Tennis racquet balance: head light, head heavy, in centimetres and in points
Balance is the point where the racquet tips when you rest it on a support. It is given in two ways: in centimetres from the butt of the handle, or in points from the middle of the racquet, "head light" or "head heavy". Both say the same thing, as long as you know where you count from, and what state the racquet was in when it was measured.
Measuring it at home
All you need is a thin edge and a tape measure: a ruler on its edge, a table edge, the edge of a metal profile.
Lay the racquet across the edge, string bed flat.
Slide it until it stays put on its own, tipping to neither side.
Measure the distance from the butt of the handle to the support.
Note the racquet's state when you measured it: strung or not, with or without an overgrip, with or without a dampener. Half a centimetre of error here carries into every calculation that follows, swingweight included.
Converting to points
The point comes from the inch: it is an eighth of an inch, or 0.3175 cm, counted from the middle of the racquet. For a standard 68.6 cm (27 in) racquet, the middle is 34.3 cm from the butt.
Points = (length ÷ 2 − balance) ÷ 0.3175
A positive result is a head-light balance, often written HL; a negative one, head heavy.
Balance (68.6 cm) | Points | Reading |
31.0 cm | 10.4 | head light |
32.0 cm | 7.2 | head light |
33.0 cm | 4.1 | head light |
34.3 cm | 0 | even |
35.0 cm | 2.2 | head heavy |
An extended racquet moves the middle: at 69.2 cm, it is 34.6 cm from the butt, and the same reading in centimetres comes out about one point more head light. Racquet length is a setting in its own right.
Strung or unstrung: about one centimetre apart
A string weighs around 16 g, spread across the head, far from the butt. It moves the balance forward by about a centimetre, or three points. A racquet measured at 32 cm unstrung ends up near 33 cm once strung. Comparing a strung value with an unstrung one means comparing two different racquets.
What balance tells you, and what it doesn't
A head-heavy balance puts more mass far from the hand: more inertia, more stability, less manoeuvrability. Head light, the opposite. But balance is never read alone. Two racquets balanced at 32 cm can show very different swingweights if their mass differs, and swingweight is what the arm feels when it accelerates.
Matcheur's racquet setups show it: at 300 g unstrung, a balance of 30.8, 32.0 or 32.9 cm goes with a swingweight of 280, 295 or 308. In that grid, "neutral" means 32.0 cm unstrung. It is a workshop reference, not the geometric middle: in points, it is already 7 points head light. The weight, balance and swingweight guide covers the other figures.
Moving the balance gram by gram
Adding a mass m, in grams, at a distance d from the butt, in centimetres, gives:
New balance = (mass × balance + m × d) ÷ (mass + m)
Example: 5 g under the grip, 7 cm from the butt, on a 300 g racquet balanced at 32.0 cm. (300 × 32 + 5 × 7) ÷ 305 ≈ 31.6 cm: the balance moves back 0.4 cm, a little over one point, and the swingweight barely moves. The same 5 g at 12 o'clock, 68.5 cm from the butt, moves it forward to 32.6 cm and adds about seventeen points of swingweight.
The simulator runs these calculations live, for nine zones of the frame, before you stick anything on. For the application itself: adding lead tape to your racquet.
Frequently asked questions
Head light or head heavy: which to choose?
The one that suits your mass. A light racquet often needs a head-heavy balance to stay stable; a heavy racquet is often played head light to stay manoeuvrable. It is the pairing of mass and balance, summed up by swingweight, that decides. The configurator starts from your game to set it.
Is the manufacturer's balance figure reliable?
It is a production value, with a manufacturing tolerance. Your copy may differ: measure it, and always say whether it is strung.
Why did my balance change after restringing?
A heavier or lighter string, an added overgrip, a dampener: every gram placed far from the middle moves the balance. Always measure in the same state to compare.
What about stability?
Balance only tells part of it. The other two figures are twistweight and recoilweight: what they measure, and where to put mass.
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