TWU Racquet Finder: Quick Tour/How to

[TW Professor]

The new TWU Racquet Finder provides access to all kinds of data so a quick screen shot tutorial seemed in order to familiarize everyone with its possibilities.

First go to the Racquet Finder (http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/cgi-bin/racquetspecs2.cgi)

Here is the default screen:

First choose your UNITS under the "FIND" button. Next, choose your SEARCH items on the left, your comparison operator, and the number to be compared to. The "TYPICAL INPUT" boxes will change as you change specs or units and the input box will light up in red to remind you to check that your units and the number match.Choose the order your results are to be presented by choosing from the "SORT" options.

Here is a search--click the "FIND" button to get the results:

For instructions, click the INSTRUCTIONS button:

For definitions and explanations of specs, click the spec in the table header row:

To be continued in next post...

 

[TW Professor]

TWU Racquet Finder 2: Power Potential

#2

When you click FIND the RESULTS screen will appear (unfortunately, I didn't follow the find from above so this is a different results screen, but it doesn't matter since we are just looking at how to). CLICK ROW of a racquet to open the ANALYSIS window:

The default for the Analysis window is the POWER POTENTIAL MAP. There are also a number of buttons and question mark icons.

Click a QUESTION MARK icon to get information about the tool:

Click the TOOL BUTTON to go to that tool.

Continued in next post...

 

[TW Professor]

TWU Racquet Finder 3: Spin Window

#3

Here is the screen when you click the SPIN WINDOW button:

(Note: again, this is not a continuation with the same racquet as above, but it still shows the procedure.)

The spin window depends on headsize (width), frame thickness, and the swing parameters (especially swing angle, speed, and racquet tilt). Larger headsize allows a player to swing faster, steeper, or tilt the face more and thus get more spin, all the while presenting the same hitting surface to the ball.

Choose a racquet to compare to from the dropdown menu. In this example, I chose the Wilson K-Six-One 90 to get this screen:

You see that the Spin Window of the Pure Storm Team GT is .49 inches bigger than the KSix-One Tour 90. I want to alter the stroke of this racquet such that the window will be the same (same amount of racquet face presented to the ball) and see how much difference in the spin this will make. Do this by changing the parameters in the input box (only the bigger racquet allows entry) until you make the spin windows as close to the same as you can. There are many, many combinations that will do this. I altered randomly as follows:

As you can see, I ended up with more than twice as much spin and a deeper, faster shot...all with the same safety factor. In other words, just a small difference in spin window will make a huge difference in spin potential.

Next: SIMILAR RACQUETS ...

 

[TW Professor]

TWU Racquet Finder 4: Similar Racquets

#4

The first screen for the SIMILAR RACQUETS button presents the most similar racquets to the racquet that "owns" the analysis window. They are presented in order of their similarity:

Click on the row of one of the similar racquets to see a spec comparison:

The comparison appears showing the specs of each racquet and the percentage they differ from each other:

As always, if you click on the racquet name or the image, it will take you to the racquet description page.

Next: RACQUET UNIVERSE ...

 

[TW Professor]

TWU Racquet Finder 5: Racquet Universe

#5

The RACQUET UNIVERSE screen looks like this:

It visually displays all the racquets on the market as they compare to each other in Power Potential and the area of the 30% Sweet Zone (the number of square inches with 30% or more power potential). Racquets in the upper right hand corner have the most power and the most area over which that power is manifest. The lower left corner has the least power and sweet zone area.

Choose a comparison racquet from the dropdown menu:

The resulting screen shows where each racquet resides in the comparative universe.

NEXT: RACQUET RANKING ...

 

[TW Professor]

TWU Racquet Finder 6: Racquet Ranking

#6

The RACQUET RANKING screen shows where the racquet fits into the market for each spec. The minimum and maximum value for each spec is shown compared to the value for the racquet you are looking at. Also, it shows how racquets have a spec lower, higher or the same as the racquet of concern:

If you highlight the row for any spec and click, it will take you to a graphic analysis for that spec:

The bar graph shows the visual and numeric relation of the racquet spec to the minimum and maximum specs on the market and what percentage those are below and above the racquet of concern.

NEXT: VIRTUAL DEMO

 

[TW Professor]

TWU Racquet Finder 7: Virtual Demo

#7

The VIRTUAL DEMO allows you to see the trajectory of the ball with the racquet given any shot paramenters you choose. You can compare to shots at once. The trajectory for any given racquet will be determined by the shot parameters but ALSO by the racquet specs. The trajectory is the result of the combination of all the specs. These are figured into the calculations:

To see different shots, simply change one or more of the specs. The specs that are different will be highlighted in the right hand racquet with a different color. Below, I changed the swing angle from 45 to 70 degrees.

