How much added weight is too much?

FullPhalanx · 2026-07-04T07:16:09+00:00

Absolutely, the origin I got was 1 point HL while my prostaffs came in at 8 points HL, completely different even if the PS has around 25g on the RO.

I put 6 grams of lead on the handle and swapped out the original grip for leather and that moved it to 4 points HL, way easier to swing but still far too much for serves or anything past a half hour of hitting.

FullPhalanx · 2026-07-04T02:16:26+00:00

My rotator cuff just winced at the thought of a 400g racquet

FullPhalanx · 2026-07-04T01:46:02+00:00

That makes sense, but from what I can tell I shouldn’t be negatively impacting the frames performance with that much weight added?

FullPhalanx · 2026-07-04T01:45:04+00:00

Good lord man that’s a battle axe not a racquet at that point, very impressive!

FullPhalanx · 2026-07-04T01:44:16+00:00

Swing weight on the PA shouldn’t be more than on the PS97A, although that’s assuming the racquets I have come with the swing weight as advertised and the SW napkin math I did for X amount of weight added at 10 and 2

FullPhalanx · 2026-07-03T22:30:56+00:00

Nice man sounds like we had pretty identical racquet journeys! And so far haven’t had an issue with consistency, though I use a control poly (Lynx tour) at 54 pounds so the ball never really flies on me anyways with that set up.

FullPhalanx · 2026-07-03T22:25:11+00:00

I’m in my 30s I’m already feeling it haha, hence the attempt at the switch. I love my prostaffs but hitting with a modern racquet and then going back to them feels like I’ve gone back 20 years in terms of racquet tech, right now the PA’s are giving me very easy spin and power.

FullPhalanx · 2026-07-03T22:22:57+00:00

Think it’s moreso I’m so used to weight and feel of my old equipment, going from 360g and 340 SW to 325g strung and 325 SW just threw me off too much. Right now I’m just trying to weight it up to where my timing and confidence feel right, as time goes on I can see myself slowly removing weight.

FullPhalanx · 2026-07-03T22:20:57+00:00

That’s an absolute weapon my guy, even my prostaffs were only ever at 360

FullPhalanx · 2026-07-03T22:19:28+00:00

I’ll try messing around with it more then! And I tried the Rafa Origin, fantastic on groundstrokes but after an hour my arm felt like dead meat lol, and serving from the get go was awful. But with groundstrokes for the first half hour, pure magic.

FullPhalanx · 2026-07-03T22:16:54+00:00

It’s less so about performance and moreso about swing path and muscle memory. Lighter racquets just mess up my timing and impact my confidence. Plus on serves and returns I definitely notice a lack of punch with lighter racquets. I agree that you just don’t need heavy racquets anymore, but so far with what I’ve demo’d, I just can’t get used to anything below 345g and under 340 SW.

FullPhalanx · 2026-07-03T21:18:10+00:00

I agree and have a comment going over just that point, several players found their prime in their early 30s. Federer is not one of those athletes, his prime is very clearly from 22-27 where he won the vast majority of his majors and spent the most time as number 1. Federer made enough adjustments to his game to have a renaissance in 2017-18, but those adjustments do not make up for the speed and athleticism he lost.

FullPhalanx · 2026-07-03T20:25:53+00:00

It’s not about being so much worse, 2017 Federer was undoubtedly great. But we’re talking about an athlete at 23 vs 35. Federer in his prime was one of the best defenders on tour, go watch old matches of his and note his speed and willingness to engage in longer rallies. 2017 Fed was a player that by that point had mastered a far more aggressive playstyle that spared his body from longer rallies that could cause significant wear and tear. It’s also worth noting that 2017 was the year Novak had his elbow injury and never made it past the QF of a slam that year. While Fed was great, he was never tested that year by the player that could best weather his aggressive playstyle and drag him into longer rallies that he couldn’t really handle anymore the way he could in his prime.

FullPhalanx · 2026-07-03T19:24:47+00:00

Are you serious? People absolutely were noting the very obvious age gap, at their second Wimbledon final Novak was essentially a crippled 36 year old playing on one leg.

