Light tennis racquet

So I have played with light racquet before. The first time was using Six One Lite (SOL), a 249g unstrung racquet with the same cosmetic as Six One Team (SOT). The SOL was very light though and have even balance thus it was low powered and possibly hurt my hand due to vibration from the stiff construction. It is retired now, I change the grip to leather and eager to try it again for recreation only. I bought a second light weight racquet, Prince Textreme Tour 100L (TTL), a 279g unstrung headlight 4pts racquet. I customed with a leather grip and 2 strips of weight on 9 and 3 o'clock head. Two weeks ago, I brought it to practice and lo and behold, I beat the guy I rarely beat, twice on same day. So, what happened? This TTL was very maneuverable, no need for proper prep just like PS97 but still hefty enough for rec play. The thing is, the PS97 is awesome for straight hard balls but not easy on slow balls, no power from it. TTL is good for blocking back, not hitting it back, and good for hitting those slow balls and add some spin. In conclusion, use racquet for the type of game you play. Heavy racquet can be unforgiving especially for weird and awkward overhead.

Head Light Racquet

So I have been trying to follow RF forehand since I am most comfortable using eastern grip since forever same as him. I currently use Pro Staff 97 with no modification. When I first started using PS97, it felt pretty heavy compare to Six One Team or Lite that I use, but now I am quite comfortable with it. It is so easy to serve with, it has bigger sweet spot than my SOT and softer on the arm. Yet, I rarely restring unless it broke, and it may started to get harsh and sends vibration to the arm. I also have been wanting to change the grip of the PS97 but risking getting it even heavier.

I noticed that with existing grip and added a thick and thin overgrip, the grip feels round with slight bevel corner. Reading from the forum, some the advantages of using leather grip are better feel of the grip, added weight, thinning the handle, and long last.

And so, I replaced one of PS97 and then I use only one overgrip. I though the leather grip is thicker than the original faux leather grip installed. I played with it once and I got lighter head than before and guess what, less vibration on arm. The late wrist movement to generate spin were better. No wonder RF97 has 3 point more head light than PS97. So in conclusion, for a heavy racquet adding more weight on the handle for more head light could be better but depends on your tipe of swing. On the minus side, I could not serve flat as before but the kick improve on the plus side. I also changed the other one with leather grip as well. The feel of the bevel certainly helps especially 

on serve and volleys.

Serving ritual - bouncing

I rarely bounce the ball before serving, until very recently. Maybe before, I dont really good at bouncing the ball, I would rather hit the ball with the racquet to the court several times before tossing it. But few weeks ago, I played on a granite court, which was strange to me because the surface was not flat, so I bounced the balls couple of times to get the feel of the court. I think the idea was good that it forces you to check the bounciness of the court. But, then I get the second benefit from bouncing the ball, which will be explain next. I modeled my serve on Federer serve because 1st, I dont move me back foot when serving and 2nd, it is in between flat and kick serve. The next puzzle, I learn was that you need relax shoulders before tossing the ball and bouncing the ball helps that. You kind of need to bounce the ball, relax your shoulders by hunching them a bit and then open up when tossing the ball. It definitely helps to hit the ball by the sweet spot.