Author Archives: RacquetQuest

Head Gravity MP 2023

Close behind the new Head Radical comes the new Head Gravity 2023! Not one but three (3!). The Gravity Pro, the Gravity MP, and the Gravity Team!

This Gravity MP 2023 demo racquet is ready to hit today!  If you have not hit with a Gravity you will be intrigued by the weight distribution.  

We are starting with the Gravity MP 2023.

Head Gravity has always used a multi-color graphic package with one color on one side and another color on the other side.  This was clever, and many players liked the look.

The new models use a “color-shifting” graphic that you can see here.  The colors are subtly different depending on how you look at the racquet.

And the graphic starts at the butt end on one side and starts at the tip on the other!  So it has a lot going on. 

The racquet is a 100-square-inch head with a fairly thin beam and deep throat shaft.

The string pattern is 16×20, which fills up the hitting area and produces a fairly dense pattern in the center of the racquet.  This may contribute to a slightly longer string life.

Let’s take a look at the specifications

You may notice the stiffness of this racquet should be perfect for the control component of your game and be very arm friendly (see effective stiffness).

Head Gravity MP 2023

 

ManufacturerHead
Racquet ModelHead Gravity MP 2023
Reference Tension53
String
MonoGut ZX Pro (PEEK)
Machine UsedTrue Tension Professional
Static
String Bed Stiffness - RDC50.0 Units
String Bed Stiffness -FlexFour60.8 pounds
String Bed Stiffness - SBS49.6 pounds
String Bed Stiffness - ERT35 Kg/Cm
Racquet Flex, RDC57 - After stringing
Racquet Flex, FlexFour39.0
Racquet - In Plane Stiffness397.4 lbs/Inch
Weight, Grams318
Weight, Ounces11.22
Balance, mm335
Balance, Inch13.19
Length, Cm68.6
Length, Inch27.03
Head Width9.91
Head Length12.86
Head Area, cm2645.9
Head Area, Sq. Inch100.1
Beam Height @ Grip, mm21.2
Beam Height @ Mid, mm22.5
Beam Height @ Tip22.5
Beam Width @ Grip, mm10.6
Beam Width @ Throat, mm10.6
Beam Width @ Mid, mm11.0
Beam Width @ Tip, mm12.3
Number of Main Strings16
Number of Cross Strings20
Ratio Cross/Mains.617
Main String Grid7.70
Cross String Grid10.25
Density (% of head filled with string)70.0%
Average Cross String Space.515
Average Main String Space.425
Dynamic
Dynamic Tension, Kp, ERT35
Dynamic Tension, Lbs/in195.76
First Moment, Nm.827
Polar Moment338
Torsional Stability14
Swing Weight, Kg/cm2324
Swing Weight, Ounces11.43
Swing Weight Calculated356.9
Power, RDC46
Control, RDC56
Manueverability, RDC71
Power, Calculated 1867.4
Head Points2.68
Head Weight, %48.8%
Center of Percussion21.0
Dwell Time, ms9.00
Efective Stiffness - lbs26.6
K, Lb/In160.26
Recoil Weight150.77
Twist Weight233.27
End Weight 122.3
Tip Weight 197.8
9 O'Clock98.9
3 O'Clock99.7
Butt Cap119.8
COF, Main.426
COF, Cross.378

Wilson Pro Staff v14

Wilson Pro Staff 97 v14

Wilson Pro Staff v14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The initial response to the new Wilson Pro Staff 97 v14 graphics pack is similar to the Blade shifting color graphics…you either like it, or you don’t! There seems to be very little “in-between.”

We like the graphics!

Wilson Pro Staff v14

We care about the racquet’s appearance, but we really care about the specifications!  

So here we go…

ManufacturerWilson
Racquet ModelWilson Pro Staff 97 v14
Reference Tension55
String
PEEK 1.25mm
Machine UsedTrue Tension Professional
Static
String Bed Stiffness - RDC51.0 Units
String Bed Stiffness -FlexFour64.1 pounds
String Bed Stiffness - SBS49.0 pounds
String Bed Stiffness - ERT34 Kg/Cm
Racquet Flex, RDC66 - After stringing
Racquet Flex, FlexFour49.0
Racquet - In Plane Stiffness447.2 lbs/Inch
Weight, Grams330
Weight, Ounces11.64
Balance, mm324
Balance, Inch12.76
Length, Cm68.57
Length, Inch27.00
Head Width9.438
Head Length12.80
Head Area, cm2623.0
Head Area, Sq. Inch94.9
Beam Height @ Grip, mm21.0
Beam Height @ Mid, mm21.8
Beam Height @ Tip21.8
Beam Width @ Grip, mm11.1
Beam Width @ Throat, mm11.0
Beam Width @ Mid, mm11.0
Beam Width @ Tip, mm12.8 (includes bumper guard)
Number of Main Strings16
Number of Cross Strings19
Ratio Cross/Mains.621
Main String Grid7.25
Cross String Grid10.13
Density (% of head filled with string)77.4%
Average Cross String Space.533
Average Main String Space.453
Dynamic
Dynamic Tension, Kp, ERT34
Dynamic Tension, Lbs/in190.16
First Moment, Nm.822
Polar Moment336
Torsional Stability14
Swing Weight, Kg/cm2322
Swing Weight, Ounces11.36
Swing Weight Calculated346.4
Power, RDC53
Control, RDC47
Manueverability, RDC72
Power, Calculated 2036.6
Head Points5.98
Head Weight, %47.2%
Center of Percussion21.1
Dwell Time, ms8.91
Efective Stiffness - lbs28.8
K, Lb/In163.46
Recoil Weight158.78
Twist Weight220.98
End Weight 134.0
Tip Weight 195.9
9 O'Clock100.8
3 O'Clock100.5
Butt Cap128.1
COF, Main.323
COF, Cross.323

 

Numbers, numbers, numbers! What do they mean?

