As a D1 college tennis player facing heavy tennis balls hit my way day in and day out, it's always stunning to me how good the pros are at redirecting pace and spin. Check out this video for what I'm talking about:
The most stunning part to me in this video is how little effort Djoko expends in being able to consistently do what he wants to with the ball. Part of this is good technique, but as a player with my experience, I was frequently left wondering why wasn't I even reaching close to his ability to do so EVER, even when I am in good position. After traversing the forum for some time and talking to tennis tech people at Tennis Warehouse, I've figured a few things out.
I've heard the rumblings of the benefits of playing with lead tape in the frame for some time, and had even tried it myself to increase stability. This lack of knowledge lead me to trying random setups out and seeing how they felt, a highly ineffective method--but I didn't know better.
The pros come with a plan to customize their racquets depending on their gamestyle. Rafa needs a racquet that allows him to play with heavy spin, Federer needs a racquet that gives him the ability to flick his wrist meaningfully, etc. But they all have one thing in common.
Most of the lead you see the pros use is at 3 and 9, as that is the visible lead on the frame. That helps to fix low twist weight on racquets (how much the racquet twists along the longitudal axis). But many, many pros also use lead (in fact, the majority of their lead) hidden under the bumper and bottom of the grip to polarize their frames. This helps to raise the most key factor in all of this: swingweight. The pros often use long strips under 12 to ensure a consistent response from the frame regardless of where the ball is struck.
Stock racquets pretty much range under the 330 swingweight, while pros normally use swingweights of 350 and above. Today's modern racquets use stiffness to account for lower swingweights while still allowing for decent ball control, while the pros often use flexy racquets called prostocks. Why?
These prostocks start lighter than retail, allowing the pro to weight the tips of the frame heavily while still keeping a manageable static weight. The frames are flexy because comfort becomes more important when swingweight can be increased (racquet isn't required to be stiff to perform at high level).
As far as pro swingweights go, Djokovic is in the 370s, Murray was in the 400s at one point.
This difference in swingweight combined with good technique allows the racquet to push the ball instead of being pushed around. The difference, in my estimation, is absolutely immense if you have good mechanics.
EDIT: Some other facts I forgot to mention.
Swingweight increases on racquets when strung. The swingweights listed above are all UNSTRUNG swingweights.
If you'd like to get started with this yourself, here's what I'd recommend. 3 grams of lead tape equates to about 10 points swingweight at 12. I would recommend adding two 6 inch strips at twelve and adding lead weight under the stock grip at the bottom.
You add about 20-25% more of lead tape at the bottom of the grip to maintain a headlight balance, wrapped around the handle. In this case, that would be about 4-5 grams under the grip. Increase on both ends as necessary, until a desired feel or swingweight is reached.
TLDR: if you are playing tennis at a high level, increase your swingweight. It's redefined my game.
The most stunning part to me in this video is how little effort Djoko expends in being able to consistently do what he wants to with the ball. Part of this is good technique, but as a player with my experience, I was frequently left wondering why wasn't I even reaching close to his ability to do so EVER, even when I am in good position. After traversing the forum for some time and talking to tennis tech people at Tennis Warehouse, I've figured a few things out.
I've heard the rumblings of the benefits of playing with lead tape in the frame for some time, and had even tried it myself to increase stability. This lack of knowledge lead me to trying random setups out and seeing how they felt, a highly ineffective method--but I didn't know better.
The pros come with a plan to customize their racquets depending on their gamestyle. Rafa needs a racquet that allows him to play with heavy spin, Federer needs a racquet that gives him the ability to flick his wrist meaningfully, etc. But they all have one thing in common.
Most of the lead you see the pros use is at 3 and 9, as that is the visible lead on the frame. That helps to fix low twist weight on racquets (how much the racquet twists along the longitudal axis). But many, many pros also use lead (in fact, the majority of their lead) hidden under the bumper and bottom of the grip to polarize their frames. This helps to raise the most key factor in all of this: swingweight. The pros often use long strips under 12 to ensure a consistent response from the frame regardless of where the ball is struck.
Stock racquets pretty much range under the 330 swingweight, while pros normally use swingweights of 350 and above. Today's modern racquets use stiffness to account for lower swingweights while still allowing for decent ball control, while the pros often use flexy racquets called prostocks. Why?
These prostocks start lighter than retail, allowing the pro to weight the tips of the frame heavily while still keeping a manageable static weight. The frames are flexy because comfort becomes more important when swingweight can be increased (racquet isn't required to be stiff to perform at high level).
As far as pro swingweights go, Djokovic is in the 370s, Murray was in the 400s at one point.
This difference in swingweight combined with good technique allows the racquet to push the ball instead of being pushed around. The difference, in my estimation, is absolutely immense if you have good mechanics.
EDIT: Some other facts I forgot to mention.
Swingweight increases on racquets when strung. The swingweights listed above are all UNSTRUNG swingweights.
If you'd like to get started with this yourself, here's what I'd recommend. 3 grams of lead tape equates to about 10 points swingweight at 12. I would recommend adding two 6 inch strips at twelve and adding lead weight under the stock grip at the bottom.
You add about 20-25% more of lead tape at the bottom of the grip to maintain a headlight balance, wrapped around the handle. In this case, that would be about 4-5 grams under the grip. Increase on both ends as necessary, until a desired feel or swingweight is reached.
TLDR: if you are playing tennis at a high level, increase your swingweight. It's redefined my game.
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