Easy Solutions To Make Your Racquet More Comfortable
With the rapidly increasing stiffness’s of tennis racquets in the 2010’s, there has ben a strong push towards more comfortable racquets. This caused the release of racquets like the Wilson Clash, as well as a vicious uptick in comfort-oriented marketing. If you are suffering with an uncomfortable racquet, what steps can you take before you succumb to buying a new racquet?
Step 1: Stringing
The easiest thing you can do to increase your comfort is change that strings you use. Go with something softer. Of course this really depends on your starting place.
Everyone. The best thing you can do it string regularly. Tennis strings lose elasticity over time. This means they can’t stretch on impact. Without the elasticity of the string absorbing the shock, thee vibration travel directly through the stringbed into the racquet, before being transferred to your body.
Polyester NRTP 4.0-4.5. Having worked at a tennis store for many years, I know for certain that a lot of players are using polyester strings who shouldn’t be. To get the spin benefits from poly, you need to have racquet head speed fast enough to displace the string. Typically, this means you are AT LEAST an NRTP 4.0, meaning you have fully developed forehand and backhand strokes. For these players, I recommend going with a hybrid setup. In the mains, I would put a soft poly, like Yonex PolyTour Pro or Solinco Hyper-G Soft. In the crosses, my number 1 multifilament is Head Velocity MLT. It is super soft, decently control oriented, and best of all it has a super slick coating that pairs perfectly with any poly main. If you are a flatter hitting, you may also enjoy a full bed of Tecnifibre Triax.
Polyester NRTP 3.5 and below. Get the polyester out of your racquet. You don’t need it. Yes, it doesn’t break or fray, and it stays in place so you don’t have to adjust your strings between point, but is that really worth the tennis elbow you are experiencing? I recommend Head Velocity for spin and control or Tecnifibre X-1 Biphase of power and feel.
4.5+. Natural Gut is going to be king. You could try switching to a softer poly, especially if you are starting with a stiff string, like RPM Blast or Luxilon 4G, but Natural Gut is going to make a serious difference. I prefer gut in the mains, as it still gives great snapback as long as you have poly in the cross. My recommendation is Babolat Tonic 15L. Tonic is cheaper because the quality of the gut is not as premium as Babolat VS. It’s like factory seconds. This saves money which is crucial with expensive set ups. I also found the durability of the 15L gut in the mains to be similar to a 1.25mm poly, but the playability is superior. If gut is too expensive, try Tecnifibre Triax in the crosses.
One this to note is that changing strings will change the performance characteristics of your racquet. Typically softer strings are more powerful, less spin friendly and harder to control. For a fix that won’t impact your frame’s performance, see Step 2.
Beckett Chung strikes a forehand mid-air. Stephen Boughton. The Slice Tennis. 2021.
Step 2: VT Advantec
If you’ve already dialed in a plush string set-up, or you only need some minor enhancements in comfort, the products from VT Advantec can be a good fit. They are very easy to put. I recommend starting with one of their replacement grips, but an easier route are their strips. 1 strip each at 3 and 9 o’clock on the frame is good.
At risk of sounding like a shill, VT’s products are quite unique. I have not some across anything like them before. They are designed to exclusively increase comfort, without having any impact on your racquet’s performance. The strips are light, so the increase in weight is negligible, and there is little-to-no change in power, spin or stringbed predictability.
The way the the VT products work is by transferring the mechanical energy into thermal energy. This dissipates the harmful vibrations into thin-air, literally. For more info, I recommend you check out this video, that I filmed for the Slice, where I speak with the CEO of VT Advantec.
Step 3: Add weight
Adding weight into the frame can help absorb some of the vibrations that travel up your arm. Anytime you had mass to a frame, you are creating more “space” for vibrations to be absorbed into. Adding weight will also lower the vibration frequency you experience on impact, essentially, increasing the ball pocketing effecting.
One concern with adding weight is that it can affect the performance of the racquet. To minimize the effect on power, maneuverability and stability, I recommend adding weight in the handle.
You can do this by either applying lead/tungsten tape under your replacement grip, or adding puddy in the trap door. I would start with 5g and keep adding until you’ve reached the desired effect.
Step 4: Player Mod
Most recreational players that experience discomfort from tennis are suffering due to bad technique. The main culprit is hitting in late. Take a video of yourself playing and look at what’s happening during your swing. If you don’t feel qualified to analyze this yourself, enlist the help of a certified coach.
