Why i serving much better with one racquet compared to other?

N

nov

Hall of Fame
Im switching between Speed MP 2022 and Blade 16 x 19 V9 for some time. I would 100% play with the Speed MP but i cant serve properly with it. I like Speed MP from the back of the court, but with Blade i just serve faster and much more accurate even though racquet less powerfull. It supposed to be all about technique... Same strings, a bit different tension because of the stringed differences. To sum it up:

Speed MP:
Good from the back of the court
Good stability
Better for singles

Blade 16 x 19 V9:
Good serve
Good volleys
Good slice
Good maneuverability
Better for doubles

Im pretty much served good with any 18 x 20 racquets i played before (Speed Pro, Gravity Tour, Gravity Pro). Even with heavy Gravity Pro i served bombs.
My only guess that Speed MP is less accurate, sometimes erratic and im slowing my stroke to hit my serves. Overall serve quality much better with Blade.
 
nov said:
Im switching between Speed MP 2022 and Blade 16 x 19 V9 for some time. I would 100% play with the Speed MP but i cant serve properly with it. I like Speed MP from the back of the court, but with Blade i just serve faster and much more accurate even though racquet less powerfull. It supposed to be all about technique... Same strings, a bit different tension because of the stringed differences. To sum it up:

Speed MP:
Good from the back of the court
Good stability
Better for singles

Blade 16 x 19 V9:
Good serve
Good volleys
Good slice
Good maneuverability
Better for doubles

Im pretty much served good with any 18 x 20 racquets i played before (Speed Pro, Gravity Tour, Gravity Pro). Even with heavy Gravity Pro i served bombs.
My only guess that Speed MP is less accurate, sometimes erratic and im slowing my stroke to hit my serves. Overall serve quality much better with Blade.
Click to expand...

Some rackets perform better at certain areas, but I think all you need is to take some time and work on your serves with Speed MP. Maybe have a coach take a look at your mechanics to see if there are some corrections needed. in your service motion.
 
nov said:
Im switching between Speed MP 2022 and Blade 16 x 19 V9 for some time. I would 100% play with the Speed MP but i cant serve properly with it. I like Speed MP from the back of the court, but with Blade i just serve faster and much more accurate even though racquet less powerfull. It supposed to be all about technique... Same strings, a bit different tension because of the stringed differences. To sum it up:

Speed MP:
Good from the back of the court
Good stability
Better for singles

Blade 16 x 19 V9:
Good serve
Good volleys
Good slice
Good maneuverability
Better for doubles

Im pretty much served good with any 18 x 20 racquets i played before (Speed Pro, Gravity Tour, Gravity Pro). Even with heavy Gravity Pro i served bombs.
My only guess that Speed MP is less accurate, sometimes erratic and im slowing my stroke to hit my serves. Overall serve quality much better with Blade.
Click to expand...

Now that I have my own stringing machine and "unlimited stringing attempts" it seems to me that each racket has to be individually tuned with strings and tensions that work well for it IN addition to a good weight/balance/swing-weight setup. Also we have no idea how the specs match between these 2 rackets. From my limited experience the Speed MP has a higher launch angle and more power that is probably causing you to send them long AND now you have stored a good library of bad results in your mind with it. Its going to be very hard for the Speed MP to recover from this. I cant blame the rackets SINCE there are people who will find serving with the Speed MP better and easier than the Gravity and Blades.
 
mhkeuns said:
Some rackets perform better at certain areas, but I think all you need is to take some time and work on your serves with Speed MP. Maybe have a coach take a look at your mechanics to see if there are some corrections needed. in your service motion.
Click to expand...

