A stalwart in the top ten for the past few years, Stefanos Tsitsipas is a man no player, with the exception of Nick Kyrgios, wants to see opposite his name in the draw.
The tall, lanky Greek has very few weaknesses. His fitness is top-tier, his forehand is one of the most effective on tour, and his serve is powerful and accurate. His backhand is not a huge weapon but definitely is not a weak point often. Moreover, his ability to fight and problem-solve has served him well throughout his career.
He has not won a major title yet, but he is always a threat to hoist the trophy. Though he may not be everybody’s cup of tea and has been embroiled in more than a few controversies (bathroom break-gate vs Murray, hitting a ball in the crowd vs Kyrgios, some cringe-worthy tweets), his tennis ability has garnered him fans around the world.
As we always do here, we’re going to take a look at his racquet. Let’s dive in!
Here’s Stefanos Tsitsipas’ racquet setup:
- Endorsed Racquet: Wilson Blade 98 v8
- Actual Racquet: Wilson Blade 98 v4
- Strings: Luxilon 4G at 25 kg mains and 24 kg crosses- confirmed on twitter
Blades from the Beginning
Stefanos has used a Wilson Blade 98 18×20 since he was playing as a junior. We’ve seen no switching from him, even in terms of trying a new string pattern or trialing a frame in practice.
The blade he uses is widely assumed to be the 2013 BLX Amplifeel Blade (v4), the Black and Silver one.
There was a story circulating that when Wilson upgraded to the v5 Parallel Drilling version (Stefanos shown below using that paintjob) that he hated the racquets so much he asked Wilson if he could send them back. Reportedly, they started giving him pro stocks of his trusty v4.
From pictures of Tsitsipas’ racquet in pro tour stringing rooms, we can confirm that his Blades are obviously pre-parallel drilling and that this story is likely true, at least in that he uses the 2013 version of the Blade in a 4-3/8” grip size.
- See the smaller grommets throughout the racquet that confirm a v4 or prior Blade. D-shaped beam and throat geometry are from the Blade mold, and we can see the Greek flag emblem and Stefanos’ name in the throat. This was also a special “Greek Flag” colorway used by him exclusively on tour and was available on Wilson’s Custom Made racquets for the retail consumer.
- Another Tsitsipas frame with 18×20 string pattern, high gloss paint finish, and his name in the throat.
The Specs
There has been inconsistency in reports of Stefanos’ racquet specs. Some sources state they’ve held his racquets and weighed them at around 325g strung, while other more reputable sources like pro tour stringers and well-respected pro stock racquet shops report nearer to 335g strung weight.
Same for swingweight and balance. There are some discrepancies, but we can get a general idea of what the Greek God uses.
The pro stringer who is the same source of the picture of the blue racquet above reported his unstrung mass to be 319g and unstrung balance at 32 cm. A website selling his personal racquet stated the strung mass to be 335g and strung balance at 32.7cm, with swingweight at 359.
The mass tracks, as a full set of polyester in an 18×20 pattern usually adds 17g to the frame. Scales can be off, and it’s possible his racquets were matched within a tolerance, not exactly to the gram, so this number is believable.
The balance measurements are off, as a full set of strings usually moves the balance a full centimeter toward the head which would be 33cm based on the stringer’s measurements but is reported as 32.7 by the site selling his stick.
I suppose it’s possible the stringer reported balance without overgrip and mass with the overgrip which would solve the discrepancy, but there’s really no way to know. Stefanos easily could have just been experimenting with specs as pros sometimes do.
There are also older reports of him using 10g of resin in the bottom of his handle to add some weight too.
Racquet Weight
Now, if we are to believe the 357 swingweight number—other less reliable sources quote it around 340—there are going to be folks asking how it could get that high while keeping weight so low, especially if he’s using weight in his handle as well.
A stock v4 Blade was targeted to 304g unstrung with a grip out of the factory, so it’s most likely that the technicians at the Pro Room are grabbing lighter samples to prep for Stefanos. Or, it may be that the factory is making his to a certain weight within a smaller tolerance window.
I’m more inclined to believe that he compromises on balance to a degree while keeping mass and swingweight at his preferred levels.
All the above aside, we can generally assume Stefanos uses something like the following: 335g, 32.7 cm balance, 357 swingweight strung with an overgrip and may have some slight variation in his specs due to his high target swingweight and low target mass.
Either way, it’s a light racquet that should hit a HEAVY ball, especially in the lanky Greek’s capable hands.
Stefanos strings his racquets with Luxilon 4g at 25/24kg but has sometimes tweaked that depending on conditions.
This was confirmed directly by him on twitter. He experimented with a black string and hybrids after an arm injury but has returned to 4g.
Conclusion
It’s not all that surprising that a Greek God would use a racquet with such a high swingweight most mortals couldn’t use it properly.
This heavy but maneuverable racquet lets Stefanos punish his groundstrokes while still being light enough to hit himself out of tough defensive situations.
Given his incredible results and consistency over the past few years, I don’t see him changing!
If you’re interested in other ATP players’ racquets, I listed all the top 100 players’ racquets in this post.