Swing Weight…what is it and what it means to you.

Nov 30

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One of the most important characteristics of a racquet is the swing weight, or inertia.  This is really the dynamic weight of the racquet and is a measure of power potential, i.e. the higher the swing weight the more power the racquet can produce.

Of course there is a trade-off, and that is maneuverability.  If you cross the threshold into massive swing weight, such as 350 and up you are going to be really  tired of swinging that thing, unless you are a touring professional and even then that is a big swing weight.

So, without going into a lot of detail I would like to see everyone using a swing weight of not less than 315.  If you are not sure what your swing weight is bring your racquets by the shop and I can test them for you.  If necessary swing weight can be increased.

Remember, in tennis, weight is your friend.  On the racquet that is.

Posted on November 30, 2011, in Customization!, Racquets, Tips and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.

  1. John Gugel | December 7, 2011 at 4:59 PM

    Thanks for the message! Swing weight, or dynamic weight, is far more meaningful than “static balance” because, as you know, how the weight is distributed along the racquet makes up the swing weight. I do not use balance as a characteristic when customizing racquets because you can have the same balance and wildly different swing weights.

    Balance will be greatly affected by adding weight at the butt end but have very little effect on swing weight.

    A head heavy racquet can have a lower swing weight than a heavy head light racquet. I assume you are using a device to arrive at your swing weight so the calculated swing weight will be higher than the “dynamic” device.

    I hope this helps!

    Reply
  2. Tennis this | December 7, 2011 at 4:00 PM

    My question regarding swingweight, is; does it matter how the racquet is balanced? Will there be variations in swingweight if it’s headlight or headheavy? My Donnay X-Dark Red 94 has a swingweight of 323, which really isn’t all that heavy. My arm doesn’t get all that tired after several hours of full speed play. I’ve played with Volkl’s PB10 (SW: 337), I can absolutely tell the difference in swing.

    Reply
  3. Richard Parnell | December 1, 2011 at 1:46 AM

    Remember, in tennis, weight is your friend. On the racquet that is……… NOW YOU TELL ME !!

    Reply

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