Playing with flexible racquets

Weight is another element that comes into play. A lighter yet flexible racquet will not deliver much “oomph” to your shots and that’s why most flexible racquets back in the days were quite heavy, up to 360 grams strung. A heavier frame will also better deal with impact vibrations from the ball just thanks to the sheer mass of it. But swinging a 360 gram racquet might take a toll on your shoulder and wrist. So if you like to play with heavy racquets, work on your technique and your physique to make sure you can handle the heft.

A stiff and light racquet is what we today call a “modern racquet”. You can hit with a fast swing speed and get really good power and decent stability thanks to the stiffness. What happens though is that swinging faster requires a different type of technique (creating more spin) than if you’re playing with a old-school, flexible racquet.

Just look at all the upcoming ATP pros today, the so called Next Generation. They swing the racquets so fast that it looks like their lives depended on it. (If you’re a professional athlete, I guess in some ways it does!) This kind of swing requires lots of work and really good physique. As well as timing of course. With the racquet moving so fast towards the ball, it’s obviously tougher to make sure you hit the centre of the strings.

Playing with flexible racquets – Confidence is everything

A heavier frame can slow down your swing, but still give you good power thanks to the weight. This is really up to your game style and your technique. I’ve been playing around with lighter racquets the last couple of years, although I always seem to revert back to the heavier, control-oriented frame. I simple feel more confident going for my shots with a 95 sq inch, 18×20 racquet. I’ve also realized I really enjoy a quite “even” response from the string bed. This means no “hot-spots” or a pronounced flex like for example the PT57A or the HEAD LM Prestige Pro stock I reviewed recently.

I tend to go back to where I started my player racquet adventures: the Wilson Six One 95 or a racquet quite similar to it, which I feel with HEAD LM Radical Tours. Not sure this will go on for ever, but feeling confident about your shots and being able to swing out is one of the most important things to play good tennis in my opinion. At least to be able play “freely” without holding back.

The arm and shoulder can get a little bit tired after two hours with a 350+ gram racquet. And that’s when I wonder, again, if I should drop some weight (I have to switch racquet to do this, the 350 grams is the stock weight), do more work in the gym or see if my technique can be the issue. It’s the see-saw of a passionate tennis player who enjoys fiddling with his racquets and setup perhaps a little bit too much.

Too many racquets – The land of confusion