My racquet recommendations (as mentioned in video) 👉 kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ZuBgg9pozpuopX0.htmlsi=4w6Caq2Xk85IQCQi

Quality content as always! Couldn't agree more with the sentiment in this video. A big thing, too, is can you still swing the racket when you're tired halfway through a match? Can you whip up on the ball and flatten it out and generally have variety in your game whilst being comfortable/without pain. I play with the Radical MP, which for me is stable enough to cope with big hitters but allows me to produce the best ball for the next shot.

That is a helpful explanation; thanks!

Great tutorial! Additionally, I would like to complement your wonderful lecture with a funny story. All you need to do is go to the gym for a few weeks and your current racket starts to feel too light. And from the other side. If after this gym you change your racket to a heavier one and stop training, after a few weeks the new racket will become too heavy :)

Great topic Nick. Love this vid❤. I simply love my stick to be on the heavier side. I noticed that my shots are more powerful and more consistent with 315g than 305g. With a heavy racket I just feel that I can tame its heaviness and use its mass to my advantage. As simple as that😊.

Great explanation, Nikola. Clear and easy to understand. Thanks again for your helpful, and quality content.

Another way to determine if a racquet is too heavy for a certain player is to play with it for couple of sets or an hour of rallying. If the person becomes fatigued, and it becomes difficult to make a complete stroke after that, it's too heavy. After a certain age, I could still play with my ProStaff 6.1, but after a while, I was too tired to make proper strokes. Had to go down a notch. Another advantage of heavier racquets, along with stability as you mentioned, they contribute more to the stroke. On an emergency shot, when your stretched and can't make a complete stroke, with an abbreviated swing, the mass of the racquet gets the ball over the net. The weight cooperates. With the light frames, the ball just pushes the racquet, and it feels unstable. Excellent video, Nico.

I'm at best a 4.5 but since I was a kid I played with heavy rackets (ncode six one mostly). Some years ago I tried to switch to lighter rackets, around 305g. Got more spin and tennis became "easier" (helped with arm fatigue in long matches), but the stability and feel was so awful that tennis became almost boring. Couldn't make a volley or half volley to save my life. And I developed elbow pain. Now I play happily with the RF97😅

Volleys always feel completely unstable to me whenever I try a light racquet. 😂

I've been experimenting with a lot of racquets lately. I found that I like a light racquet for my long-stroke forehand and a heavy raquet for my more compact backhand (2-handed). It was a dilemma until I tried the Ezone 100 Light. A light racquet that plays big (large head, thick beam). It's fantastic.

you have probably the best youtube channel for tennis , thank you.

Although the general sentiment of this video is correct, you should have included the swingweight discussion within the same video. It's too simplistic to say if you cannot accelerate the racket properly then it's too heavy. A 280g racket with a 330 swingweight will feel harder to accelerate than a 310g racket with a 305 swingweight. The 280g racket would most likely feel more stable as well (depending on other factors such as twistweight as well). In my opinion, the stability is impacted massively by the swingweight. A 340g racket with a 300sw wont have any stability even though it's heavy. It's obviously hard to delve into all of the above when trying to give out general advice.

p=m.v means Momentum depends on mass and velocity. naturally more mass means less velovity because its harder to accelerate. In fact, you should choose the heaviest racket that you can bring to the final speed

I like my Wilson pro staff it’s awesome

Often people (including past myself) are not honest about their ability to swing a heavy racquet. Before chosing a racquet I'd say this "Swallow your pride". It's not a d*ck contest about who is able to maneuver the heaviest racquet or the smallest headsize...and it's all fun and giggles to play the RF97 until you bring it to a match vs a better opponent. Same goes for the tennis strings. Sure there are better strings than others, but a previous coach was crushing at high level with a 40$/reel tennis string. Nadal was too, back in 2005...

I like head light racquets (315 mm or less, strung) that weigh 320 g or more (unstrung). To make them stable, I add some weight at 3 and 9 and play with/add the rest of the weight in the handle and 12 position, until the above numbers are reached. I have a full and fast swing, thus I generate my own power. Overkill: tuned Ezone with Alupower.

Good analysis and explanation. I was nerdy enough to read a book called Technical Tennis on racket weight/power, different ways power coming from racket. But there is a big difference between a controlled experience and how a person feels when hitting the ball. The biggest issue that bugs me is stability vs. maneuverability when you are on defense and had to improvise. All rackets, especially the woodies, feel great when you have the time to setup and do a full swing. So my question to Nick: when you had to react and not able to hit clean, is it better to have a heavier racket that's more stable (possibly with bigger sweet spot), or a light racket that allows to manipulate more to hit somewhat cleaner?

Especially for serving it’s important to have a sufficiently light racquet. Ground strokes can easily be stroke by with heavy racquets, but when it comes to kick serves relying on high racquet head speed, things look different.