No, sorry. lol

The Blade V8/9 16/19 are serve magic, it’s no wonder OP unlocked something there. That racquet lets you shape the ball like nothing else I’ve hit with.
 
rf97 autograph is the best racket for serving. I don't know why everyone doesn't use it. Think about it like this, you're going to adapt to whatever racket you use so might as well use the best one.
 
mhkeuns said:
Some rackets perform better at certain areas, but I think all you need is to take some time and work on your serves with Speed MP. Maybe have a coach take a look at your mechanics to see if there are some corrections needed. in your service motion.
Click to expand...
I played with Speed MP for over a yrar, nothing changed. Blade give back my serve the first time i played with this. But i think i served better with 18x20 racquets its just blade serve is good enough for me.
 
thenewbig3 said:
Now that I have my own stringing machine and "unlimited stringing attempts" it seems to me that each racket has to be individually tuned with strings and tensions that work well for it IN addition to a good weight/balance/swing-weight setup. Also we have no idea how the specs match between these 2 rackets. From my limited experience the Speed MP has a higher launch angle and more power that is probably causing you to send them long AND now you have stored a good library of bad results in your mind with it. Its going to be very hard for the Speed MP to recover from this. I cant blame the rackets SINCE there are people who will find serving with the Speed MP better and easier than the Gravity and Blades.
Click to expand...
Pros would outserve me with any racquet :) Im well aware of that. But Speed MP is dissapointing me :( If only i could serve with it...
 
BlueB said:
How do SW and balance compare with those two? Measuring would be better than published specs.
Click to expand...
Speed MP strung 328 gr, 326 SW, 325 balance with 2gr in buttcap. Blade 329 gr, 326 SW, 325 balance.
Now im trying Blade with 3gr at 3-9 on Blade to achieve better stability, but its still lacking for me. Jesus i regret selling my first gen Gravity Tour. If i had Toroline O-Toro strigs at the time i played with GTour, i would never get rid of that frame :(
 
nov said:
Not measured with machine. But i buy racquets unstrung with matching service and calculate final SW.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, I think they go of the listed specs for SW, and just match weight and balance. I could be wrong.
Why don't you try to do DIY SW measurement? You might be surprised.
 
BlueB said:
Unfortunately, I think they go of the listed specs for SW, and just match weight and balance. I could be wrong.
Why don't you try to do DIY SW measurement? You might be surprised.
Click to expand...
What do you mean "they go of the listed specs for SW"? Both racquets 290 SW unstrung.
 
I find my serve to be hit or miss with a few rackets, whilst with others I can serve well from the first ball. I’ve always just put it down to the racket speed through the air that compliments my serving mechanics/timing. For example, the Vcore 95 and T-Fight 305s just feel completely natural, whereas the Speed Pro, Blade v9 and Boom Pro have all been slightly off. When I used to play with the Speed Pro a few season ago, I had to increase my ball toss height to make sure the racket came around to contact at the correct time.
 
nov said:
What do you mean "they go of the listed specs for SW"? Both racquets 290 SW unstrung.
Click to expand...
Yes, on paper, no one measured it.
1g extra material in the upper hoop can be 3 points of SW. I have a PCG100 that is more than 10 SW under listed!
Let's imagine a scenario where one is 5 over and the other 5 under the listed SW, the 10 points difference would massively impact on how they play.
Just measure them...
 
BlueB said:
Yes, on paper, no one measured it.
1g extra material in the upper hoop can be 3 points of SW. I have a PCG100 that is more than 10 SW under listed!
Let's imagine a scenario where one is 5 over and the other 5 under the listed SW, the 10 points difference would massively impact on how they play.
Just measure them...
Click to expand...
I always buy racquets with matching service, so they measured unstrung. But its not SW the problem. I played Gravity Pro for over a year and it was good for serve, actually good overall but only for ~1 hour playing time then its too heavy.
 
nov said:
I always buy racquets with matching service, so they measured unstrung. But its not SW the problem. I played Gravity Pro for over a year and it was good for serve, actually good overall but only for ~1 hour playing time then its too heavy.
Click to expand...
Yes, I belive they measure W and balance, but SW they go as listed.

Playing fine for an hr, then feeling too heavy, is typical of SW being too high.

Why don't you measure SW, DIY style? It would take less than 20 minutes and you'll eliminate (or confirm) that potential problem.
 
Blade has a much thinner beam than Speed MP. That is why the blade is much faster through the air and therefore quicker at contact point.
So, it is quite obvisously that it feels better for serving because it is very maneuverable.
 
