What is best racket for serving...besides the Pure Drive

Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
Slazenger Pro Braided & Pro Graphite are good. Can't really explain why, they just seem to come through at the right speed that gives you confidence to lean on them. I guess it's the HL balance, but still reasonable SW.
 

graycrait

Legend
PD is far too light for serving
I strung 3 PDs up the other day for a young ball basher who has his PDs all weighted to 12oz. I didn't measure the balance but he had most of the lead in the throat. He plays in a league up the road about 50 miles that has recent former SEC players in it. His mom and sis are tennis coaches up in Ohio somewhere. He has me string the "secret sauce" in his rackets. Last time I hit with him I asked him why put himself through this? He said he liked to hit with his"grandpa" for the conversation. He is in the Army, I am retired from it.
 

Jono123

Semi-Pro
I strung 3 PDs up the other day for a young ball basher who has his PDs all weighted to 12oz. I didn't measure the balance but he had most of the lead in the throat. He plays in a league up the road about 50 miles that has recent former SEC players in it. His mom and sis are tennis coaches up in Ohio somewhere. He has me string the "secret sauce" in his rackets. Last time I hit with him I asked him why put himself through this? He said he liked to hit with his"grandpa" for the conversation. He is in the Army, I am retired from it.

A PD stock is about 300g , which is in the 'chick stick' zone. I own a leaded one and a tour. The PD is probably about 330G and the tour has the better serve out of the two.

I'd imagine a 12oz PD could do some serious damage but would take very early prep on anything else.
 

Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
Is the PD good for serving? Aren't the ideal specifications a small head, with thin beam and high weight? At least today I would say PS97 and RF97 are more appropriate. PD has good power, but does it have enough control?
 

Boubi

Professional
If technique is flawed, no racquet will help you
That being said, Radical graphene MP is a good souvenir and my current RS305 is good at it
 

Grafil Injection

Hall of Fame
After my first session today I would say that the 370g, 90 sqi Puma Boris Becker Winner is pretty darn awesome for serves! I suppose I should have guessed this!
 

aaron_h27

Hall of Fame
Yonex Ezone 98 is one of the best racquets to serve with good power, spin and directional control. Really easy to whip through contact and feels automatic. I played with the 2020 version, but from what I'm hearing the the new 2022 version is pretty much the same. I think the Head Speed Pro is also a good serving racquet, but it's not for everyone and may require a little time to get the hang of. Once you get it though it provides good heavy serves with pace, spin and control.
This has been my experience, but I wonder why though? Is it the way they design the frame with the thinner throat?
 

ChrisJR3264

Hall of Fame
Honestly I’m a big server. It’s my game as an aggressive baseliner with a big serve. I have used many rackets after my pure storm to find the one (currently using the tfight 305). Not sure if I didn’t find one that didn’t give me pop.

Add some weight to 2 and 10 or 12 if you want more power from the racket. But I would say focus on technique and toss.
 

jxs653

Professional
Try to imagine a lesser player you know. Do you think his serve would get better if he changes racquet? I think his serve would be exactly the same. We are all a lesser player to someone.
 

ChrisJR3264

Hall of Fame
Try to imagine a lesser player you know. Do you think his serve would get better if he changes racquet? I think his serve would be exactly the same. We are all a lesser player to someone.

I wouldn’t necessary think it’s a racket change unless it’s to someone who’s using a 98 when they would benefit more using a 100.

String tension - maybe go a bit lower? Add a little weight to the hoop. And 100% focus on toss and form. Maybe change to a plat form stance?

Many variables here.
 

Bambooman

Hall of Fame
It's hard to beat just extending your favorite racquet by an inch or two. And I know all you princess and pea types are going to claim this will throw off your perfectly calibrated timing in the rest of your game.
 

DanF1961

Rookie
The Prince Twistpower X100 Tour has me intrigued to try a demo. It received very high marks for serving. TW playtesters Jason & Brittany both scored it 9.5 for Serving on the TW Review, and the regular reviews mentioned that its a great stick for serving.
 

Dansan

Semi-Pro
TC95 16x19 hits pretty big...just difficult to control in other areas of my game. Head Speed touch mp and new head speed pro. I've got mine setup under/around 330g and close to 33cm balance. Excellent on serve and just about everywhere else...the touch speed mp is getting scarce
 
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Konik_1982

Rookie
RF97 - when you just "let it go" it makes almost the whole job for you. Balls come heavy and fast as hell.
Head Speed Pro Auxetic - my back up racquet. Originally just wanted to try the experience of the "magic" auxetic technology everyone talks about but there really is something on it...and the serves are amazing.
 

KYHacker

Professional
Depends on your service technique. The looser your swing, the heavier you can go. RF97A (mine were 332 sw) serves bombs with good technique. I also found my IGA 298 and the Pure Strike 3rd gen 16x19 to serve big (both had same specs 305g, 335 sw). I am a little tight in my technique, and all of those frames eventually cause me shoulder pain when I try to serve big. Recently been trying Clash Pro v1 and it serves really big-- about the same as a Pure Drive and without any harshness. I haven't found anything with a swing weight of less than 315 to serve particularly well, though.
 

Jonesy

Legend
I use a PD and have a good controled serve, but certainly it is not because of the racket. Technique always comes first. But if you want the control racket from bab then go for the PS.
 

TBM

Rookie
I owned a Vantage VT90 (now known as Angell), that felt unbelievable to serve with. The accuracy I had was crazy. It's just a shame that a 90Sq Inch head hindered the rest of my game.
 

Crocodile

G.O.A.T.
Just on this topic, has anyone got together with a group of people and tested a whole lot of racquets and measured the serving speeds so you could compare. I’m actually thinking of doing this and wanted to know which way would be the best way to measure the serve speed ?
Secondly how much of a difference would you need to make a change viable. So for example if you picked up a frame could it be possible for you to instantly add say 10km of service speed and would that be a game changer for you ?
Thirdly what about service bounce and spin. Having a longer racquet, can you get more bounce off the court because you are hitting it from a higher point and what about slicing the ball away, would you experience more angle ?
Lastly one thing I found interesting is the “ease of serving “ racquet, maybe you could call it serving dexterity. You know how with some racquets you find serving really easy and you just can’t miss with it , where’s another racquet it’s just not happening for you.
I actually found this with the Prince Phantom 93 P, particularly the 14/18 version, it was very easy to make the ball slide away from my opponents and serving was vey easy. Maybe it’s the thin beam combined with the headlight balance and deceptive acceleration you get from a heavy frame that moves fast. I also noticed this with the Volkl SG Mid 330.
 

Q452

New User
My 16x19 blade v7 has given me the most devastating serves, not sure why. I’ve tried everything else.
Modded it to have a high 320s swingweight and very headlight
 
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