What is your main racquet of choice?

Hey fellow TO'ers,
What is your weapon of choice on the court?
Mine is an Aerogel 200 w/ Luxilon Big Banger ALU @ 56 lbs.
What is yours?
J

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mark R on August 15, 2008 at 9:40pm

Tecnifibre TFight 320 with MSV Co Focus Hex strung at 63lbs.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by shane on September 6, 2008 at 8:22pm

babolat aero storm 98 sq. in. (the one Dinara Safina plays with)
i'm using some kind of wilson natural gut string 62#.
my grip is 4 1/2 but i'm finding it a little too big. i think i'm getting some 4 3/8 grips pretty soon.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mark / The Mayor on September 11, 2008 at 9:31am

Yeah, I play with a chick's racquet too! ;-) I play with the Wilson nTour which is what Justine and Lindsay play(ed) with. It's a great racquet and I figure I'm not putting any more on the ball that those two pros are.

Conicidentally, earlier this year I switched from 4 1/2 to 4 3/8 grips also. Loving that.

M

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Eric (4.5) on September 11, 2008 at 1:26am

Babolat Pure Storm Tour - Luxilon ALU Power @ 52 lbs. on the mains, and Yonex Tour Super Pro 16 @ 55 lbs. on the crosses

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mark / The Mayor on September 11, 2008 at 9:28am

Eric, sounds like a cool setup. I play with a hybrid string job too, but I don't think the mains and crosses have two different tensions. Do you know the concept behind that?
M

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Terence on September 11, 2008 at 9:36am

It's because different types of strings work better at different tensions. Generally, polyester strings should be at a lower tension because they're so stiff, and multi-fil and gut should be at a higher tension. But this isn't a hard and fast rule. It really depends on you what you like.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Eric (4.5) on September 11, 2008 at 10:11am

Yeah, it's pretty much with Terence said. When I started out hitting with the Pure Storm Tour, I was using a variety of synthetic gut strings, and found that a good tension was about 55-56 lbs for me. Because the Luxilons are so stiff, I typically end up going about 5% lower string tension on them. I think the combination is pretty playable because the Yonex is very soft and help absorbs some of the bite from the Luxilon. On lighter or stiffer rackets (such as the Tecnifibre TFlash 310, which I use against opponents that don't generate much power on their own or when I'm just feeling sluggish), I really feel the impact of the Luxilon on my elbow even if I have it crossed with a pretty soft multifilament. I am planning to try a few other poly's such as Topspin CyberFlash and Pacific Poly Force original in the hopes of finding something that's easier on my elbow.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Terence on September 11, 2008 at 10:14am

My favorite Poly is Pro Supex Big Ace in case you want to look into that. i never feel any arm pain.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Eric (4.5) on September 11, 2008 at 10:28am

Thanks for the suggestion Terence. Pro Supex is on the list too and I'll probably go for that next. As it is, I still have a bunch of packs and strings just lying around my apartment, so I'm just trying to wind down all the excess strings first. I thought I'd be breaking strings much more often this summer (didn't happen) so now I ended up with a bunch of strings of all kinds that I haven't even used yet.

Were there any poly's that you liked? Historically, I have hit primarily with ALU Power and ALU Power Rough; Rough is way too tough on my arm and Power is pretty borderline. Even when crossed with Tecnifibre NRG-2, the Rough was still too tough for me especially on a stiffer frame (like the Tecnifibre TFlash 310 or a number of the Wilson "player" rackets).

Anyway, I'd like something that can hit with the same bite as ALU Power but more gentle as well. Durability is not really a concern; I'm much more interested in playability, as I can re-string as needed.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Terence on September 11, 2008 at 11:06am

i've only tried Luxilon, Babolat (I forget the name) and Pro Supex Big Ace and Blue Gear. Once I came upon Big Ace, I stopped playing around with Polys because I like Big Ace so much. You might want to try Blue Gear, but Blue Gear, I found to be too stiff for me, but you get a ton of spin from it. I'd say Blue Gear feels a lot like Luxilon.

The reason I've stuck with Big Ace is because it give me the control I want but I don't feel the pain in my arm.

The Babolat poly I used feels pretty good too and doesn't give me any arm pain. I just don't remember the name. It was blue color, from what I remember.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Steve on September 11, 2008 at 10:59am

I'm a bit old school as I am wed tro my Wilson Pro Staff ROK 102, strung with 17G Babolat Pro Hurricane in the mains with Conquest in the crosses both at 58 lbs. Nice feel with this set up.

I once tried ALU Power crossed with prince Synthetic gut and it was too hard on my arm. I loved the bit of the ALU though.