“Hammer” balanced rackets are basically a creation of marketing departments. They give the illusion of more plow through but it’s no more than that. The reason for this is that the head heavy balance is attained by taking weight out of the handle side of the balance point. A quarter weighs about .2 of a ounce or about 5 per ounce. Take that Wilson triad as a example. It’s about a 9.5 ounce racket. Take about 23 quarters and put them on the handle until you achieve a 12 pt head light balance (1.5 inches). Now you have roughly the balance and weight of a Wilson Fed Prostaff. This excercise is to demonstrate that companies are just subtracting weight not adding weight to the head to get a “hammer” balance racket. Remember the weight isn’t just being removed from the handle. It’s probably removed from the throat on down. Imagine with the Stock Wilson Triad you no longer have those 23 quarters helping you plow through the ball. Racket companies know that if it feels easy to swing in the store that’s the racket that’s gonna sell. Contrary to popular belief the weight on the handle side of the balance point does contribute to power or plow through. It’s effects lesson the farther the weight is from the balance point but the over all effect is not negligible. Taking weight away from a racket always reduces the impact force it has on a ball it’s simple physics. Taking away 2-3 ounces from the handle side of a racket is going to reduce its plow through quite a bit. They try to make up for this loss of plow with low recommended string tensions. The only way to increase plow through is to add weight to the head as pros do but the tennis public has been sold a false bill of goods by tennis companies. “Can’t swing fast enough? Need more power? Don’t bother with learning proper technique. Just buy one of our ultra light tennis rackets and you’ll be swinging it like a fly swatter no lessons needed. Instant racket head speed.” They never mention that all things being equal the heavier racket will propel the ball faster than the lighter head heavy racket. As for the cause of tennis elbow I believe it was determined in the late 80s early 90s that tennis elbow was caused mainly by overly stiff rackets that transmitted shock (impact force) to the arm especially on miss hits and that vibration had little to do with it. The best racket to prevent tennis elbow was a less stiff racket and one that would minimize miss hits. Unfortunately today’s tennis culture has a distinct prejudice against oversized tennis rackets. They would really cut down on the miss hits for a lot of players. It was also found that proper technique had a big effect on preventing tennis elbow.
I once asked a tennis seller how to improve my tennis elbow issue. He suggested me by doing some push up in a daily basic. A stronger muscle will prevent tennis elbow and it did help me!
I have several rackets, including a Wilson from their Hammer series, which is head-heavy. I also have a Volkl C10 Pro, a heavy racket but head-light. I find that the head-heavy racket seems to cause a bit more elbow pain than the head-light rackets. However, I think the biggest factor affecting tennis elbow is the type of string used and its tension. The stiffer and higher tension the string is, the more likelihood of tennis elbow.
Harry, Thanks for your continued service to the health of the tennis community. As mentioned in comments on your tennis elbow video, your advice on vibration reduction greatly helped my recent recovery.
Poor technique causes tennis elbow, not the racket. A stiff, light, head heavy racket can cause tennis elbow as well as a heavy, flexible, head light racket. But if your techique is poor, you'd better use a light (therefore head heavy) racket, because weight with poor technique is the most dangerous. :) String selection also matters at least 50%.
For me a lighter racquet is more likely to cause a tennis elbow even if you have a sound tecnique.. this was my experience using a lighter racquet like Blade Lite Blx its a 100 sq in racquet 272 grams unstrung evenly balanced now i switched to Head PrestigeMicrogel mid 330g version 18/20 pattern its headlight but a lot of mass coming through the ball creating a penatrating shot that is so heavy balls coming back is short for put away shots.. and i found it easy to return shots because of its mass even those strucked super hard.. service is great too with this racquet slice were superb no issues of tennis elbow even if i use full bed of poly at 54lbs very comfortable racquet if you have chance of buying it online grab it.. HAPPY NEW YEAR TENNIS SPIN AND TENNIS BUDDIES AROUND THE GLOBE.. From Phillipines with Love..
Too tight a grip definitely caused my tennis elbow, as off center hits cannot be absorbed well with a tight grip. I continue to focus on keeping my hand/grip as loose as possible until contact. This has also helped my racket head speed in ALL stokes. I had NO idea how tightly I was gripping until my forearm injury on a let cord ball played with my backhand volley.