With each of our racquet reviews a long list of numbers is included.  It has been a few years since we explained what these numbers mean so here it is;

Numbers are your friend!

ManufacturerHead
Racquet ModelHead Radical MP 2023
Reference Tension55 (what you tell the stingers to set the stringing machine).
This should be replaced by String Bed Stiffness (SBS)
String
MonoGut ZX Pro
Machine UsedTrue Tension Professional
Static
String Bed Stiffness - RDC53.0 Units (Babolat RDC)
String Bed Stiffness -FlexFour64.9 pounds (Flex Four)
String Bed Stiffness - SBS51.8 pounds (Racquet Quest string bed stiffness SBS Master)
String Bed Stiffness - ERT35 Kg/Cm (previously Beer's ERT1000)
Racquet Flex, Babolat RDC65 - After stringing (unstrung racquets will be slightly stiffer. Loaded from the tip)
Racquet Flex, FlexFour44.5 (Loaded from the COP)
Racquet - In Plane Stiffness379.7 lbs/Inch (stiffness across the 3 ad 9 o'clock positions of the racquet head)
Weight, Grams326
Weight, Ounces11.50
Balance, mm333
Balance, Inch13.11
Length, Cm68.57
Length, Inch27.00
Head Width9.63
Head Length12.79
Head Area, cm2623.0
Head Area, Sq. Inch96.7
Beam Height @ Grip, mm21.0 (how thick the racquet is looking at the side)
Beam Height @ Mid, mm22.5 (how thick the racquet is looking at the side)
Beam Height @ Tip20.5 (how thick the racquet is looking at the side)
Beam Width @ Grip, mm12.5 (how thick the racquet is looking at the front or face view)
Beam Width @ Throat, mm11.5 (how thick the racquet is looking at the front or face view)
Beam Width @ Mid, mm12.8 (how thick the racquet is looking at the front or face view)
Beam Width @ Tip, mm12.8 (how thick the racquet is looking at the front or face view)
Number of Main Strings16
Number of Cross Strings19
Ratio Cross/Mains.634 ( typically the natural ratio)
Main String Grid7.18 (the distance between the two outer most main strings)
Cross String Grid9.44 (the distance between the two outer most cross strings)
Density (% of head filled with string)69.6% (how much of the head area is filled with string)
Average Cross String Space.494 (how far apart the strings are). The farther apart the quicker the wear.
Average Main String Space.449
(how far apart the strings are). The farther apart the quicker the wear.
Dynamic
Dynamic Tension, Kp, ERT35 (string bed stiffness in kilos per centimeter)
Dynamic Tension, Lbs/in195.76 (DT converted to pounds per inch)
First Moment, Nm.841 (sometimes called pickup weight)
Polar Moment347 (torsional weight)
Torsional Stability16 ( resistance to twisting on off center hits)
Swing Weight, Kg/cm2331 (the dynamic weight and the most significant property)
Swing Weight, Ounces11.68
Swing Weight Calculated361.5 (calculated from the butt end to the tip)
Power, RDC52 (property calculated by Babolat RDC)
Control, RDC49 (property calculated by Babolat RDC)
Manueverability, RDC66 (property calculated by Babolat RDC)
Power, Calculated 2101.4 (calculation based on several racquet properties)
Head Points3.15 ( a point is generally consider to be .125 inches/3.18mm)
Head Weight, %48.5%
Center of Percussion21.1 (highest COR)
Dwell Time, ms8.74 (length of time the ball is in contact with the string without a swing)
Efective Stiffness - lbs29.2 ( the calculated combined stiffness of the racquet and sting bed)
K, Lb/In169.87 (string bed stiffness in pounds/inch)
Recoil Weight156.44 (resistance to twisting about the grip)
Twist Weight226.48 (resistance to twisting about the neutral axis)
End Weight 126.0 (two scale system to calculate CG)
Tip Weight 197.7 (two scale system to calculate CG)
9 O'Clock105.1 (three scale system to assure symmetry)
3 O'Clock104.7(three scale system to assure symmetry)
Butt Cap115.6 (three scale system to assure symmetry)
COF, Main.416 (the stickiness of the string bed sliding the ball with the main strings)
COF, Cross.388(the stickiness of the string bed sliding the ball with the cross strings)

What is wrong with this picture?

Actually, it is going to be two (2) pictures! One with no narrative and one with an explanation of what is wrong!

No peeking!

Did you see what was wrong with this picture?  If you did, congratulations are in order!

If you didn’t know what was wrong with this picture, here it is!  If you receive a freshly strung racquet that looks like this, take a close look at the strings and do not accept it if there is a “mis-weave” in the string bed!

Sometimes this condition is not easy to spot, so take a good look.

Some Time Off!

We are taking a few days off!

We are spending some time with one of our daughters and grandson…finally!

We will be out of the World Headquarters Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday!  February 5th the through the 9th, 2023

Thank you!