Stan Wawrinka thread information gear!

shaneno

Professional
HEllo TTW users,

I need help on information. On stan the man racquet specs, lead placement, strings, all the info ..... Here's what i got so far/Don't have. :D

UPDATE ~ July 6th, 2017

Racquet: Yonex vcore 95D
Paint Job: yonex vcore Duel G (330)
Headsize: 95 Sq Inches
Weight: strung: (without overgrip???) -- 372 GRAM (with overgrip)
Balance: 32.1 OR 32.3
Swingweight: 359-360
Stiffness: 63-64
Lead placement: 3 & 9 O'clock ---- Holes: cross 5th on top TO cross 16th on the bottom (photo below)
Leads length: 5 inch
Over grip: Yonex Supergrap (white)
Grip: 4 3/8
Replacement grip: Yonex leather
Strings: Babolat RPM Blast 16g
String Pattern: 16x20
Tension: 27 KG(61 pounds) /25 kg (57 pounds)

APPAREL: Yonex
SHOE: Yonex Power Cushion Eclipsion
Dampener: Yonex Vibration Stopper Dampener (Black OR white)
Titles: 1- Australian open, 1- French open, 1 - US Open

So that's all i got. If you have more information OR other infomation on his specs for his 2014 frame. :D

THANK YOU!
 
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lidoazndiabloboi

Hall of Fame
I remember seeing in a picture from a tournament where P1 didnt string for him, he had a white OG with the grip tape being Yonex. So I guess we can only assume he uses Yonex Super Grap OG.
 

shaneno

Professional
i found this on P1, seem like he increased his butt cap with tape?

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RanchDressing

Hall of Fame
i found this on P1, seem like he increased his butt cap with tape?

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[/URL][/IMG]

I can't ever see any of p1's photos. How'd you get them?


And I think the general guess on SW is about 360 range. I'd be more interested in knowing his twist weight personally.
 

-Bobo-

Semi-Pro
From what i remember SW is 360, static weight 370, and balance 6pts HL, think i found that sifting through a bunch of threads.
 

shaneno

Professional
From what i remember SW is 360, static weight 370, and balance 6pts HL, think i found that sifting through a bunch of threads.

Is that his head racquet weight? Or yonex? Cause it changed according to threads but never given specs :(
 

RanchDressing

Hall of Fame
Well stan needs all the control for that hard hitting. So higher tension is his requirement, and if he's using rpm. That's one powerful string man

RPM isn't that powerful lol.

The 95D recomended tension reaches up into the 60's he's actually at mid tension believe it or not.

RPM 16 is a 233 stiffness (lbs) and that small of a head with that tension gives uber control. Makes sense the way he hits the ball. If he didn't have such high tension he'd be spraying balls.

I've moved up again in sw and am finding I need stiffer strings with more tension myself.

I think his static weight unstrung is like 358-359 so 370 strung sounds correct. I want to say I've heard 363sw before, but 360 is a safe bet lol.
 

shaneno

Professional
RPM isn't that powerful lol.

The 95D recomended tension reaches up into the 60's he's actually at mid tension believe it or not.

RPM 16 is a 233 stiffness (lbs) and that small of a head with that tension gives uber control. Makes sense the way he hits the ball. If he didn't have such high tension he'd be spraying balls.

I've moved up again in sw and am finding I need stiffer strings with more tension myself.

I think his static weight unstrung is like 358-359 so 370 strung sounds correct. I want to say I've heard 363sw before, but 360 is a safe bet lol.

Rpm was pretty powerful for me. I mean

370 without an over grip?
 

RanchDressing

Hall of Fame
Rpm was pretty powerful for me. I mean

370 without an over grip?

