Stock retail racquets that are closest to customized pro specs?
- Thread starter GoaLaSSo
- Start date
For WTA, 320+ swingweight with 100-inch heads. Lots of examples here - TW carries but the ladies tend to prefer high swing weight/low static weight/long balance.
For ATP, 340+ swing weight with 95-100 inch heads. Not many examples of this - TW only carries six current models - but many, many examples if you add 5-10 grams at 12 o'clock, which is what many pros do. The Pro Kennex Ki5 PSE is actually pretty similar to what Fed would be swinging if he switched to a 100-inch stick. http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/ProKennex_Ionic_Ki_5_PSE/descpageRCPK-KI5PSN.html#spec
You can use this tool to find: http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/cgi-bin/racquetspecs2.cgi
For ATP, 340+ swing weight with 95-100 inch heads. Not many examples of this - TW only carries six current models - but many, many examples if you add 5-10 grams at 12 o'clock, which is what many pros do. The Pro Kennex Ki5 PSE is actually pretty similar to what Fed would be swinging if he switched to a 100-inch stick. http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/ProKennex_Ionic_Ki_5_PSE/descpageRCPK-KI5PSN.html#spec
You can use this tool to find: http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/cgi-bin/racquetspecs2.cgi
GoaLaSSo
Semi-Pro
That is a cool tool. Thanks! I have seen some racquets in the 325 to 335 sw range, but nothing higher yet. I will take a look.
Power Player
Bionic Poster
Head Youtek Radical Pro is Sharapova's racquet. Also has a SW of 345.
GoaLaSSo
Semi-Pro
That high? Wow I never noticed.
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Fuji
Legend
GoaLaSSo
Semi-Pro
The swingweight. I just always thought the radicals were a more moderate swingweight line or racquets in the 310s-325ish range.
The Pro is generally higher and has got quite high in some iterations.
4.0 players need about 315 swingweight to get approximately the same amount of plowthrough that pros get, facing the speed of shot that they do, with 345 swing weight. In other words, 4.0 players swing slower, and face slower shots, and under these conditions a racquet with 315 swingweight will provide roughly the same amount of plowthrough that pros get with racquets with 345 swingweight. The pros face faster shots and so need greater mass in the racquet head to plow through the ball. Plowthrough can be defined as the percentage of pre-impact racquet-head speed remaining after impact with the ball. http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/cgi-bin/plowthrough.cgi
Power Player
Bionic Poster
Yes, and the way to really get this dialed in is to play the best players you can and also the ones a level below or on your level that you beat. This will give you a variety of pace to deal with.
The high SW is only a viable solution if you can handle the big spin and pace from the highest level guys you will play. Since winning tennis at a higher level is all about taking time away from the opponent, you will want to make sure you are able to still hit out in front and clean against those level of players. If not, your equipment is not tuned well enough and is holding you back (I have been there).
Long story short - timing (ability to hit in your ideal contact zone and in front) over plow, or anything else.
The high SW is only a viable solution if you can handle the big spin and pace from the highest level guys you will play. Since winning tennis at a higher level is all about taking time away from the opponent, you will want to make sure you are able to still hit out in front and clean against those level of players. If not, your equipment is not tuned well enough and is holding you back (I have been there).
Long story short - timing (ability to hit in your ideal contact zone and in front) over plow, or anything else.
anubis
Hall of Fame
I second Power Player's comment. I'd also like to add that often times it's not necessarily the swing weight that is most troublesome, but improper balance. If you're used to 7 to 10 points head light, and you throw 5 grams of lead in the hoop, you've just made your frame even balanced or head heavy.
That, more than anything (even a high swingweight) will throw you off.
For instance, with my Prestige Pro, if I take the stock frame and add anything from 2 to 6 grams in the hoop, with no other weight anywhere else, I can't even play a full match with it. Everything is out, long, wide, and i get tired. I have 0 success with it as an even balanced or head heavy racquet.
But if I properly balance it, it's like buttah. Right now I have 10 grams at noon and 10 grams in the butt cap and it's the best frame i've ever used. Without that extra weight, 80% of my shots land on the service line. Now with the weight, only 30% of my shots land on the service line, and some of that % is because I wanted it to be short for some reason. Because it's still 7 points head light, i really don't notice the weight at all.
That, more than anything (even a high swingweight) will throw you off.
For instance, with my Prestige Pro, if I take the stock frame and add anything from 2 to 6 grams in the hoop, with no other weight anywhere else, I can't even play a full match with it. Everything is out, long, wide, and i get tired. I have 0 success with it as an even balanced or head heavy racquet.
But if I properly balance it, it's like buttah. Right now I have 10 grams at noon and 10 grams in the butt cap and it's the best frame i've ever used. Without that extra weight, 80% of my shots land on the service line. Now with the weight, only 30% of my shots land on the service line, and some of that % is because I wanted it to be short for some reason. Because it's still 7 points head light, i really don't notice the weight at all.
GoaLaSSo
Semi-Pro
I used to play with a weighted up power bridge 10 mid. On my good days it was fantastic, but it did weigh a ton and the swingweight was something ridiculous. I have no problem swinging a heavy racquet, but I wasn't consistent with it due to the weight and the head size.
I started to get annoyed at having 2 days out of the week being perfect and 5 being terrible, so I switched to a head extreme pro. My level is pretty even most of the time now since the frame is much more forgiving, but I do wanna try to up the swing weight a bit sometime this winter. Surprisingly, the extreme pro is much better for volleys and serves all around, but doesn't have the same kind of plow through on ground strokes my pb10s did.
I started to get annoyed at having 2 days out of the week being perfect and 5 being terrible, so I switched to a head extreme pro. My level is pretty even most of the time now since the frame is much more forgiving, but I do wanna try to up the swing weight a bit sometime this winter. Surprisingly, the extreme pro is much better for volleys and serves all around, but doesn't have the same kind of plow through on ground strokes my pb10s did.
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Power Player
Bionic Poster
The E pro version 2.0 I demoed had a pretty low SW. I did not find it to have much plow either, but I think my demo was under spec.
Anyway, no need to get too crazy..just keep adding 2 grams of lead at 12 at a time over the course of a few weeks and you will get it dialed in. If you just go all in and buy a racquet with a really big SW, you will have a nice honeymoon period and then end up selling.
Anyway, no need to get too crazy..just keep adding 2 grams of lead at 12 at a time over the course of a few weeks and you will get it dialed in. If you just go all in and buy a racquet with a really big SW, you will have a nice honeymoon period and then end up selling.
GoaLaSSo
Semi-Pro
It doesn't have a lot of plow through, but otherwise the stick is pretty great. I did a lot of demoing and was expecting to like the extreme pro the least out of the demos I had. I figured I would really enjoy some of the new wilson's or more of a player's racquet, but the extreme really shined.
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