As someome has said, in all likelihood, it's because your serve technique is probably flatter, so a lower powered racquet gives you that trajectory and accuracy you lack with a more launchier/powerful stick. A more powerful stick allows you to clear the net more easily, but unless you are 6'6" and above, you're not hitting down, so there's a need for more spin.
1mm isn't a lot, although the blade has lower twist weight, which does help with maneuverability a bit. But it is also why he like the MP off the ground, because of the higher stability.
GermanBeast said:
Blade has a much thinner beam than Speed MP. That is why the blade is much faster through the air and therefore quicker at contact point.
So, it is quite obvisously that it feels better for serving because it is very maneuverable.
Click to expand...
 
BlueB said:
Yes, I belive they measure W and balance, but SW they go as listed.

Playing fine for an hr, then feeling too heavy, is typical of SW being too high.

Why don't you measure SW, DIY style? It would take less than 20 minutes and you'll eliminate (or confirm) that potential problem.
Click to expand...
I dont think so. When i get specs of 6 racquets, many times specs are all over the place. Sometimes 6 racquets can be close to specs, like +-3/4 SW, but usually its random.
How i measure DIY SW?
 
Sardines said:
As someome has said, in all likelihood, it's because your serve technique is probably flatter, so a lower powered racquet gives you that trajectory and accuracy you lack with a more launchier/powerful stick. A more powerful stick allows you to clear the net more easily, but unless you are 6'6" and above, you're not hitting down, so there's a need for more spin.
1mm isn't a lot, although the blade has lower twist weight, which does help with maneuverability a bit. But it is also why he like the MP off the ground, because of the higher stability.
Click to expand...
It can be technique. But i hit slice and kick serves too. First serve usually more flatter.
Blade beam 21mm, Speed 23mm, but specs of my racquets are so close only the Blade being a little bit more maneuverable.
 
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nov said:
It can be technique. But i hit slice and kick serves too. First serve usually more flatter.
Blade beam 21mm, Speed 23mm, but specs of my racquets are so close only the Blade being a little bit more maneuverable.
Click to expand...
Well you're not describing why it's better? To troubleshoot, the more data the better. Which serves are better with the blade? T? Wide? Shorter angle?
nov said:
im slowing my stroke to hit my serves. Overall serve quality much better with Blade.
Click to expand...
I think you said it yourself. Even though you are serving better serves, your consistency suffers because you don't hit up on the ball enough. Instead you decelerate and lose control.
 
Sardines said:
Well you're not describing why it's better? To troubleshoot, the more data the better. Which serves are better with the blade? T? Wide? Shorter angle?

I think you said it yourself. Even though you are serving better serves, your consistency suffers because you don't hit up on the ball enough. Instead you decelerate and lose control.
Click to expand...
Talking about my serve, im not powerfull sever, im all about placement and variety. I mostly try to mix up placement and spin but i hit fast flats aswell, sometimes even on second serve.
With Speed MP if i hit full power flat serve its very hard to get it in, also T and wide serves are hard, because its hard to place the ball like i want to.
About slowing my swing, its only my guess and i usually slow it on second serve (because i dont have confidence with that racquet). My first serve percentage is much lower also. Overall my serve is too predictable and too easy with Speed MP and i bately get unreturned serves.
 
I mean, serves are the stroke that gets the most racket head speed (especially at higher levels) so of course the properties that make a racket good for serving will be slightly different than for groundstrokes. A more stable racket is probably always going to be preferred for serving over a less stable one given it will more efficiently transfer energy to the ball

Of course there are other factors, thinner beams go through the air faster, open string patterns or closed for spin/precision. But I think stability (or perceived stability) matters a lot for finding a good serve frame, and I consider the blade to be better in that respect
 
Thicker beams > thinner beams for sheer speed /power on serve. That's why I'm a little surprised that the OP has less power on serve with the Speed MP. The blade being more precise makes total sense. OP said it themselves that they're slowing their swing on the Speed to be more precise.