NEXT: SWEET ZONE SIZE

 

[TW Professor]

TWU Racquet Finder 8: Sweet Zone Size

Clicking the SWEET ZONE button displays a graphic representation of the racquet face. The measurements are for the area for which the power potential equals or exceeds 20%, 30%, and 40%. Where the power potential exceeds 50%, there is a graphic representation but no measurement. The areas are measured above the light grey line at 19 inches from the butt of the racquet (i.e., where you hit the ball). The 50% zone was always out of the measurement area and right in the throat of the racquet.

NEXT: PLOWTHROUGH ...

 

[TW Professor]

TWU Racquet Finder 9: Plowthrough

#9

Each hitting location has a different PLOWTHROUGH value that primarily depends on the swingweight and hittingweight. It is a measure of the stability of the racquet at each location. The Plowthrough changes with each different shot, so a standard shot was used here (ball velocity=30mph, racquet speed=60mph, angle of impact=90 degrees). The value indicated is the amount of racquet speed remaining after the impact of the ball. The racquet slows down in three ways: it moves backward, it twists backward, and it rotates at the wrist backward. It also bends backward. The calculation does not include any acceleration of the racquet by the player. It is as if a flying racquet and ball collided with each other. This assumption isolates the impact event so we can see the role of the racquet only.

NEXT: BALANCE POINTS CALCULATOR

 

[TW Professor]

TWU Racquet Finder 10: Points Calculator

#10

The BALANCE POINTS CALCULATOR figures out the "points headlight" and "points headheavy" a racquet's balance point is (a point is 1/8 inch and is a common way of talking about the balance point in the tennis world). You simply enter the length and balance point into the input boxes, using the correct numbers for the units you have chosen. Click out of the input box to tell the calculator to calculate. If you change units, it will change whatever numbers you have in the boxes to that unit:

 

[VGP]

Thanks TW Professor for the tutorial and explanations.

I asked these questions in another thread regarding head size where you posted about spin window...

TW Professor, thanks for showing/explaining how to use the spin window tool.

Are you going to add the Wilson Pro Staff 6.0 85 to the racket data since it's currently available.

It really would be a great "frame" of reference.

Although the PS85 is sold out as of this post.

One more thing, why is the spin window of the BLX Six-One Tour at 5.29 inches 0.22 inches smaller than the kPro Staff 88 and 0.16 inches smaller than the kSix-One Tour 90 when they all essentially have the same head sizes and beam widths?

Thanks for your efforts to make all this information available to the end users.

 

[TW Professor]

Thanks TW Professor for the tutorial and explanations.

I asked these questions in another thread regarding head size where you posted about spin window...


Although the PS85 is sold out as of this post.



Thanks for your efforts to make all this information available to the end users.

Yes, I intend to get around to the PS 85.

Without looking at the details, my answer would be this: to get the spin window measurements, I measure the frame thickness 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 25 inches from the butt. I do the same for the inner width of the racquet face at those locations. So the window size will be location dependent on each racquet, even if they have the same head size and/or thickness.

 

[VGP]

Looking forward to the inclusion of the PS85.

Thanks for a bit of insight in your methodology.

Many excellent tools for which to compare data.

I got out an old issue of World Tennis Magazine from 1989 where the author was describing using computers to come up with a top 4 list of racquet suggestions for customers. Their intention was to get the computer program to sporting goods stores across the country.....ah, that was truly pre-internet. You've gone far and beyond what was imagined over 20 years ago.

 

[kaiser]

Without looking at the details, my answer would be this: to get the spin window measurements, I measure the frame thickness 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 25 inches from the butt. I do the same for the inner width of the racquet face at those locations. So the window size will be location dependent on each racquet, even if they have the same head size and/or thickness.

Dear TWProf,

When I looked up the spin window for the BLX Prostaff 90, I was surprised to find that it is listed as being nearly 0.42 inch larger than for the BLX Six.One Tour, and even more surprised to a difference in location width at 21 inch measured as 0.47 inch! Similarly, the location width for the BLX PS90 is listed as 0.31 inch larger than for the K6.1 Tour 90 and even 0.16 inch larger than for the BLX PS95! If true, this would mean that the effective head size of the PS90 is similar in size to to most 95 rackets.

