Nadal Takes Physical Risk by Adding Weight to His Racquet

Written by: Staff on 3rd January 2012

Nadal Takes Physical Risk by Adding Weight to His Racquet |

Rafael Nadal has taken a risk and added weight to his Babolat AeroPro Drive racquet, apparently to help him add more speed to his serve, which dropped off last season. It’s unknown exactly how much weight the Spaniard added, but former British player Andrew Castle estimated about 20 grams. Former player Raemon Sluiter said that he could not imagine it being over 20 grams.

Nadal has been experiencing shoulder trouble since the 2011 US Open.

Fitness expert Alistair McCaw, who has worked with Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dinara Safina and Xavier Malisse, says that players have to be very careful about adding too much weight too fast if they have been playing with the same weight for a long time, but said that Nadal might be a different case.

“Adding weight to head of racquet is safer for players who have good racquet speed (acceleration) which Rafa has,” he said. “However, looking at Rafa’s technique on forehand follow through (up and not across the body), it could be cause of shoulder issues.”

He added that Nadal’s problems could result from a number issues other than the weight of his frame, including racquet stiffness, string tension, technique of player, and over training.

It’s probable that Nadal worked with Babolat to equally distribute the weight across his racquet and not just have made the head heavier. He did not want to add the weight last fall because his schedule was too busy.

“I had to make the change even if I am not better in the beginning,” Nadal said. “We had to make the decision so that it will be better in the future. Probably that hurts my game a little bit to begin with. Is that a risk at the beginning of the season – yes. But it was still the right moment, to change. If not now, then when?”

Topics: Rafael Nadal