At this point you can mess with string setups, but otherwise I think you have to decide whether you should move on to a different frame. We've all reached this point on most frames. Some will just match your game so well in all but one or two aspects. You've got to find a frame that you like, or can be happy with, in most things while realizing there's no perfect frame that has it all.
 
Could it be the head grip? You may have to adjust your service grip to the handle even though it may seem like it’s the same.
 
nov said:
Pros would outserve me with any racquet :) Im well aware of that. But Speed MP is dissapointing me :( If only i could serve with it...
Click to expand...
I struggled to serve with the Speed MP as well. Definitely played a part in the decision for me to move on to the Boom.
 
nov said:
Boom Pro i guess?Does Boom worked for you?
Click to expand...
I wanted a 100" head so I went with the MP and customized it. I added 6 grams in the handle (removed the butt cap) and then added 3.5 grams at 12'oclock to increase swing weight, better plow-through. Took me a couple of days to adjust to it serve wise, but it's so much more fun to play with than the Speed due to the increase in power and spin. Very happy
 
esm said:
May want to also check the twistweight. The Speed MP may have higher TW than the Blade V9 16m
Click to expand...
Dont think so its twistweight, because i played with Speed Pro 2022 and was serving amazing with it.
Roforot said:
Could it be the head grip? You may have to adjust your service grip to the handle even though it may seem like it’s the same.
Click to expand...
No, grips identical, i even measure size of grip and i can make them similar with overgrip overlaping.
 
TheBoom said:
I mean, serves are the stroke that gets the most racket head speed (especially at higher levels) so of course the properties that make a racket good for serving will be slightly different than for groundstrokes. A more stable racket is probably always going to be preferred for serving over a less stable one given it will more efficiently transfer energy to the ball

Of course there are other factors, thinner beams go through the air faster, open string patterns or closed for spin/precision. But I think stability (or perceived stability) matters a lot for finding a good serve frame, and I consider the blade to be better in that respect
Click to expand...
Its true for RHS. But stability for me matters more in other strokes. Im used to heavier 18 x 20 frames and im struggling with Blade because of that. But added maneuverability is nice bonus aswell, i can make reaction shots i usually miss with heavier frames. If only Blade would have better stability it would work for me. Now im testing it with lead at 3/9.
 
Start thinking about removing lead from the hoop. Probably in 0.25 gram decrements. Forget about trying to keep balance the same or close to same. You’re having issues with moving the SW on the Speed.

Also think about adjusting the tension on your Speed MP. I believe that it may be too tight compared to the Blade.
 
esgee48 said:
Start thinking about removing lead from the hoop. Probably in 0.25 gram decrements. Forget about trying to keep balance the same or close to same. You’re having issues with moving the SW on the Speed.

Also think about adjusting the tension on your Speed MP. I believe that it may be too tight compared to the Blade.
Click to expand...
Why do you think i have issues with SW?Im used to higher SW. I just want to work the Blade, so trying with lead.
As far as tension, i cant go lower than 22/21kg on Speed, this is the lowest i can play with this racquet. Even in Blade i will go 21/20 next time, because 20/19 too low.
 
nov said:
Done the DIY. Its very sensitive, hard to make it right. But looks like my Blade has 322 SW with 3gr added a little above 3-9 spot. With specs 332 gr, 32.7 balance i dont know if racquet can have 322 SW?
Click to expand...
Of course, lots of my racquets are somewhere there in specs. Actually, if I calculated the MgR/I correctly, it comes bang onto 21, which is ideal for many people.

Have you measured the Speed, too? That would be the key, to establish the difference between the two.

Yes, it is sensitive. In the beginning, I have used to do it several times for every racquet and average it, or just throw away an outlier result. Over the time, you'll get quite consistent with it.
 
nov said:
Its true for RHS. But stability for me matters more in other strokes. Im used to heavier 18 x 20 frames and im struggling with Blade because of that. But added maneuverability is nice bonus aswell, i can make reaction shots i usually miss with heavier frames. If only Blade would have better stability it would work for me. Now im testing it with lead at 3/9.
Click to expand...
Hence my post re: twistweight……
Every 2g at 3/9 locations should increase the TW by about 0.3 points.
 