So my question is: is this difference real (ie the PS90 typically has a wider head than the other Wilson 90s)? And if not, is it due to measurement error on your part or is there such a large variability in head shape between different rackets?

If the difference is real, the PS90 would suddenly become a very attractive alternative to my current Dunlop 4D 200 Tours...

BLX PS90:
5.71 in.
Location width: 9.29 in.
Clearance height: 0.35 in.
Ball slide: 0.95 in.

BLX 6.1 Tour:
5.29 in.
Location width: 8.82 in.
Clearance height: 0.35 in.
Ball slide: 0.95 in.

 

[CCH4TENNIS]

Customization & Reverse Engineering Tool

Hi TW Professor

Referring to http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/customizationReverse.php

I can understand the 'L' but can you please elaborate the meaning of W in respect of twistweight ? what exactly is the value of 'W' Is it the width of the racket hoop at 9 n 3

Thanx

 

[corners]

Hi TW Professor

Referring to http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/customizationReverse.php

I can understand the 'L' but can you please elaborate the meaning of W in respect of twistweight ? what exactly is the value of 'W' Is it the width of the racket hoop at 9 n 3

Thanx

W (width) is the distance from the centerline of the racquet to the lead that you've added to the hoop. So on a midplus racquet, where you've added lead at 3&9, W might be about 5.5 inches. If your strips of lead are quite long, so that parts of the strip are closer to the center than others, you'll have to eyeball an "average" distance from the centerline to your strips.

 

[CCH4TENNIS]

W (width) is the distance from the centerline of the racquet to the lead that you've added to the hoop. So on a midplus racquet, where you've added lead at 3&9, W might be about 5.5 inches. If your strips of lead are quite long, so that parts of the strip are closer to the center than others, you'll have to eyeball an "average" distance from the centerline to your strips.

Hi Corners

I have placed a 6inch strip centered at 20.1 inch from the racquet butt ie centered exactly at 9 n 3 O'clock. At this pt, the width from 9 to 3 is 9.25 inch. In this case, is W 4.125 inch ?

Thank you.

 

[CCH4TENNIS]

Hi Corners

I have placed a 6inch strip centered at 20.1 inch from the racquet butt ie centered exactly at 9 n 3 O'clock. At this pt, the width from 9 to 3 is 9.25 inch. In this case, is W 4.125 inch ?

Thank you.

Sorry, I mean W=4.625

 

[ruariatp]

I think it can all get a bit too technical - surely as long as the frame's characteristics suit your game, then the odd gram here or there won't be noticed! All the essential terms are explained herehttp://www.andbethere.com/2013/02/the-ultimate-tennis-racquet-guide.html - hope it's useful for anyone looking to invest in a new weapon!

 

[Problx]

How about finding old racquets? That would be a great category for TW to make some money. Any possibilities?

 

[jace112]

Hi, I'm just wondering if you've changed something in the measurements.
I find some strange data:
https://shared.com/dn2strteci?s=l
https://shared.com/7x5p053m3e?s=l
Maybe the frames are a bit different but not that much. 5% of difference is HUGE...
Thanks

 

[Gyswandir]

Why have you removed the racket finder in TWU?! It was great and better than the other one in the shopping section. I could even search by vibration frequency

 

[ruud5]

The new TWU Racquet Finder provides access to all kinds of data so a quick screen shot tutorial seemed in order to familiarize everyone with its possibilities.

First go to the Racquet Finder (http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/cgi-bin/racquetspecs2.cgi)

Here is the default screen:

First choose your UNITS under the "FIND" button. Next, choose your SEARCH items on the left, your comparison operator, and the number to be compared to. The "TYPICAL INPUT" boxes will change as you change specs or units and the input box will light up in red to remind you to check that your units and the number match.Choose the order your results are to be presented by choosing from the "SORT" options.

Here is a search--click the "FIND" button to get the results:

For instructions, click the INSTRUCTIONS button:

For definitions and explanations of specs, click the spec in the table header row:

To be continued in next post...

via: Racquet Finder (http://twu.tennis-warehouse.com/cgi-bin/racquetspecs2.cgi) I do not find the Racket Selection Guide Specs-tacular!!!??

Please explain?

 

[TW Staff]

ruud5,

The TW University has been updated since this post and this part has been removed from the site. However, all the information is still there but is broken down in to individual categories. If you click on the Racquets tab at the top of the page, all the information will be under the Tools section.

Thanks,
Brittany, TW