Size matters
Miguel Seabra argues that the root of Roger Federer’s problem is not tactics, strokes, or psychology, but the fact that he has the smallest racquet on tour. His racquet head size is 90 square inches—Nadal’s is 100 square inches, Djokovic’s 93 sq in, stop snickering. “A slightly bigger frame with the same specs (balance, stiffness, swing weight, stringbed pattern) would keep the stability and control Federer craves, but be more forgiving and give him a bigger sweetspot. . .Does racquet size really matter? Most professionals opt for control over power, and tend to use smaller frames than recreational players. Making the right pick depends on matching the type of racquet and style of play, plus fine-tuning of the racquet specs and string combination. A sweet spot that is five percent bigger could provide a lot more comfort, boosting the margin over error when under pressure and providing a little more power to break the best defense.”
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
August 10th, 2008 at 03:40
size REALLY matters.:D
August 10th, 2008 at 11:31
it would be nice if we could confirm that this is really the reason of Roger’s problems lately.
however, i can’t help but wonder…if this is the same racquet that Roger has always used (i don’t know if it is), then why did no one question it during the past 5 yrs that Roger has been dominating, and now that he’s having a rough time, suddenly it comes up as a problem.
August 11th, 2008 at 01:54
seabra…
::huhlolz::
August 11th, 2008 at 22:58
Federer’s problems seem to be more mental than anything else. I may be wrong but I have observed that in his losses, his unforced errors count really go up but his winners are usually still more than his opponents. that’s usually a matter of focus for more consistency. I really hope he snaps out of it fast; break the record and win the French and retire like the great Pete while still on top of his game.
August 12th, 2008 at 02:32
Blaming the racket for the state of one’s game is a feeble-minded exercise that only deluded duffers, like myself, can well be expected to do and be excused for; not professionals, much less the one person who may just be the GOAT. Hardly anyone in the professional ranks shifts to a different racket -the paint jobs may change but it’s the same frame underneath, no Titanium, Uranium, or whatever the metal or alloy in vogue is either. Sampras stuck to his 85 sq in graphite Wilson to the end, and look what that got him (only 14 Slams).
Besides there’s nothing wrong with Federer’s game. He made the French Open finals, as usual. He only lost Wimbledon by the slightest margin in the 5th set. Mono, which affected his conditioning/stamina is what’s sabotaged his season so far.