Diego Schwartzman has a reputation for being one of the hardest workers on the ATP Tour. What he lacks in height, he makes up for with fight.
At only 5 ft 7 in (170 cm), Diego is one of the shortest players on tour, but that hasn’t stopped him from recording some fantastic results on the tour, making the quarters of the US open twice and semifinals of the French Open in 2020.
He’s been ranked as high as number eight in the world and usually hangs in the top thirty every year. He’s known for being one of the best returners on tour and a huge forehand that he uses to dictate points.
It’s no surprise he’s had his greatest success on clay courts, having been raised on them and having the benefit of slower courts mitigating free points for his opponents.
The Argentine’s fight is balanced fun demeanor displayed at times like when he joked about being brothers with John Isner, the tallest player on the tour.
Let’s do what we do here and dive into Diego’s equipment.
Here’s Diego Schwartzman’s current racquet setup:
- Endorsed Racquet: Head Graphene 360+ Radical Line
- Actual Racquet: Head Youtek IG Radical MP – TGT 260.3 pro stock code
- Strings: Luxilon ALU Power 125 at 48 pounds
Which Racquet?
As with most Head sponsored players on the tour, Diego does not use the racquet he endorses. It’s just a “pro stock” model that is painted like the current one.
That’s not to say one racquet is better or worse – I personally prefer the new retail Head racquets to many pro stock frames – Diego simply uses what he’s comfortable with rather than changing equipment with each product update. These guys play for money, and confidence in their equipment is paramount to their success.
Diego uses the Head Innegra Radical MP in 18×20 string pattern under his current Radical paintjob. The pro stock code is TGT 260.3. Diego’s frames are extended to 70.8 cm which equates to 27.9 inches, and he uses a leather grip under his overgrip.
- Diego using the IG Radical MP (probably still the pro stock but when retail paint was current), note the leather grip peeking out at the top of his handle
The extended length of Diego’s frame helps him get a ton of extra leverage and a bit more reach for his shots.
This is almost certainly intentional and not just what he grew up with, as few racquets were produced at 28” in length. It makes sense with his diminutive height for a professional athlete.
The rest of the racquet just oozes control, though with its thin, flexible beam, 18×20 string pattern, and 95 inch head size.
Specs
We’ve already covered the length of Diego’s frame but not his other specs. Thankfully, a professional stringer and customizer who has worked on Schwartzman’s sticks provided some insight
- Strung mass: 355g
- Strung balance: 32.5 cm
- Strung swingweight: 355
Swingweight has also been reported as 385 by a reputable source, but the customizer measured Diego’s racquets on a Babolat RDC. I’m more inclined to believe 355, but there could have been changes Diego made.
As we can see, Diego plays with a pretty hefty racquet, especially with the extra length of nearly an inch. The extra mass gives the racquet some more power and higher swingweight increases stability and plowthrough.
Strings
Diego has been using Luxilon ALU Power for most of his career around 50 pounds, give or take. Older stringing logs show him at 52 pounds, but the Erste Bank Open stringing log from 2021 shows him down at 48 pounds.
- Stringing log from the 2021 Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria
Luxilon’s ALU Power is the gold (silver?) standard polyester string on the pro tour, providing a balanced array of power, control, and spin along with unmatched feel for a poly string.
It’s a perfect string for pro players, really, so it’s no surprise it’s in Diego’s racquets as well.
Conclusion
Apart from the extra inch in length, Diego Schwartzman’s racquet is pretty typical for what the pro player standard was a few years ago before the influx of the “next-gen” players: high static weight and swingweight with a headlight balance…oh, and strung with Luxilon.
It’s so obviously and overtly controlled and then has a bit of power on tap in the right hands due to the extra length and 350+ (or 380?) swingweight.
Diego needs all of this to play his grinding, baseline style of play that has endeared him to many. Let’s hope he can keep it up for a few more years!
If you’re interested in other ATP players’ racquets, I listed all the top 100 players’ racquets in this post.