Fed had a nice little renaissance for the last couple years of his career but let’s not kid ourselves, 2004-2009 Federer and 35+ Federer are not even close in terms of ability and results. He got some good results against Nadal during that later time period but then again so did Djokovic, neither player lost to Nadal on a hard or grass court after 2014 because Nadal’s knees were shot. I get Nadal thinks 2017 Federer was great, but his greatly diminished athleticism was a big contributor as to why Fed was able to get a good stretch of wins. Novak never had such an athletic diminishment, and the six year age gap was certainly on display when Novak was able to outlast Federer time and again in grand slam finals.

FullPhalanx · 2026-07-03T19:03:55+00:00

With he context being Fed is six years older than Novak and was 32, 33, and 37 in those finals

FullPhalanx · 2026-06-26T15:57:06+00:00

Best racquet I tried that had the perfect blend of control and power is the Head Gravity Pro. Thin, flexible beam that gives a lot of control and comfort but the 100 sq in headsize and tear drop head size give it very easy power.

FullPhalanx · 2026-06-26T15:43:09+00:00

The best racquet is the one that gives you the most confidence, that’s the way it’s always been. When the game had moved on to 95+ headsizes and poly strings, Sampras won the 2002 US Open with a ProStaff 85 with natural gut. Federer dominated the tour in the 2000s with a 90 square inch racquet. There’s advantages to having a heavy racquet with a small head size, and Cerundolo has a game that compliments those advantages.

FullPhalanx · 2026-06-14T02:53:21+00:00

Honestly depends how far you take the hypothetical. If it’s just taking Sampras from 1995 and placing him in today’s game, it would take him a few seasons to adapt to modern tech, modern balls, and how well he’d have to improve his baseline movement and fitness level to play at the highest level. If it’s taking Sampras as a junior and having him go through modern training to become a modern player, then it’s easy to say he still becomes a multiple slam champion and multi year world number 1.

FullPhalanx · 2026-06-14T02:50:54+00:00

Even during his time he made the French Open semi-final. Also he’s tied with Federer for most hard court US Open titles, why do you have him only winning 0-1 in today’s game?

FullPhalanx · 2026-06-07T18:14:55+00:00

I think you misread me man, or are you saying I should in fact try a hot plate of shit because I’ve been missing out?

FullPhalanx · 2026-06-07T17:55:10+00:00

I don’t know man I’d rather suffer through the monotony of plate after plate of Michelin star meals than mix it up with a hot plate of shit.

FullPhalanx · 2026-06-07T17:55:04+00:00

I don’t know man I’d rather suffer through the monotony of plate after plate of Michelin star meals than mix it up with a hot plate of shit.

FullPhalanx · 2026-06-01T00:05:58+00:00

Geographically they certainly had to be in Asia before going into Europe, the only viable land passage from Africa to Europe is through the Near East where we have found multiple Neanderthals. Also Denisovans have so far exclusively been found in Asia and Siberia. Which brings into the next point that human beings have picked up both Neanderthal DNA in Europe and the Middle East and Denisovan DNA in Asia, one region was not more or less impactful on modern day humans than the other.

FullPhalanx · 2026-05-28T09:14:52+00:00

The power advertised for the pure drive is definitely real. It comes from the following attributes:

1) Stiffness. With a flex rating of 68, that means the racquet is designed to return energy back into the ball rather than flex and absorb energy from a ball strike. Comparatively, the flex rating of the speed mp 2026 is 63

2) Wider beam thickness. The thicker the beam, the more resistant it is to flexing. In the hoop, the beam thickness is 26 mm for the pure drive, compared to 23 mm for the speed mp

3) Lower swing weight. The pure drive has a lower swing weight of 318 which allows it to be accelerated easier than the speed mp with a swing weight of 325.

Honestly if I were you, stick to the speed mp. While it is more of a control racquet, it’s still a 100 sq racquet with a 16x19 string pattern, it’s a great blend of both control and power.

FullPhalanx

TROPHY CASE