If you ask me though, I think he might not be using actual rpm blast... I'd imagine something closer to rpm team. That's completely conjecture, and I can't prove it. But team has waaaay better durability, closer to 4g than blast which seems to just go to the dogs within two hours depending on how I'm hitting. I've noticed stan doesn't change sticks very often (or at least from what I recall, I'll have to double check). Team is more powerful, but I feel like I can take much bigger cuts. And it holds tension miles better than blast. I imagine with wawrinka swinging away, blast would be dead even quicker... And blast is not very good with holding tension. I wouldn't be surprised if he could kill a bed of it within 45 minutes. Stiffness of team is 281 vs 233 for blast, which is right below 4g 16 at 287 and 4g15l at 314 (being the stiffest 3 string TWU have tested). It has some incredibly small contact time, which always means more control, and in testing showed it had better tension maintenance and lower string friction than 4g....

If the racquet you use has a high sw and high recoil weight, you can use a plenty stiff string and have zero arm problems.

I imagine that weight is without an over grip. RPM 16 usually weighs about 13~g (depending on the frame), and then because he likes his OG cut short I'd say between 3-4g for that. So my best guess is 375ish. That's based off some old hearsay on his head spec of 359 31cm unstrung. The prestige pro and 95d are somewhat similar, aside from the headshape/string pattern differences.
 
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shaneno

Professional
If you ask me though, I think he might not be using actual rpm blast... I'd imagine something closer to rpm team. That's completely conjecture, and I can't prove it. But team has waaaay better durability, closer to 4g than blast which seems to just go to the dogs within two hours depending on how I'm hitting. I've noticed stan doesn't change sticks very often (or at least from what I recall, I'll have to double check). Team is more powerful, but I feel like I can take much bigger cuts. And it holds tension miles better than blast. I imagine with wawrinka swinging away, blast would be dead even quicker... And blast is not very good with holding tension. I wouldn't be surprised if he could kill a bed of it within 45 minutes. Stiffness of team is 281 vs 233 for blast, which is right below 4g 16 at 287 and 4g15l at 314 (being the stiffest 3 string TWU have tested). It has some incredibly small contact time, which always means more control, and in testing showed it had better tension maintenance and lower string friction than 4g....

If the racquet you use has a high sw and high recoil weight, you can use a plenty stiff string and have zero arm problems.

I imagine that weight is without an over grip. RPM 16 usually weighs about 13~g (depending on the frame), and then because he likes his OG cut short I'd say between 3-4g for that. So my best guess is 375ish. That's based off some old hearsay on his head spec of 359 31cm unstrung. The prestige pro and 95d are somewhat similar, aside from the headshape/string pattern differences.

Oh man. 359 unstrung.
 
From the pictures above, Stan's racquet has the Yonex isometric square headshape. So even though it appears very different visually, it's not that big a change in terms of how it plays from the traditional oval shape?
 

shaneno

Professional
UPDATE

Racquet: Yonex vcore 95D
Paint Job: yonex vcore tour G (330)
Headsize: 95 Sq Inches
Weight: strung: 367 GRAM (without overgrip) -- (with overgrip) 372 GRAM
Balance: 32.1 OR 32.3
Swingweight: 359-360
Stiffness: 63-64
Lead placement: 3 & 9 O'clock ---- Holes: cross 5th on top TO cross 16th on the bottom (photo above)
Leads length: 5 inch
Over grip: (?)
Grip: 4 3/8
Replacement grip: Yonex leather
Strings: Babolat RPM Blast 17g
String Pattern: 16x20
Tension: 27 KG(61 pounds) /25 kg (57 pounds)

APPAREL: Yonex
SHOE: Yonex Power Cushion
Dampener: Yonex Vibration Stopper Dampener ( Black OR white)
 
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HeadStart

New User
Just wandering, how do you guys even know the static weights and swingweight of Stans rackets? It's not like Stan openly publicises it. Unless someone on this forum has physically measured the specs of Stan's rackets then you cannot be anywhere near sure really.
 

