previous racket was a Head Youtek Prestige MP which was good but I just needed easier access to spin and power.

However, ever since switching to the Blade, I have been experiencing wrist pain when playing, especially on the forehand side. I never experienced this pain when playing with the Prestige or any rackets previous to that.

I know the Blade and the Prestige have a similar stiffness rating but something about the Blade just causes my wrist to flare up.

I hybrid all my rackets with Genesis Typhoon in the mains and Gosen OG Sheep Micro in the crosses.

Any advice about rackets similar to the Blade which are easy on the arm would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

 

[Hazmat]

Also, some of the rackets I'm looking at are:
Head Graphene Speed Pro
Tecnifibre 320 VO2 Max
Yonex Ai 98
RF 97 315

 

[LeeD]

What strings, what tension?
While I do know a few good player's using this racket at 60lbs., most player's better than me are using low 50's to higher 40's, because the racket is relatively stiff and head heavy.
Just dropping string tension down to mid 40's would ease the stress on your wrist.
I've been using 38 lbs. on a Bio300T, about the same stiffness as your racket.

 

[Lukhas]

Do you use the correct grip size? Do you lock your wrist in a certain position as you swing? That said, the Blade isn't the most comfortable racquet out there either.

 

[Hazmat]

I already string it fairly loose. I string it with genesis typhoon in the mains at 50lbs and the gosen in the crosses at 46lbs.

As for grip size, it's a 4 1/4 with two over grips on it so it's close to 4 3/8 I think? I've been using that size my whole life.

I briefly switched back to the prestige for two weeks with the exact same set up and still had a little bit of pain but nowhere near as much, especially after I played. After using the blade again for two days my wrist has seized up and any rotational movement is painful.

Any other thoughts?

 

[LeeD]

Blade 98 has a SW of nearly 335, but can be higher depending on thicker strings used. That's hefty, for an 11 oz racket, and very head heavy, making it sluggish to swing. You might be forcing your swings with muscle power, instead of early prep, await the ball, then swing.

 

[4sound]

Prestige feels more comfortable to swing. Probably because of the swing weight. Black/Gold Blade felt stiffer to me when hit with it. I'd try a softer multi string.

 

[SpinToWin]

I'd recommend trying a IG Prestige Pro. It feels plusher than the YT Prestiges and offers more power, forgiveness, stability and spin (especially when compared to the MP).

 

[Starbuckingham]

String it even lower. 30 lbs cross 35 lbs mains. Bigger sweetspot and more comfortable on your wrist / arm.

 

[Hazmat]

I'd recommend trying a IG Prestige Pro. It feels plusher than the YT Prestiges and offers more power, forgiveness, stability and spin (especially when compared to the MP).

I think I will try that. I'm in Australia and can only demo the graphene version at the moment. I see the IG Pro's are $99 on TW and I'm tempted to just take a gamble and order a couple. Are they are big improvement over the Youtek Prestige MP? I love the manoeuvrability and control of the MP but need easier access to power and spin so if the IG Pro offers that then it sounds perfect.

 

[fuzz nation]

I'm getting boatloads of comfort and performance with my Volkl Orgainix 325g's, which are on sale these days at TW (don't know about your access down under?). This frame was a bit lean for me right out of the box, but I tried some tuning up with lead tape and I've found results far beyond my expectations. It's soft without being mushy, more head-light after tuning for very easy handling, ultra kind to my joints strung with syn. gut (I'm 48 and don't dabble with poly), and performs like a champ.

Other frames like the Prince Classic Graphite 100 could be worth a look, but I agree with our pals that softer strings could perhaps bring some quick relief. I've always liked a racquet with a balance up toward 10 pts. head-light and whenever I've sampled gear with a couple points less HL balance, it's definitely been harder on my wrist. That's just me, but maybe something you can keep track of as you demo. Balance may make a difference for your comfort level.

 

[torpantennis]

I think the problem with Blade 98 is related to the weight distribution. It has relatively low static weight, but high swingweight and almost even balance. That's about the worst possible for arm/wrist health. And whenever I've hit with Blade 98, it has felt too awkward for my liking.

What you like is a little more smoothly swinging racquet. The cheapest option would be to modify Blade 98 with lead. I'd suggest replacing the original grip with leather grip and then adding 2-5g in the buttcap, and more importantly, 10-20g in the throat or top of the handle. That should add to linear forward momentum of the racquet and make the Blade 98 less awkward to swing.

 

[anubis]

I already string it fairly loose. I string it with genesis typhoon in the mains at 50lbs and the gosen in the crosses at 46lbs.

As for grip size, it's a 4 1/4 with two over grips on it so it's close to 4 3/8 I think? I've been using that size my whole life.

I briefly switched back to the prestige for two weeks with the exact same set up and still had a little bit of pain but nowhere near as much, especially after I played. After using the blade again for two days my wrist has seized up and any rotational movement is painful.

Any other thoughts?

It's got to be your technique. That's not a terribly stiff frame, and you're using a rather low tension. I see no reason why that setup would hurt anyone as long as it's used properly.

Now if you had the tension near 60 lbs, that would make more sense to explain your pain from a purely hardware point of view.

 

[bad_call]

Hi,

I am currently using the Wilson Blx Blade 98 (Black and Gold version) and I am fairly happy with it. My previous racket was a Head Youtek Prestige MP which was good but I just needed easier access to spin and power.

However, ever since switching to the Blade, I have been experiencing wrist pain when playing, especially on the forehand side. I never experienced this pain when playing with the Prestige or any rackets previous to that.

I know the Blade and the Prestige have a similar stiffness rating but something about the Blade just causes my wrist to flare up.

I hybrid all my rackets with Genesis Typhoon in the mains and Gosen OG Sheep Micro in the crosses.

Any advice about rackets similar to the Blade which are easy on the arm would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

been using the 18x20 BLX Blade for more than a year now. it's leaded at the head so SW even higher than 330. no arm issues when using the appropriate string & tension. Typhoon may work for some racquets/players but a big no-no for this hitter.

suggest trying full syn gut in the mid 40s and check back.

 

[SpinToWin]

I think I will try that. I'm in Australia and can only demo the graphene version at the moment. I see the IG Pro's are $99 on TW and I'm tempted to just take a gamble and order a couple. Are they are big improvement over the Youtek Prestige MP? I love the manoeuvrability and control of the MP but need easier access to power and spin so if the IG Pro offers that then it sounds perfect.

Big improvement over the YT Prestiges IMO. It offers exactly that, more power and spin. I still have two that I use for the indoors carpet season, as it plays like a 18x20 with slightly more power and spin, which is ideal for the surface and my game.

 

[Egoista]

Donnays are generally pretty easy on the wrist and the elbow