@@NStewF I'm convinced it caused mine, too. I was blaming my racquet and my strings. But now that I focus on staying loose, it's 100% better and I have so much more pace and power on my forehand.
Head light light will help with one handed back hand? Can you do a short list of head light raquets or good for one handed back hand? ( without too demanding like pro staff or prestige)
I play with 3 different racquets all good high quality sticks. One is an old 95” Wilson Hammer Tour a head heavy racquet and I love it but its around 290 grams unstrung so I added lead tape at 3&9.
I much prefer a head light racket, I feel I can react to volley's better and seem to get more pop on serve and more spin. But it seems every large head racket...107+ is head heavy from racket manufacturers today. I'm advanced, but even my beginner wife didn't like them when we tried several OEM rackets. In the end, I'll just have to put weight in the handle to make them head-light like I do with my Wilson Blade V7's.
I added lead to a racket to make it head heavy, to promote dropping the head of the racket for more spin and plow-thru....what a mistake, the arm pain, ouch. I think too light a racket there is too much arm vibration against heavy ball, while too heavy is a strain on the arm. I prefer 290-300 g strung racket.
Just don't hit the ball late. Everything else is conjectural and supplementary. Actually, doing some forearm strengthening & conditioning with light weights is a good idea, too.
I would like to say, that tennis elbow cause rather weak technique than a racket. You have to hit the ball in front of you in the right moment (timing important) and you have to hit it when your arm is straight. Then all vibrations from the hut goes to your bones of your arm. But if you come to hit in position when you too close to the ball, you have to bend your arm to hit the ball with your sweet spot. When you bend your arm, some part of vibrations goes to your muscles but not to your bones. And as much you bend your arm, as more vibrations will go to your muscles and tendons. This will cause the tennis elbow later. So, try to improve your technique. I play tennis over 40 years. Before I played with rackets which weighed about 400g. I started from wooden rackets. Next was aluminium. Than was graphite. Some rackets were customized. But I never had a tennis elbow. Btw, now I play with Wilson Pro Staff RF97 v.13. I like it very much. So, again, work on your technique and right point of hitting that you would hit the ball with the straight arm. Take care. Alex.
Basically lighter racquets increase the likelihood of developing tennis elbow. The two combinations are: Light racquet and head-light balance vs Light racquet and head-heavy balance. The LR/HL combo means very low swingweight and you will have to generate all the power yourself. The LR/HH combo will have a high swingweight and you won't be able to control the ball with a normal swing. When examining the two extremes, it's obvious that the first will cause tennis elbow but not the second. However, the latter case can still cause tennis elbow because it promotes bad form over time.
Wrong technique, not heavy racquet cause tennis or shoulder injuries. I prefer plsy with heavy raquetes - better serve, easier returns. Preferable weight 310-330gm
Short swing rackets are for asians, medium swing rackets for other 3rd world countries, and long swing rackets for us superior and taller european and american counterparts. Nuff said
“Hammer” balanced rackets are basically a creation of marketing departments. They give the illusion of more plow through but it’s no more than that. The reason for this is that the head heavy balance is attained by taking weight out of the handle side of the balance point. A quarter weighs about .2 of a ounce or about 5 per ounce. Take that Wilson triad as a example. It’s about a 9.5 ounce racket. Take about 23 quarters and put them on the handle until you achieve a 12 pt head light balance (1.5 inches). Now you have roughly the balance and weight of a Wilson Fed Prostaff. This excercise is to demonstrate that companies are just subtracting weight not adding weight to the head to get a “hammer” balance racket. Remember the weight isn’t just being removed from the handle. It’s probably removed from the throat on down. Imagine with the Stock Wilson Triad you no longer have those 23 quarters helping you plow through the ball. Racket companies know that if it feels easy to swing in the store that’s the racket that’s gonna sell. Contrary to popular belief the weight on the handle side of the balance point does contribute to power or plow through. It’s effects lesson the farther the weight is from the balance point but the over all effect is not negligible. Taking weight away from a racket always reduces the impact force it has on a ball it’s simple physics. Taking away 2-3 ounces from the handle side of a racket is going to reduce its plow through quite a bit. They try to make up for this loss of plow with low recommended string tensions.
