I’ve talked about this topic before, but yesterday I talked to a friend of Carlos (another Spanish pro player) about Alcaraz racquet.
What is really Alcaraz racquet? In most cases, the pros use an older model customized to their specification painted to look like the latest generation so that racquet companies can sell more racquets. But there are a few situations where a pro uses a racquet that is available to anyone out there. When it comes to Carlos Alcaraz, he actually uses a stock Babolat Pure Aero VS! The specs I posted in the video below, are actually correct as I talked to a friend of “Carlitos” yesterday.
Carlos Alcaraz racquet specs
At first I was skeptical about the racquet specs in the video above, but Babolat have been relatively good at getting pro players to use commercial models (Dominic Thiem uses the latest Pure Strike), Rune uses the Aero VS (slightly customized according to himself), many WTA players use some generation of the Pure Drive with little to no customization.
These specifications are unstrung. Alcaraz uses Babolat RPM Blast 1.30 at 55 lbs mains and 53 lbs crosses. (He sometimes uses 51 lbs for the crosses to increase the movement of the main strings).
As you can see, these are the specs you get when you buy a Pure Aero VS in the store. It’s rare that pros play with relatively light specs, but these days it happens. Tennis is such a fast and physical sport that using heavy and unforgiving racquets will likely be a thing of the past in a near future.
Does this mean that if you buy a Pure Aero VS and use Alcaraz tension and string setup that you will be hammering forehand winners, caressing drop shots and winning Masters titles? No. The racquet works for him and his game and you need to find what works for yours. But it’s interesting that he’s using a stock form racquet.
11 comments
I guess he certainly doesn’t need more power…. maybe the maneuverability with a relatively light racket is helpful.
honestly, i doubt he is playing with that garbage racket; stock form. No stability.
Do you know if he uses lead tape? Swing weight under 300 seems low compared other ATP players.
I have just bought a VS. I love the other Babolats I own. I expect this one to be the best.
Paul Braithwaite
It is possible. Federer also uses a stock racket (altough the RF97 is on the heavy side for a Retail racket). Difference is Roger actually picks one with a slighlty heavier SW off the lot. I am assuming it is similar with Alcaraz, maybe closer to 330 SW, who knows, because 320 SW does seem oddly low, taking into account how he managed to receive the oncomming balls from the Rocket-for-an-Arm Djokovic plus many others with good serves xD
I have been using a 2020 (Red) Prestige MP and/or Pro for a while. Weight of 338g, SW 331, 6 pt HL (strung specs) and recently bought this racket (Pure Aero VS, PAVS for short). It felt so light, like a toy. The swingweight was so low I couldn’t play for crap. I know we can adapt but I find it hard to believe a pro would use such a toy. I am attempting to bring it in line with my preferred specs but ran out of lead tape for now. It does generate more spin and for sure has more power. I want to give it a shot because I do respect the aero aspect of it and being 50 yrs old, I feel I should consider using a racket that does more for me.
It is impossible that any pro plays 300 grams racquet. 330 unstrung is a minimum.
Ask Taylor Fritz and many others that use lighter racquets. Not many pros use below 330 swing weight strung, but below 330g unstrung there are quite a few!
The SW listed of 293 is not correct…the stock VS SW is 321.
293 unstrung can lead to 321 strung depending on the string. Also quality control makes these different, of course.
It is correct. 293 SW is the unstrung measurement. Add ~ 30 points for strings and it’s about 321.