RanchDressing

Hall of Fame
Just wandering, how do you guys even know the static weights and swingweight of Stans rackets? It's not like Stan openly publicises it. Unless someone on this forum has physically measured the specs of Stan's rackets then you cannot be anywhere near sure really.
A member a few years ago bought one of stans personal racquets and was kind enough to post the measurements I put up. He even measured the SW (which is why it is an approximation). Search a bit and you can find the thread. The key to look for is yonex vcore 95d and not vcore tour g.
 

Automatix

Legend
A member a few years ago bought one of stans personal racquets and was kind enough to post the measurements I put up. He even measured the SW (which is why it is an approximation). Search a bit and you can find the thread. The key to look for is yonex vcore 95d and not vcore tour g.
I honestly can't recall anyone posting Wawrinkas Vcore 95D swingweight.
 

Sander001

Hall of Fame
If you ask me though, I think he might not be using actual rpm blast... I'd imagine something closer to rpm team. That's completely conjecture, and I can't prove it. But team has waaaay better durability, closer to 4g than blast which seems to just go to the dogs within two hours depending on how I'm hitting. I've noticed stan doesn't change sticks very often (or at least from what I recall, I'll have to double check). Team is more powerful, but I feel like I can take much bigger cuts. And it holds tension miles better than blast. I imagine with wawrinka swinging away, blast would be dead even quicker... And blast is not very good with holding tension. I wouldn't be surprised if he could kill a bed of it within 45 minutes. Stiffness of team is 281 vs 233 for blast, which is right below 4g 16 at 287 and 4g15l at 314 (being the stiffest 3 string TWU have tested). It has some incredibly small contact time, which always means more control, and in testing showed it had better tension maintenance and lower string friction than 4g....

If the racquet you use has a high sw and high recoil weight, you can use a plenty stiff string and have zero arm problems.

I imagine that weight is without an over grip. RPM 16 usually weighs about 13~g (depending on the frame), and then because he likes his OG cut short I'd say between 3-4g for that. So my best guess is 375ish. That's based off some old hearsay on his head spec of 359 31cm unstrung. The prestige pro and 95d are somewhat similar, aside from the headshape/string pattern differences.
I think Stan changes racquets every 9 games, like Federer.
 

RanchDressing

Hall of Fame
I honestly can't recall anyone posting Wawrinkas Vcore 95D swingweight.
Here's a thread about his Head: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/wawrinkas-racquet-setup.393846/
Here's "frinton" owner of the frame: wawrinka racquet retail or custom layup
wawrinka racquet retail or custom layup

Here he says he measured it the pendulum method 7 times... ~360 seems like a very reasonable number considering the other specs given, and how had Waw hits the ball.
wawrinka racquet retail or custom layup

And link to the original thread: (Funny how many questions on here get asked over and over, because people don't search properly :p)
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/wawrinka-racquet-retail-or-custom-layup.497402/

EDIT: looks like the new forum doesn't take you to only the individual post, but the whole thread. Anyway, all the info is in that thread 370g balance, SW. I've looked up other posts where they determined the length of the lead tape to be 5 inches long (Times) 4 sides and given an approximation of the width of the frame I was able to use the stock 95d twist weight and get an approximate twist weight value of 15. Which makes sense. Hope that helps!

If you have a tour G 330, at average specs, basically if you put an og (5 grams), leather grip (+~8-11 grams depending), 8 grams @ 12, 1 gram @ 3/9 at 22", you'll get a 369g, 32.22cm bal, 15.1 TW, and 360sw (359.7). Of course, leather grips weigh different amounts, and so do strings, and so do frames. But those are some ball park numbers to start with.
 
