I posted recently the sad results of a mis-hit but I don’t think that term has been properly discussed. So, let’s talk about it now.

In the post I also mentioned the word “shank” and in fact, that may be more descriptive of what happens.

Mis-hits or Shanking is the “hard” collision of the ball hitting the string and the racquet frame at nearly the same time. This impact causes huge shear loads, like a scissor, and is accompanied by an “impulse”. That means the load is applied over a very short time period, or, in other words, a sharp blow.

A reasonable question, then, is “why does it usually break around the top of the racquet?” The short answer is that the top of the racquet is moving faster than any other part of the racquet with great leverage , therefore, the load has no place to go except into the string. If, however, the mis-hit occurs around the side of the racquet it can “rotate” in your hand and mitigate the load. That is why we see very few failures around the side of the racquet.

I have found that most mis-hits happen with younger players that are very aggressive naturally and are, at the same time, experimenting with different strokes, serves, grips, and spin. All of these things can cause mis-hits and the string failure associated with them.

In most cases mis-hits can be eliminated, by the player, through concentration on impact location, such as trying to hit the center of the string bed, however, on occasion, seldom I hope, the concentration is not there or the desire to return a shot takes precedent over concentration!