BlueB said:
Of course, lots of my racquets are somewhere there in specs. Actually, if I calculated the MgR/I correctly, it comes bang onto 21, which is ideal for many people.

Have you measured the Speed, too? That would be the key, to establish the difference between the two.

Yes, it is sensitive. In the beginning, I have used to do it several times for every racquet and average it, or just throw away an outlier result. Over the time, you'll get quite consistent with it.
Click to expand...
Yes, Speed MP SW 315. But i watched video on youtube when Speed MP measured with swing machine unstrung and strung with weighted strings. So i can calculate SW by multiple string weight by 1.85. No way its 315. Its around 326
 
nov said:
No, grips identical, i even measure size of grip and i can make them similar with overgrip overlaping.
Click to expand...
cys19

Thread 'Grip size difference: Head vs Wilson'

The Head grip size feels smaller than Wilson's grip size. For Head players, do you go one size smaller when buying a Wilson?

Wilson is more octagonal and head rectangular. It may be something you will adjust but it could make your swing and contact off. If its not bothering you thats great though.
 
Roforot said:
cys19

Thread 'Grip size difference: Head vs Wilson'

The Head grip size feels smaller than Wilson's grip size. For Head players, do you go one size smaller when buying a Wilson?

Wilson is more octagonal and head rectangular. It may be something you will adjust but it could make your swing and contact off. If its not bothering you thats great though.
Click to expand...
I got nasty callus on hand big thumb when switched Wilson. Not sure its the grip, racquet stability or whatever, but last time i had callus it was like 5+ years ago.
 
nov said:
Yes, Speed MP SW 315. But i watched video on youtube when Speed MP measured with swing machine unstrung and strung with weighted strings. So i can calculate SW by multiple string weight by 1.85. No way its 315. Its around 326
Click to expand...
It doesn't matter if you believe the number, but rather what is the measured difference between your two racquets. 7 SW is substantial, they'd definitely play differently.
 
BlueB said:
It doesn't matter if you believe the number, but rather what is the measured difference between your two racquets. 7 SW is substantial, they'd definitely play differently.
Click to expand...
And both racquets swing about the same, Blade being a little bit faster.
 
Update on the racquet journey:

I sold my Blade and went back to the Speed MP. It plays better for me, especially in singles, but my serve still sucked. After a while, I just couldn’t believe my serve went from a weapon to complete trash, especially in doubles.
I tried a few other racquets from friends and served much better with all of them, without even needing to adjust. The one thing they all had in common? The grips were a bit smaller than my Speed MP. My Speed MP grip had actually been made bigger because of stability issues.
I reduce the grip size a little and instantly played better. Then I added 3g at 3/9, and it felt even better. Current specs: 329g / 331 SW / 326 balance. With this setup I played 5 matches, and finally felt like my game came back - serve was solid, and my FH/BH were clicking again. I still don’t have the same placement I had with the Speed Pro or Blade, but now it’s way more playable.
I honestly think higher twistweight racquets just suits my game better. Probably why I never liked the Blades.
What do you guys think - could this be placebo? Im having a hard time believing it is, since I really struggled for a long time before these changes.
 
Alcawrath said:
Thicker beams > thinner beams for sheer speed /power on serve. That's why I'm a little surprised that the OP has less power on serve with the Speed MP. The blade being more precise makes total sense. OP said it themselves that they're slowing their swing on the Speed to be more precise.

At this point you can mess with string setups, but otherwise I think you have to decide whether you should move on to a different frame. We've all reached this point on most frames. Some will just match your game so well in all but one or two aspects. You've got to find a frame that you like, or can be happy with, in most things while realizing there's no perfect frame that has it all.
Click to expand...
Speed MP can come in very high SW over 330. Much harder to get through the air with good acceleration than a thinner frame with likely quite a bit lower SW of the Blade
 
Grip size is a factor. How much space in mm do you have between your palm and your finger tips on the handle when gripping the frame? The other thing you could have done is to string lower on the Speed MP (and to add weight and string lower on the blade too). You are also comparing a 100 to a 98 which isn't exactly apples to apples.
 
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