Talk Tennis Podcast: Customize your Tennis Racquet like a Pro (customization explained) 🎧 🎾

[@tedneanderthal7373]

I bought a light and slightly head heavy racquet that would twist in my hand with almost every shot. It was unplayable and sat in my closet for years unused. Adding a leather grip cured that and made the racquet play quite well. Also, I have had a problem with evenly balanced frames over the years. I just could not play with them but adding a leather grip made them more stable and the slightly head light balance really enhanced spin. I add a Gamma overgrip to the frames where a leather grip has been added for additional comfort. For some reason, I find the leather grips to be slippery.

[@bradyspry1628]

Ko

[@bradyspry1628]

0

[@kingarthurusatenniscoach1415]

Read Vic Braden tennis for the future. Think palm on the forehand

[@Matheusfk3]

Agree with Troy, I played with my dad's PSRF97, which comes with a leather grip, and found it a bit uncomfortable (68RA) but when I put a leather grip on my Head Gravity Pro and added a little weight to the hoop, it felt amazing, stable, buttery. Beautiful feel!

[@rudiyuri775]

my idea is to do that with a gravity mp... with a leather grip on a gravity mp how much lead would it take to make it like 31,5 balance?

[@Matheusfk3]

@@rudiyuri775 That's a good question, since I don't remember the MP's specs off the top of my head, but you can easily use the tennis warehouse university website's customization tool/worksheet to find that out.

[@bradyspry1628]

Vo

[@pauldydyna5599]

Thanks much. Very enlightening discussion. Learned a good deal here.

[@mrfrog235]

Everything is better with a leather grip

[@rudiyuri775]

even arm pain?

[@mrfrog235]

@@rudiyuri775 yes with some racquets

[@landonh3535]

Can you guys get with someone to manufacture a swing weight machine and sell it at a reasonable price? It's impossible to track them down. Dunlop sells one for over 1,000USD. Total rip off. Its such an important spec for customizing yet 95% of players don't have access to an RDC and the phone apps just are not that precise. We have postal scales and balance boards, but we need that SW machine now! :)

[@bowsershark]

Good tips! On stiff versus loose racquet, launch angel and string pattern, head light and handle weight relationship, swing weight versus static weight and loading weight through the butt cap. Has anyone heard of a CALPRO Terminator which is 100% graphite/fiber sold in the 80's as a pro series racquet. It has red and silver pin stripes around the hoop and the yoke. It is a 90 sq inch or less head size. If there is any info. Out there on specs, I would appreciate learning about the racquet to match the balance, swing weight, static wt. specs in another frame.

[@kingarthurusatenniscoach1415]

Pete Sampras had lead on his racket when I met him He was 17 at an expo Wirral uk

[@WaltKurtz68]

What if you play with a very STIFF racquet and you develop some arm issues / tenderness? I'd say switch from poly to multi (or gut), for comfort. BUT then you have a more powerful string in an already very powerful racquet. So control becomes an issue. Stringing it really tight then takes away the arm friendliness of the string again. What to do??

[@daryllwin]

For the next episode, could you talk about silicone in the handles please. Also, maybe if you guys have any experience, could you talk about custom handle molding and the power V grip/ Wonder wedge. Maybe even a play test with them would be interesting.

[@daryllwin]

Also, could you talk about whether string savers work.

[@tomasjosefus2901]

Hi TW, I have question about customizing: exist any unwritten rule about how much of weight can I add to the racquet or it's only about the player's preference if he/she is able to handle new specifications (weight, balance, SwingWeight, sweet spot)? Thank you very much.

[@tenniswarehouse]

Not for certain, at which point a certain amount of weight may be a detriment to the racquet itself. However, for the player it really just comes down to their preference, and ability to wield a certain weight. Troy, TW

[@tomasjosefus2901]

Troy, thank you very much!

[@AMstringing]

Have you ever noticed when you add weight (tungsten putty) inside the shaft area through the trap door, that it actually increases the swingweight? My only explanation is that the tungsten putty is located farther from the pivot point (4") on the RDC, where the racquet is clamped down. However, when you add lead to the handle or at the top of the grip, it doesn't seem to effect the swingweight reading because it's closer to the pivot point. Is this true?

[@tenniswarehouse]

Not that we have experienced. When we have added Tungsten putty, it usually sits close to the bottom, where the butt cap is. It can sometimes add a point or so to the swingweight, but you have to add quite a bit to make a difference to the swingweight. As you travel up the handle to the top of the grip, it will make slightly more of an effect on swingweight. You do have to consider the density of the Tungsten putty as well. One pack of the TW Tungsten Putty is 1 ounce or 28 grams, all packed into one ball of putty. If you were to convert that to 1/4" width lead tape, that would be 112 inches of lead tape, or 9 feet, 4 inches of lead tape. If you put that much lead tape at the top of the grip, it would likely change the swingweight somewhat. Troy, TW

[@AMstringing]

@@tenniswarehouse Thanks for your reply Troy. I was just surprised that added weight in the butt cap would increase the swingweight even by 1 or 2 units. Whereas, the same amount of added weight above the grip doesn't seem to affect the swingweight. When tail weighting a frame, I don't usually add lead tape under the grip because of the effect it would have on increasing the size of the grip. I think Chris mentioned that is hardly noticeable. Do you normally place lead tape under your leather grip? If yes, can you feel an increase in the size of the grip?