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Automatix

Legend
OK, I remember that thread - mainly due to the crazy and illegible signature of Wawrinka.
Thank you for providing the links.
 

azrael201

Rookie
Here's a thread about his Head: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/wawrinkas-racquet-setup.393846/
Here's "frinton" owner of the frame: wawrinka racquet retail or custom layup
wawrinka racquet retail or custom layup

Here he says he measured it the pendulum method 7 times... ~360 seems like a very reasonable number considering the other specs given, and how had Waw hits the ball.
wawrinka racquet retail or custom layup

And link to the original thread: (Funny how many questions on here get asked over and over, because people don't search properly :p)
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/wawrinka-racquet-retail-or-custom-layup.497402/

EDIT: looks like the new forum doesn't take you to only the individual post, but the whole thread. Anyway, all the info is in that thread 370g balance, SW. I've looked up other posts where they determined the length of the lead tape to be 5 inches long (Times) 4 sides and given an approximation of the width of the frame I was able to use the stock 95d twist weight and get an approximate twist weight value of 15. Which makes sense. Hope that helps!

If you have a tour G 330, at average specs, basically if you put an og (5 grams), leather grip (+~8-11 grams depending), 8 grams @ 12, 1 gram @ 3/9 at 22", you'll get a 369g, 32.22cm bal, 15.1 TW, and 360sw (359.7). Of course, leather grips weigh different amounts, and so do strings, and so do frames. But those are some ball park numbers to start with.

hey thanks i was just wondering what the closest frame available to the public was to his actual racquet. I thought maybe the VCore Tour 97 would've been the closer frame.
 

RanchDressing

Hall of Fame
hey thanks i was just wondering what the closest frame available to the public was to his actual racquet. I thought maybe the VCore Tour 97 would've been the closer frame.
The vcore 95d would be, but good luck finding one in good shape.
A tour G isn't horribly far off, and you get a nice cosmetic. Or a prestige Pro of some kind should also be pretty similar (After all, that is what he used before, just will have a different sweet spot). The spec though, like most pros, is really what will differentiate his match frame from something we play with, more than anything else really.
 

azrael201

Rookie
The vcore 95d would be, but good luck finding one in good shape.
A tour G isn't horribly far off, and you get a nice cosmetic. Or a prestige Pro of some kind should also be pretty similar (After all, that is what he used before, just will have a different sweet spot). The spec though, like most pros, is really what will differentiate his match frame from something we play with, more than anything else really.

interesting. I actually don't know much at all regarding vcores, especially the hitting like a prestige bit. My first racquet was a prestige and now I play with a TF315 which feels like a prestige too. should be interesting when I demo it. Btw, always noticed your posts are the most helpful and I always enjoy reading them.
 

RanchDressing

Hall of Fame
interesting. I actually don't know much at all regarding vcores, especially the hitting like a prestige bit. My first racquet was a prestige and now I play with a TF315 which feels like a prestige too. should be interesting when I demo it. Btw, always noticed your posts are the most helpful and I always enjoy reading them.
Well nothing is going to be exactly like a yonex, unless it has the same head shape. But, if you're looking at frames outside the yonex line, the pres pro (due to being close to a 95) would probably be the closest, especially regarding string pattern etc. But it's still a big difference. Other frames that might be similar due to string pattern are like the Pure Control 95 etc. But we're kind of getting further and further from his frame at that point. The 95d is pretty stiff, so newer prestige pro's will be somewhat similar, especially because GPP and vcore's are stiff necked. BUT the 95d is a specific setup with it's stringbed, flex, and sweet spot/head shape.


Anyway the point is that the stringbed in a 16x19 or 16x20 in a 95 is going to have good access to spin without sacrificing control and feel. Ultimately, whatever frame/stringbed works for your strokes is what you should use. If you want to replicate his frame you're going to find it's quite a racquet to swing. I'd say it isn't quite as bad as Novak's setup, but it's close behind in difficulty to use.
 

azrael201

Rookie
Well nothing is going to be exactly like a yonex, unless it has the same head shape. But, if you're looking at frames outside the yonex line, the pres pro (due to being close to a 95) would probably be the closest, especially regarding string pattern etc. But it's still a big difference. Other frames that might be similar due to string pattern are like the Pure Control 95 etc. But we're kind of getting further and further from his frame at that point. The 95d is pretty stiff, so newer prestige pro's will be somewhat similar, especially because GPP and vcore's are stiff necked. BUT the 95d is a specific setup with it's stringbed, flex, and sweet spot/head shape.


