Beckett’s Racquet of Choice Shortlist
The following is a detail journal of the final stages in my racquet journey. I’ve narrowed down my shortlist to two racquets, the Auxetic Radical MP and the 2023 VCORE 98. Before I can commit to any racquet, I need to determine that I also have a viable string setup and customization plan (if needed).
Before we start, I would like to credit a few key resources that greatly helped my understanding of customization.
Here is a table which compares the specs of my last two racquets of choice in their modified forms to the primary candidate in my racquet journey.
Stock 2023 VCORE 98 vs. Previous Racquets of Choice
Round 1: Tailweighting
Problems:
Stability on returns and volleys, especially when I’m low on time
Goals:
Increase stability
Constraints:
I want to keep SW close to stock because I’m finding that it forces me to use my bodyweight to generate power instead of my arm
Solution:
Add weight in the handle
Options:
Add weight to the 7 inch mark
Add weight to the bottom of the handle (1 inch)
Add leather grip
Potential Solution Table
Implementation:
Went for option 3 (Fairway leather grip) because I prefer the feel and had one laying around. Did not use VT Advantec because I don’t want to mute the feel anymore.
Results:
I am having trouble timing the ball. Today I played with a 3.5ish player and I felt like I was rushing myself. It feels like the handle is dragging behind my stroke somehow. There’s little to no tip awareness.
Even if I use my body to generate power, I’m finding relatively inconsistent results because I have to accelerate my arm so quickly. This means that the window I have to make a clean contact is quite short. I was regularly too early which led to me waiting for the ball too much and then I started hitting the ball late.
Switching back to my ET for a few minutes, I’m instantly hitting way harder with less effort and I could easily time the ball even when I increased body rotation and weight transfer.
Round 2: Tip Awareness
Initial Thoughts:
Initially, one thing that really jumps out to me is that the MGR/i is quite high considering my previous preferences
Problems:
Lack of “tip awareness”
Clunky feeling handle
Inconsistent stringbed with ReString Zero
Goals:
Adjust wonky swing feel
Constraints:
I want to keep SW close to stock because I’m finding that it forces me to use my bodyweight to generate power instead of my arm
Solution:
Add 3g to 12 o’clock
Restring with Tour Sniper 1.25 at 52lbs
Solution Table
Results:
The VC98 still feels very wonky to swing. It feels like the handle and the tip aren’t coming through the swing in unison. I think the Fairway Leather grip may be too thick, thus impending my wrist mobility. I play so much better with my ET and a stock Auxetic Radical MP.
Round 3: A New Competitor
Suddenly, a new competitor has entered the fray. Auxetic Radical MP.
It does feel a bit light, but natural power comes a bit easier when compared to the stock VCORE 98. The feel is also a bit “high pitched,” almost tinny and almost hollow, so a more solid feel is desired. Interestingly, I don’t think it necessarily needs a higher RC, as the stability on returns is excellent. No issues with volleys either.
Problems:
Feel isn’t solid enough
Hard to generate easy power
Goals:
Add more effortlessness
Constraints:
I want to keep SW close to stock because I’m finding that it forces me to use my bodyweight to generate power instead of my arm
Solution:
Add VT Advantec Leather Grip
Results:
Plays amazingly. The feel is slightly more solid and the grip feels more pronounced due to the leather grip. The stringbed does feel a bit too dead. Would like to experiment with a more powerful string or a lower tension.
Round 3.1: Adjusted Leather on the VCORE
Swapped out the Fairway Leather Grip to a standard Head leather grip because it is thinner and lighter.
Weirdness:
Note that the swingweight is higher with the leather grip change. I suspect that this is because of the way that I wrapped my over grip. On the Fairway, I did a pretty sloppy job which meant that it finished Stan Wawrinka style. This time, I did it normally.
Results:
Still terrible. My timing is completely off and I’m finding myself arming the ball and arriving late. When I do manage to make a clean connection, the ball is flying long. There are occasions where I hit enough spin, which generates a tremendously heavy ball, but I feel like I’m just spraying and praying at this point.
In a fit of rage, I removed 1.5g from 12 on court which helped, but I was still having control and stability issues. Especially on returns, I’m not skilled enough to take a fast swing, which is completely necessary to get the ball over the net.
Round 4: The Brando Spec on VC98
I was about to give up completely on the VCORE 98 when Brando, one of my favourite Talk Tennis geeks sent me a message.
He suggested that based on my height and arm length, I should try the following specs:
333SW
170RC
Keep static as low as possible
Roads to the Brando Spec
Results:
I was shocked with how well this worked with my game. I was frankly quite prepared to give up on the VCORE 98. Compared to the other setups I’d tried, my effort levels with Brando-spec were on the floor. I felt like I could hit a 70% ball with only 60% effort. My backhand was especially solid. My hitting partner commented that he thought my backhand had become an impenetrable wall. Usually with my ET I have to work pretty hard to penetrate the court with my 2HBH, but that was not the case here.
After multiple hits, I’ve realized this new weight setup has altered my FH technique slightly. It feels like I can shift my contact point further out, straightening my hitting arm for more consistent and easy power.
Finally, it’s a lot to serve with. It’s hard to find that wrist flick for kicks. Thankfully, on serve, I don’t mind just training my body a little more to fix the problem.
I would like to consider moving some of the weight in the butt cap to the top of the handle to try to increase MgR/I. There are some cases where I don’t feel like I have the “tip control” on the VC98 that I have with the ET, which results in slightly fewer options for creativity off the forehand side.
Round 5: Match VC SW to Rad SW
Since I’ve had so much success with the heavier VCORE, I felt it was time to give the Radical the same treatment. I just targeted the swingweights for now and will adjust recoil weight later if needed.
Results:
More RC and higher MGrI required
Round 6: Tail Weight the Rad
Added 10g of weight in the handle at the 7inch mark. This is in opposition to the VCORE 98 setup, where the tail weight was added exclusively to the buttcap.
I also replaced the Tour Sniper with Alpha to try to open up the stringbed, adding a little more plushness and pop. This worked very nicely after the break-in period.
Results:
Everything is very excellent. I feel like the Radical is almost swinging too fast and that I could easily take some more SW.
Round 6: Increase Radical SW until 170RW
Added 1g to 12.
Results:
Racquet still swings super fast. Power is absolutely effortless from all areas of the court. BH is fire, FH can be loaded with spin and serves are huge.
One complaint would be a slight lack of tip awareness, however, this could be due to tightness in last night’s league match.
I feel like I could go for more SW, but I will keep this setup for now.
Round 7: Finding Control With the VC98
I’ve been struggling with control on the VC98. The open pattern punishes me when I don’t have the courage to go for a 75%+ power swing. It also chews through strings like a demo, munching through Tour Sniper in under 3 hours.
Strung it up with Tour Status 1.30mm. Usually thicker strings lower the launch angle. Control was only moderately improved and I quickly lost confidence again after notching occurred in 1 hour.
I’ve decided that it’s too hard for me to play with a racquet that requires such high swing speeds to control.
The 2023 VCORE 98 is officially off the list.
Conclusion?
Now, it may seem like I’ve completely narrowed things down to the Radical MP. Sadly, I still wasn’t really happy with this.
To find out what happens next, you’ll have to watch this video because I don’t feel like writing it all out. Actually that video isn’t out yet, but it will be soon.