[@tenniswarehouse]

@@AMstringing, I will usually use tungsten putty inside the handle, but on some occasions I have applied lead tape directly on the pallet. When I have done this, I usually just do one layer of lead tape, and then pressed it down nice and tight with and awl, or writing pen or what not. I never really noticed it through the grip. I had to do this for playtester Julie when she wanted to add some handle weight to her Tecnifibre TF40, because it doesn't have a trap door. I pressed it down, and actually covered it with a layer of clear office tape, just to be extra safe, and then re-wrapped the grip, and it felt good, didn't seem to notice it. Troy, TW

[@AMstringing]

@@tenniswarehouse Okay, that's good to know. Speaking about pressing it down with a pen or awl, you might want to check out this tool called the sound deadening wheel roller. I usually use when I customize grips or anytime I need to smash something down. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GVGTX2V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[@Cesarini77]

I know its been some time but, what happened to chris? Why is he using doble handed grip? Hope he gets better.

[@tomasjosefus2901]

Hi TW! Please let me know your source for your SwingWeight values on your website. I tested a couple of frames (unstrung) on my new calibrated device (Yonex Precision Scan) and my SwingWeight values were different (10-15 kg/cm2). Thank you! Tomas

[@tenniswarehouse]

@Tomas Josefus, We test a sampling of STRUNG racquets on the RDC to generate the swingweight you see on our website. A couple things to note is we do show specs on racquets that are strung and RDC machines do need to be calibrated and can vary from machine to machine, which are two factors that could be playing into the differences you are seeing on your end. Michelle, TW

[@tomasjosefus5747]

@@tenniswarehouse Michelle, thank you very much for your quick reply and explanation!

[@rudiyuri775]

i have so much dilemas.... the more i know the less im certain of what i want for me. grip 2 with a leather grip(increases the grip size) or a grip 3 with babolat skin feel.. then the weight will be diferent, and i want it to be less stiff, if its 310 unstrung im starting to feel it a bit heavy depending on the balance... but then sometimes it seems too head light but i already have alot of total weight . im having arm issues, i think it was due to dead tensions but it didnt improve (1 year already) Im thinking about a gravity MP, 295 grams with a leather grip i think it would be good, probably the weight will rise to 300 something grams. Or i thought about a pro kennex ki q+ tour with 300 grams. in that case i probably sopuldnt use the leather .. i dont know. i probably would like the balance because im getting used to a yonex dr98 with 310 gr unstrung but it feels too heavy sometimes. so i dont know really.

[@tenniswarehouse]

Yes, it sounds like there is some confusion on what will work best for you. I do know if you are having arm issues, I would probablly just stay away from a leather grip for now. The Gravity MP is a pretty comfortable racquet, and sounds like it could be a good option for you. The ProKennex is also a pretty comfortable option, and a bit more precise than the Gravity from the 98 headsize. If you like a lot of control, and feel, the Prince Phantom 100X 290 is a great option as well, and very comfortable feeling. Troy, TW

[@rudiyuri775]

@@tenniswarehouse thanks, im used to play with 300 grams and some lead (around 5gr max more or less) here and there... i can allways add weight but the prince seems a bit light. Can you tell me if the grip shape of pro kennex is rounder than the head shape? im used to more rounded shapes like prince or dunlop. Thanks troy!

[@tenniswarehouse]

@@rudiyuri775- The ProKennex grip shape is a bit more like the classic Head grip shape, which feels a bit more rectangular rather than round. Troy, TW

[@rudiyuri775]

@@tenniswarehouse thank you :)

[@bradyspry1628]

😱

[@Dcoxtxful]

Where do I get the Volkl hat Michelle is wearing??

[@tenniswarehouse]

Looks like we've sold out of those Volkl hats. Troy, TW

[@NotoriousBMG]

Hey TW, can you link me to the online tool Troy mentions around 17:30 in the video? Thank you!

[@tenniswarehouse]

Here is the tool: twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/customization.php. You do not have to input units, you just have to use the same units for both columns. Weight either ounces or grams, and balance either inches or cm. Troy, TW

[@mrfrog235]

How do u make a racquet as close to the head pt57a with a head radical (Ik u already said it in the vid butt I do wanna to know)

[@Fred_P]

You can't. The PT57A has a much lower stiffness, and you can't change the stiffness of a racquet. The closest you can come with new racquets is to buy the Head Pro Tour 2.0

[@mrfrog235]

@@Fred_P ok thanks

[@edge7799]

The more head light the racquet the less you feel the swing weight.

[@cbwdude]

Jaye and Troy, buy a decent headset please

[@edge7799]

How come most pros play with 12 50 ounces plus with at least 360 sw head light 5 points to 10 points.They keep the Ball in the court all the time.This is what is online.Chikdren played with 14 ounces wood racquets in the 70's so I think poeple should train more because heavier racquets protect the elbow.

[@syakiraputriarisa5248]

First

[@guidodelgiudice5]

Buy a microphone