Racket Specification Definition - Balance Point - How to calculate balance point (pts).

Have you ever wondered how the headlight/headheavy points are derived when you read a racket specification from tennis-warehouse.com or other similar sites?

Please allow me to enlighten you a bit after the break..

One of the attributes normally described on racket specification is the balance point. Most manufacturer will list it out in centimeters, while some online sites, especially tennis-warehouse, uses the points system.

So, how does a racket with balance point at 320mm translate into the points (pts) system?

Some information on the standard racket specification before we move on:-

- The length of a standard racket is 27inch/685.80mm

- The balance point of a standard racket is at 13.5inch/342.9mm from the racket handle.

- The balance point distance is calculated starting from the end of the racket handle to the racket head.

Each pts translate to 1/8 of an inch. (1/8 inch is 0.125inch/3.2mm)

So, if the balance point of the racket is moved from 13.5in by 0.125in to 13.375in from the handle, then the racket is considered 1pts headlight. If it's moved from 13.5in by 0.25in to 13.75in away from the midpoint, then it's considered 2pts headheavy.

A racket with a balance point of 320mm/12.6inch is 0.9inch nearer to the handle from the midpoint.

342.9mm - 320.0mm = 22.9mm/0.90inch

0.90inch / 0.125inch = 7.2 pts headlight

Summary

- 1 point is 1/8 of an inch.

- Balance point is calculated starting from the end of the racket handle to the tip of the racket head.

i hope i didn't confuse you even more...