The only way to increase plow through is to add weight to the head as pros do but the tennis public has been sold a false bill of goods by tennis companies. “Can’t swing fast enough? Need more power? Don’t bother with learning proper technique. Just buy one of our ultra light tennis rackets and you’ll be swinging it like a fly swatter no lessons needed. Instant racket head speed.” They never mention that all things being equal the heavier racket will propel the ball faster than the lighter head heavy racket.
As for the cause of tennis elbow I believe it was determined in the late 80s early 90s that tennis elbow was caused mainly by overly stiff rackets that transmitted shock (impact force) to the arm especially on miss hits and that vibration had little to do with it. The best racket to prevent tennis elbow was a less stiff racket and one that would minimize miss hits. Unfortunately today’s tennis culture has a distinct prejudice against oversized tennis rackets. They would really cut down on the miss hits for a lot of players. It was also found that proper technique had a big effect on preventing tennis elbow.
I once asked a tennis seller how to improve my tennis elbow issue. He suggested me by doing some push up in a daily basic. A stronger muscle will prevent tennis elbow and it did help me!
I agree. I have been doing them on a regular basis for quite some time.
I have several rackets, including a Wilson from their Hammer series, which is head-heavy. I also have a Volkl C10 Pro, a heavy racket but head-light. I find that the head-heavy racket seems to cause a bit more elbow pain than the head-light rackets. However, I think the biggest factor affecting tennis elbow is the type of string used and its tension. The stiffer and higher tension the string is, the more likelihood of tennis elbow.
Making sure you hit the ball in front of you and the closer to the sweet spot ensures you never get tennis elbow with any racket
Harry, Thanks for your continued service to the health of the tennis community. As mentioned in comments on your tennis elbow video, your advice on vibration reduction greatly helped my recent recovery.
3:40 The daily coffee begging segment just keeps getting longer!
I don't know about tennis elbow, but head heavy racquets cause me shoulder pain. I only play with racquets that are 10 points or more headlight.
Poor technique causes tennis elbow, not the racket. A stiff, light, head heavy racket can cause tennis elbow as well as a heavy, flexible, head light racket.
But if your techique is poor, you'd better use a light (therefore head heavy) racket, because weight with poor technique is the most dangerous. :)
String selection also matters at least 50%.
Very helpful thanks
For me a lighter racquet is more likely to cause a tennis elbow even if you have a sound tecnique.. this was my experience using a lighter racquet like Blade Lite Blx its a 100 sq in racquet 272 grams unstrung evenly balanced now i switched to Head PrestigeMicrogel mid 330g version 18/20 pattern its headlight but a lot of mass coming through the ball creating a penatrating shot that is so heavy balls coming back is short for put away shots.. and i found it easy to return shots because of its mass even those strucked super hard.. service is great too with this racquet slice were superb no issues of tennis elbow even if i use full bed of poly at 54lbs very comfortable racquet if you have chance of buying it online grab it.. HAPPY NEW YEAR TENNIS SPIN AND TENNIS BUDDIES AROUND THE GLOBE.. From Phillipines with Love..
To me the secret is how tense your grip is holding the racket… A relaxed grip will not give you tennis elbow… A tight grip on the racket will…
I agree, I learned this the hard way!
I am suffering less arm pain when using RF97 - heavy racquet (yet head light) help save your arm.
Tennis elbow occurs when too much vibration goes to your arm. Heavier racquets absorb more vibration and therefore they're less damaging to the arm.
I'm wondering if holding the racquet too tightly and not staying loose when you swing contributes to tennis elbow. I struggle with this.
Likely the biggest reason people get tennis elbow
Too tight a grip definitely caused my tennis elbow, as off center hits cannot be absorbed well with a tight grip.
I continue to focus on keeping my hand/grip as loose as possible until contact. This has also helped my racket head speed in ALL stokes. I had NO idea how tightly I was gripping until my forearm injury on a let cord ball played with my backhand volley.