Anyway the point is that the stringbed in a 16x19 or 16x20 in a 95 is going to have good access to spin without sacrificing control and feel. Ultimately, whatever frame/stringbed works for your strokes is what you should use. If you want to replicate his frame you're going to find it's quite a racquet to swing. I'd say it isn't quite as bad as Novak's setup, but it's close behind in difficulty to use.

curious, but there is no spec on how stiff the neck racquet is right? the general stiffness rating applies to the whole racquet? I was just wondering if adding lead to the throat did anything other than change balance and add static weight.

yea his racquet reminds me of Safin's club. Just incredibly heavy compensated with 60lbs of stiff poly. People talk about the modern game-lighter racquets, bigger heads-but the top pros are still swinging clubs and shooting missiles for winners.
 

RanchDressing

Hall of Fame
curious, but there is no spec on how stiff the neck racquet is right? the general stiffness rating applies to the whole racquet? I was just wondering if adding lead to the throat did anything other than change balance and add static weight.

yea his racquet reminds me of Safin's club. Just incredibly heavy compensated with 60lbs of stiff poly. People talk about the modern game-lighter racquets, bigger heads-but the top pros are still swinging clubs and shooting missiles for winners.
No, there is no stiffness measurement of the neck. The Babolat RDC (which gives RA stiffness) clamps the frame at the bottom of the hoop, and pulls down from the inside of the top of the hoop. So that's what that number is (just for the hoop of the frame).

I would argue that the top pro's do use faster frames to help with topspin, but I doubt average swingweight has changed all that much. Pros have always used higher swingweights. I mean I guess wood racquets were higher SW than now, but respectively speaking, everyone's still using higher SW, even if the static has gone down a tad. There are always variations to this though.

Lighter racquet definitely applies to us REC players though.
 
L

leohaegger

Guest
The vcore 95d would be, but good luck finding one in good shape.
A tour G isn't horribly far off, and you get a nice cosmetic. Or a prestige Pro of some kind should also be pretty similar (After all, that is what he used before, just will have a different sweet spot). The spec though, like most pros, is really what will differentiate his match frame from something we play with, more than anything else really.

The Vcore Tour G 330 is hell of beast, man. One of the best racquets thus far. Test it, i think you won't regret!
 

RanchDressing

Hall of Fame
No, there is no stiffness measurement of the neck. The Babolat RDC (which gives RA stiffness) clamps the frame at the bottom of the hoop, and pulls down from the inside of the top of the hoop.

I would argue that the top pro's do use faster frames to help with topspin, but I doubt average swingweight has changed all that much. Pros have always used higher swingweights. I mean I guess wood racquets were higher SW than now, but respectively speaking, everyone's still using higher SW, even if the static has gone down a tad. There are always variations to this though.

Lighter racquet definitely applies to us REC players though.
The Vcore Tour G 330 is hell of beast, man. One of the best racquets thus far. Test it, i think you won't regret!
I've tried the 310 and 330 when they came out, I'm aware lol.
 

azrael201

Rookie
demo'd the G330 and holy smokes i love it! it's both the worst and best feeling when you find a new racquet that you can hit really well with. definitely will be looking to pick one up. I was confused though why on the throat it said average weight HG 330 and G 310. It's 330 unstrung right? It just feels so solid compared to my Tfight315 and more lively than RF97A-though I suspect it was the weight and string combination. Yonex bright yellows that just felt so goood.
 

