ATP Players Racket Archives - Page 6 of 6

In the last few years, Daniil Medvedev has turned into one of the best players on tour. He’s a constant threat at majors, and he captured his first major at the US Open in 2021. His ability to hit all different types of shots has many wondering what type of racket he uses to have success. What Racket Does Medvedev Use? Daniil Medvedev's Racket: Tecnifibre Tfight 305 RCDaniil Medvedev's String Setup: Tecnifibre Ice CodeString Tension: 50lbs Daniil Medvedev currently uses the Tecnifibre TFlight 305 RC racket. As a sponsored athlete with Tecnifibre, he also uses Ice Code strings from the company. The Tecnifibre Razor Code has been his string setup for most of his professional career, but recently changed to the Ice Code strings with 50lbs as his standard string tension. This can of course change depending on the playing conditions. Apart from a few tension changes, he mostly sticks with what’s comfortable for him. How Customized Is Medvedev's Racket Compared To Stock Options? Professional tennis players love to customize their rackets quite a bit to get the perfect fit for them. That’s why even those who buy his racket from the company online won’t have the same stick that he uses. The biggest change for Medvedev compared to the stock option is that his actual head size used is 95 in.². That is 3 inches smaller than what the stock option provides, and that comes down to personal preference. Medvedev’s precision, and his ability to hit the sweet spot on all types of shots, allows him a little more wiggle room to go smaller. It’s unknown just how heavy Medvedev’s racket is, but it is heavier than the 11.4 ounces for the stock option. The racket’s balance is also altered. Players can mess with the weight of their racquet with lead tape. How Does The Tecnifibre TFlight 305 RC Racket Perform? The racket works for Medvedev, but what about the option available to the general public? Is it a good racket to invest in? It’s not an option for everyone, but it is turning into one of the more popular rackets out there right now for players taking the game seriously. This is a look at how it performs. Groundstrokes Hitting the ball off the ground with this racket feels very comfortable from the very beginning. It’s very balanced and forgiving, so players who are just graduating to a new racquet won’t find a huge learning curve. About the only thing that’s overwhelming on the groundstrokes is that it’s a bit heavier than some of the other standard options in this range. Not only is it a little heavier at 305 grams, but the swing weight is at 329. Those who like heavier rackets won’t find it to be an issue, but others might find it hard to swing all out at first. Head size with groundstrokes shouldn’t be too much of an issue, since it has a rather large sweet spot overall. As long as players are pretty familiar with how standard player rackets perform at this point, they should be good to go. Returns Much like with the groundstrokes, the only real complaint with this racket is for those who like to take full cuts at returns. Since it’s heavier, making some adjustments in this regard will be important. Players might feel forced to block returns a little bit more frequently at the beginning instead of taking full cuts. The good news is that the hefty weight does provide a bit better blocking, but players at a certain level won’t want to rely on this tactic only. Volleys Medvedev plays a very classic style of tennis in today’s world, meaning that most of the damage happens behind the baseline. This racket reflects that, as the volleying is probably the weakest part in general. It’s not terrible, but they don’t feel as crisp as the other racquets out there. For players who like to get to the net, or play a lot of doubles, this might not be the best overall option to hit volleys. With all that being said, it plays a lot like many of the other more modern types of rackets out there. There’s a bit of a learning curve, and adjusting the string tension will help as well. Players might not always feel like they have problems hitting volleys, but don’t expect them to be natural from the very beginning. Serves Staying very true to Medvedev‘s playing style, the serving with the Tecnifibre TFlight 305 RC racket feels very natural and fluid. It has a good amount of power built-in, but the smaller head size adds control. There’s also excellent spin potential, depending, of course, on how a person hits the ball. The extra weight with the racket really comes into play when a player has a nice, relaxed motion when hitting the first serve. Players can bomb serves from the very beginning and feel dialed in. It doesn’t take long to start hitting consistently without feeling as though the serves are errant. A Final Look At Daniil Medvedev's Racket Tecnifibre is smart, putting this particular racket behind Medvedev’s success. Even though he might not technically use this exact model, it’s helped with sales after seeing him play at the highest level. It’s a user-friendly racket that fits many different types of playing styles, and it’s definitely worth giving a try as a demo at some point.