Stan Wawrinka Racket and String
We’ve spoken in previous articles about professional players using slightly different rackets to the ones they endorse.
Sometimes a small amount of customization has taken place, and other times, the racket is a completely different frame altogether.
Stan Wawrinka certainly falls into this latter category when it comes to his equipment and specs, as you will go on to discover in a moment.
An all-Yonex man in terms of racket and clothing apparel, Mr Wawrinka also delivers a ridiculous weight of shot, both on the forehand and backhand sides.
He does supply a lot of his own physical power, but he also gets some extra pop from his racket.
Wawrinka’s Racket
“Stan The Man” endorses the Yonex V CORE Pro 97 300, but actually uses the Yonex V CORE 95D with a ton of additional lead tape.
Therefore, his racket has a slightly smaller head and offers him a little more control and precision than the V CORE Pro 97 300.
It is also painted to look identical to this racket and viewers at home would struggle to tell any difference on their television sets.
Here are Stan’s actual racket specs:
Racket: Yonex VCORE 95D
Weight: 372g (including overgrip)
Balance: 32.1-32.3
Grip Type: Yonex Leather
String Pattern: 16 x 20
Swingweight: 359-360
Wawrinka’s String
The Swiss superstar uses Babolat RPM Blast at 61 pounds in the main strings and 57 pounds in the cross strings.
This co-polyester string coupled with the high tension helps him to control his powerful game and send the ball kicking down inside the baseline rather than the other side.
Why Is This Such An Effective Combination?
When a racket is as heavy as Stan’s (372g) it’s vital that it’s balanced correctly.
A head heavy racket in this kind of weight category would not only make it impossible to control the ball, but send a guaranteed shoulder injury signed, sealed and delivered!
Stan’s racket is balanced in such a way that the heavy weight gives him excellent control of the ball, but exceptional plow through to turn defense into attack.
Since he has superior technical ability and strength, he doesn’t require any “free” power from his racket, therefore the control orientated 95 sq. inch head size is a square fit for his game.
The RPM Blast string complements this setup further by adding oodles of spin potential as well as reasonable feel for a polyester string.
What Do Stan’s Beastly Specs Mean For You?
We would not advise that you go out and a try to copy Wawrinka’s racket specs!
Even amongst professional players his setup leans way further towards the heavier side.
There is a common misconception amongst tennis equipment enthusiasts that the pro players are all using insanely heavy rackets with very high swingweights. However, this is completely unsure.
There are indeed some players who use a heavier racket – Federer, Murray, Wawrinka to name a few, but this is not the norm.
On the other side of the coin, you have big John Isner swinging just a 300g Prince racket and Dominic Thiem (who we’ve also written about) using a Babolat Pure Strike customized to only 312g.
If you do decide to embrace “The Beast” (and God help you), you best have some pretty tight technique and a steel shoulder!
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