@@NStewF I'm convinced it caused mine, too. I was blaming my racquet and my strings. But now that I focus on staying loose, it's 100% better and I have so much more pace and power on my forehand.
That’s great to hear! Playing pain free is an important goal :)
What you said is right totally makes sense and even physics says the same…
Head light light will help with one handed back hand? Can you do a short list of head light raquets or good for one handed back hand? ( without too demanding like pro staff or prestige)
Very much so for shoulder pain
I play with 3 different racquets all good high quality sticks. One is an old 95” Wilson Hammer Tour a head heavy racquet and I love it but its around 290 grams unstrung so I added lead tape at 3&9.
I found the Head Prestige pm 305g to be perfectly balanced for advanced players. Once strung it’s almost 1 pt HH.
I much prefer a head light racket, I feel I can react to volley's better and seem to get more pop on serve and more spin. But it seems every large head racket...107+ is head heavy from racket manufacturers today. I'm advanced, but even my beginner wife didn't like them when we tried several OEM rackets. In the end, I'll just have to put weight in the handle to make them head-light like I do with my Wilson Blade V7's.
Question for tennis spin - is it ok to leave a racquet overnight in freezing temperatures
just put it in ur house
Racquet will be fine. Your strings will die though. They don't do well in extreme heat or cold
@@taytay8732 will they lose tension or elastic properties and will the tension not return when it warms up?
Thank you
I added lead to a racket to make it head heavy, to promote dropping the head of the racket for more spin and plow-thru....what a mistake, the arm pain, ouch. I think too light a racket there is too much arm vibration against heavy ball, while too heavy is a strain on the arm. I prefer 290-300 g strung racket.
Just don't hit the ball late. Everything else is conjectural and supplementary. Actually, doing some forearm strengthening & conditioning with light weights is a good idea, too.
Yes
I would like to say, that tennis elbow cause rather weak technique than a racket. You have to hit the ball in front of you in the right moment (timing important) and you have to hit it when your arm is straight. Then all vibrations from the hut goes to your bones of your arm. But if you come to hit in position when you too close to the ball, you have to bend your arm to hit the ball with your sweet spot. When you bend your arm, some part of vibrations goes to your muscles but not to your bones. And as much you bend your arm, as more vibrations will go to your muscles and tendons. This will cause the tennis elbow later. So, try to improve your technique. I play tennis over 40 years. Before I played with rackets which weighed about 400g. I started from wooden rackets. Next was aluminium. Than was graphite. Some rackets were customized. But I never had a tennis elbow. Btw, now I play with Wilson Pro Staff RF97 v.13. I like it very much. So, again, work on your technique and right point of hitting that you would hit the ball with the straight arm. Take care. Alex.
coffetalk 0 to 3:40
Basically lighter racquets increase the likelihood of developing tennis elbow. The two combinations are: Light racquet and head-light balance vs Light racquet and head-heavy balance. The LR/HL combo means very low swingweight and you will have to generate all the power yourself. The LR/HH combo will have a high swingweight and you won't be able to control the ball with a normal swing. When examining the two extremes, it's obvious that the first will cause tennis elbow but not the second. However, the latter case can still cause tennis elbow because it promotes bad form over time.
I would say a head heavy racquet is better for your arm.
But, I would say learn to have a better stroke and prep for strike
Playing in 1.75x and it sounds normal 😁
Wrong technique, not heavy racquet cause tennis or shoulder injuries. I prefer plsy with heavy raquetes - better serve, easier returns. Preferable weight 310-330gm
You just make things up as you film, right?
You are confusing swingweight and head heaviness/lightness in your explanations
Short swing rackets are for asians, medium swing rackets for other 3rd world countries, and long swing rackets for us superior and taller european and american counterparts. Nuff said
Ha!! I think you must be joking. If not, stupid
Some aspire to it, but very few master a-hole status to such an expert degree. Great job! 💯 See you on the court.
Mate Serbia and Croatia are basically 3rd world countries.
Just like Guga Kuerten and Del Potro 😂
Why do you even need a racquet when you're so good at swinging your racist flag around?
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