RanchDressing

Hall of Fame
demo'd the G330 and holy smokes i love it! it's both the worst and best feeling when you find a new racquet that you can hit really well with. definitely will be looking to pick one up. I was confused though why on the throat it said average weight HG 330 and G 310. It's 330 unstrung right? It just feels so solid compared to my Tfight315 and more lively than RF97A-though I suspect it was the weight and string combination. Yonex bright yellows that just felt so goood.
It's a nice frame! I think it's one of the few frames I would leave pretty much stock. The string bed is nice too. Very stable. I'd just get one with a higher stock SW, and maybe throw on a leather grip, or not lol. I recommend trying RPM Team with it. Not blast, team. String it as tight as you want too. That string has a lot of pop, but incredible control. A very unique combo. I think it suits the 16x20 string bed... Also it has really good tension maintenance (similar to lux 4g).
Although I would probably end up buying the 310 and modifying that instead :)
 

azrael201

Rookie
It's a nice frame! I think it's one of the few frames I would leave pretty much stock. The string bed is nice too. Very stable. I'd just get one with a higher stock SW, and maybe throw on a leather grip, or not lol. I recommend trying RPM Team with it. Not blast, team. String it as tight as you want too. That string has a lot of pop, but incredible control. A very unique combo. I think it suits the 16x20 string bed... Also it has really good tension maintenance (similar to lux 4g).
Although I would probably end up buying the 310 and modifying that instead :)

until someone offers up one of these sticks i'm left to try to customize my 315 to feel the same. Strange thing is the 330 i demo'd was 351g 32cm HL and I calculated the SW to be close to 350, but it felt easier to swing for some reason over my 315 which is customized to 350g 31.5cm HL with a SW close to 330. I thought I was going crazy. I think it's maybe because I put my weights in handle and tip so it's really polarized. Otherwise I can't explain how stable G330 feels over my TF315 when I swing it. I also thought since the G330 felt so solid on contact that it must've been stiffer racquet, but it was listed as only 1 RA off from the TF315. So confused. I'm gonna chalk it up to the full bed of Yonex Poly Tour vs my hybrid poly/multi setup. What do you think Ranch?
 

RanchDressing

Hall of Fame
until someone offers up one of these sticks i'm left to try to customize my 315 to feel the same. Strange thing is the 330 i demo'd was 351g 32cm HL and I calculated the SW to be close to 350, but it felt easier to swing for some reason over my 315 which is customized to 350g 31.5cm HL with a SW close to 330. I thought I was going crazy. I think it's maybe because I put my weights in handle and tip so it's really polarized. Otherwise I can't explain how stable G330 feels over my TF315 when I swing it. I also thought since the G330 felt so solid on contact that it must've been stiffer racquet, but it was listed as only 1 RA off from the TF315. So confused. I'm gonna chalk it up to the full bed of Yonex Poly Tour vs my hybrid poly/multi setup. What do you think Ranch?
In my experience, more polarized frames always feel a bit quicker than less polarized frames. And to me the 330 isn't very polarized at all... It kind of feels neck weighted. It's possible that weighting suits your strokes more. You need to remember that swingweight measured is only for one part of the stroke (the part that is most consistent between all players really), and that the lead up to actually swinging through the ball is important too. This may be where the less polarized weighting ends up being lighter for you... There's literature (Phys and Tech of Tennis) that talks about the "swing weight of every point" before you actually swing through the ball. This to me is a big part of maneuverability and how fast a frame is. You may just not fare well with a more polarized setup and that could be the cause.

It also could be that you feel like the 350sw is faster because you lose less tip speed through contact of the ball, and it probably is more stable too. Both of these make the racket just want to cruise through the ball. Higher SW/recoil weight racquets seem to slow down very little through the ball, and that could be affecting your judgment of the two frames. But, I'd say if you don't really feel like you're loosing speed with that higher SW 330G, try a similar SW on your tfight and see what happens. The hitting weight should be lower on the tfight (more polarized can have lower hitting weight, but higher recoil weight), so there are some funny differences that can happen.
 