I’m a junior in high school, and I’ve been watching your videos for about 3 1/2 years, when I started playing tennis at around 14. And I can definitely say but you’ve helped me improve more than any other online coach or any other coach I’ve had by far. Can you break down incredibly complex concepts in such a simple and easy to understand way. The funny thing is I’ve always been a pretty skinny kid and I don’t have a lot of muscle, however I’ve gravitated towards heavy rackets for some reason, because I always felt that I get a lot of control with a heavy racket opposed to a light one. When I first started playing tennis I started playing with a very cheap prince racket and it was oversize, and I couldn’t even keep the ball on the court almost everything was going into the fence😂, answer my coach gave me this really old pro-kennex racket that was pretty heavy it was like 320 g and I only had a 90 in.² head, but I instantly started playing better. I also it’s just pretty lazy and didn’t want to practice and I didn’t want to admit that it wasn’t getting better due to not practicing so I try to blame it on the equipment, 😂.

Great Video Nik. How about a video about head heavy vs head light for same weight. Rackets that come to mind for the head heavy in 305g are the TF-40 or T-Fight with a balance of 32.5cms and head light the Ezone or CX200 at 31.5cms. Why would i choose one over the other? Thanks

recently switched to a 350g-but still very head-light-racket (E-Zone Tour 98 with leather grip added) and wish i had done it years ago

I started playing with an ezone 98 tour with a weight of 350 g and have a hard time with lighter rackets and hit a quite good ball when im not dead but the ezone totally kills me physically fast

I have changed from heavier racquet to a lighter one, to improve my volee and smash. I have find more difficult to play my two hand backand with new racquet

Force = Mass x Acceleration

My friend is finding more success with a 95 as opposed to his 97 pure strike. He used his pure strike for 4 matches and though I don’t notice a difference except that some of his shots are hit softer than normal and it’s helped some balls go in more, on the other hand more balls are hit back harder as well. But now that he’s played two matches with his 95 he’s feeling much better about his play. I imagine there’s a big factor playing into it of confidence. He played in HS with a 95 and made the switch to 97 when he got back into the game. How much does confidence play into what racquet is best for you? How far should you stray from what you know to try to improve your game racquet wise?

Since a player's physical strength is not going to suddenly change, the increase in mass of a heavy racket should be exactly offset by the reduction in acceleration you are able to achieve with that racket (F=MA). Hence, the force going into the ball will be the same. However, most light rackets are also stiffer so less energy is absorbed by the racket and slightly more will go into the ball. And, there is a limit to how fast you can accelerate and still have control, so there will be an ideal weight for everyone depending on their biomechanics, as Nic said. But, maximum power isn't everything in tennis. You may prefer a slightly heavier racket, if you prefer some extra control, feel and stability it may provide.

Lol loved the brief talk about manliness and racket weight. "Ya bruh, nice 120 serve with a lady's racket!"

so I custom painted my racket and didn't know it was going to make it 15 grams heavier now I have to adapt because my shoulder kinda hurts but it's ok now I have way more power without needing to move too much, it was 300 before now it's 315

When my Pro Staff 97 started swinging like a fly swatter, I knew it's time to move to RF97. Never looked back since.

Maybe it's just me, but I've always preferred a lightweight racquet, the lighter the better. I love the maneuverability of them, mainly because I'm more comfortable at the net than the baseline.

I think it might be the opposite. Far from guys wanting to play with heavier racquets to show their manliness, I think a lot have been "persuaded" to use lighter frames because they believe it will give them more topspin. But guess what? A lot will end up with arm and wrist issues. Trying to generate so much pace and topspin with these lighter frames.

Velocity (speed), times mass (weight), equals force.

I know it’s important for KZfaq channels to keep subscribers engaged with regularly posting new content, but like some other commenters I wish the topics of weight and swingweight would have been included in one video. I like your Monday morning rants and practice sessions videos, it’s always great stuff that never feels like a waste of time. But sometimes when you are talking about specific topic, you tend to repeat yourself a lot. This video is an example of that, I think it could have been equally informative if it was densed or edited into 5 minutes or even better if it merged with the closely related topic of swingweight. That is a spec that’s a bit more advanced and really important for beginners and recreational players to understand. But it’s still just racquet weight, not rocket science, so it could have been in one great video that covers both specs. I know it’s easy to criticise, just wanted to give an honest feedback as a regular viewer of your channel. I learned a lot from you so thank you and keep up the good work.

I always increase the static weight to around 340g (strung) but maintain the balance and sw

Pro's are using lighter rackets at lower tensions these days - more power less control countered by more spin. Alcaraz uses about 305g and 53/55 string tension on really skinny 1.3mm strings. It's no longer the case that the heaviest tightest strung racket you can handle is the best.

How is Shamir doing with his heavy Yonex???

Nice vid. Where’s the Ana backhand video?

I actually feel i can accelerate more with a heavier racket with less effort than a lighter racket.

I don’t haft swing as hard with a heavy racket let the racket do the work for u works 4 me

Swing weight is important too not just static weight

If you show up with an RF97, just lol

Physics, sports is science.

Those traps are just silly. Honestly no ppl really care about what rackets you use. People applaud winning and good shots, not heavier racket. I have a 4.0 friend who plays with a 285g racket and light string tension. Counter-punching style and he is winning a lot.

I wouldn't let a late beginner swing a granny stick. That only leads to bad technique. I would give them a mere brick on a stick to enforce crystal clean strokes. I have seen so many late beginners with odd swings, they all need better advice. But most coaches don't give a sh..t and just continue feeding them balls.