MAZ1

Rookie
Is there some reason that Stan (among other pros) stop the overgrip an inch or so short of the end of the leather grip (exposing the top portion of the leather)?
Is there some reason they do this?
 

achapa8807

Semi-Pro
I think there is a video on the tube about it. Might be P1 that said he just likes to see the leather unDer the grip I think. Some players are more picky about it, I use a 1HBH but have the overgrip cover the whole leather grip.
 
Is there some reason that Stan (among other pros) stop the overgrip an inch or so short of the end of the leather grip (exposing the top portion of the leather)?
Is there some reason they do this?
The leather lashings makes him feel like he can "whip it" more... (sorry, terrible pun)
 

RanchDressing

Hall of Fame
Is there some reason that Stan (among other pros) stop the overgrip an inch or so short of the end of the leather grip (exposing the top portion of the leather)?
Is there some reason they do this?
Personal preference. Gasquet has half his pallet showing, so it's not just the OG, but the regular grip that only goes half way. Pros have preferences just like we do
 

But damn Stan's racket is 370 grams strung, that's heavier than my frames, and most people complain when they hold them or use them that they are too heavy. They're right around 366 grams strung up.

well he's a pro ;) I regularly used to play with a 13.10 oz stick but feel Im just far more consistent serving with it around 12.78oz instead... Id probably play with heavier spec if people would hit cleaner balls at me but generally people hit a lot of shanked returns off my serves and I haveto put things away. Mass is great against clean hitters... junk requires nimbleness.
 

Big_Dangerous

Talk Tennis Guru
well he's a pro ;) I regularly used to play with a 13.10 oz stick but feel Im just far more consistent serving with it around 12.78oz instead... Id probably play with heavier spec if people would hit cleaner balls at me but generally people hit a lot of shanked returns off my serves and I haveto put things away. Mass is great against clean hitters... junk requires nimbleness.

Lol, hey I do a lot of working out, I may have started playing late in my life (21), but I feel like right now I could hang with some pros in a rally, especially because I love pace and I love to get low for the ball.

Anyway back to racket talk, yeah I've always wondered what the benefits of a heavier stick are. I mean I can wield the thing and take full cuts, and I love my setup, won't change it for anything at the moment. However, some people ask me why play with rackets that are that heavy, and I'm like well hey it works for me, but I am curious what would the benefit of a racket that's say 12.8 oz be over a racket that's like 11.5 oz, balance being equal of course.
 
Lol, hey I do a lot of working out, I may have started playing late in my life (21), but I feel like right now I could hang with some pros in a rally, especially because I love pace and I love to get low for the ball.

Anyway back to racket talk, yeah I've always wondered what the benefits of a heavier stick are. I mean I can wield the thing and take full cuts, and I love my setup, won't change it for anything at the moment. However, some people ask me why play with rackets that are that heavy, and I'm like well hey it works for me, but I am curious what would the benefit of a racket that's say 12.8 oz be over a racket that's like 11.5 oz, balance being equal of course.

I know what you mean. I like heavy sticks... I work out/train and because Im a big returner I hate lighter sticks. Generally play with the heaviest racquet you feel comfortable with. Heavier means the racquet wins the collision with the ball more (some call this "plow through"). Ive hit with low ranked futures pros and most anyone who is 4.5+ can technically rally a little with them as long as they dont run you corner to corner (it's called being nice). A tour pro's anticipation, court sense and preparedness via superior movement and overall form just makes them scary. Also they identify weaknesses incredibly fast. They beat you by being technically "perfect" and sure you might get a point here and there if you have weapons or dumb luck but...

If youve ever hit with a pro you learn to love heavy racquets because you just get pushed around by the heavyness of their balls. It is very revealing.

For your typical rec players 2.0-4.0 the game is more about keeping the ball in the court... topspin helps there and lighter racquets can help facilitate that... though heavier frames are just as good at it, they just take better preparation.
 
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