Twistweight and recoilweight: the two figures that say whether a racquet is stable
A racquet is called "stable" for two different reasons. It does not twist in the hand when the ball is hit off-centre. It is not pushed back when the ball comes in heavy. These are two separate properties, measured by two separate figures: twistweight and recoilweight. You can have one without the other.
Twistweight: stability in torsion
Twistweight is the racquet's resistance to rotating around its long axis, the one running from the butt to the tip of the head. It is expressed in kg·cm², like swingweight, but its values are roughly twenty times smaller: around 13 to 16 for a strung adult racquet.
As long as the ball is hit in the centre, it plays almost no part. As soon as it is hit a few centimetres off the axis, the racquet twists, the face opens or closes, and the ball goes elsewhere. The higher the twistweight, the less the face turns: that is what players call a forgiving string bed.
Two things raise it: the width of the head, and mass placed on the sides. A mass m, in grams, added at a distance w from the long axis, in centimetres, raises it by:
Δ twistweight = (m ÷ 1000) × w²
4 g at 3 and 9 o'clock, 2 g on each side, about 13 cm from the axis: + 0.68.
4 g at 10 and 2 o'clock, about 10 cm from the axis: + 0.40.
4 g at 12 o'clock, on the axis: nothing.
A few tenths sound like little. Against a value of 13 to 16, they are a few percent, and they can be felt on off-centre balls.
Recoilweight: stability at impact
Recoilweight is the racquet's resistance to being pushed back by the ball. It is its inertia around its own centre of mass, and it is computed from three values you already know:
RW = SW − (Mass ÷ 1000) × (Balance − 10)²
Mass in grams, balance in centimetres, swingweight in kg·cm². Swingweight is measured around an axis 10 cm from the butt, where the hand holds the racquet. Recoilweight removes from it the part that only comes from the lever arm. It tells you what is left when the ball hits: the part of the inertia that resists the shock, wherever you hold the handle.
Why the same swingweight does not mean the same stability
Take two racquets at 320 swingweight.
The first weighs 285 g, balanced at 34 cm: RW = 320 − 0.285 × 24² ≈ 156.
The second weighs 320 g, balanced at 31 cm: RW = 320 − 0.320 × 21² ≈ 179.
They take the same effort to swing. The second is pushed back far less at impact. That is why a light racquet loaded at the head can show a big swingweight and still be pushed around by a heavy ball.
Across the Matcheur range, recoilweight stays around 150 on all seven setups, from 280 to 320 g unstrung: it is the stability signature the range shares, whichever setup you choose.
Where to put mass, depending on the stability you want
3 and 9 o'clock: the only zone that really raises twistweight. It also adds a little swingweight.
12 o'clock: the most swingweight, with no effect on twistweight.
Under the grip and at the butt cap: almost nothing on swingweight, but recoilweight goes up, because the mass sits far from the centre of mass. Example: 10 g, 7 cm from the butt, on a 300 g racquet balanced at 32.0 cm with a swingweight of 295. Recoilweight goes from about 150 to about 156.
Loading the head and counterweighting under the grip remains the safest way to gain stability without losing manoeuvrability; adding lead tape covers the application.
The simulator computes all six values, mass, balance, swingweight, twistweight, MGR/I and recoilweight, for nine weighting zones, before you stick anything on.
Frequently asked questions
What twistweight should I aim for?
There is no right value in the absolute. Compare your racquet with itself: if you lose off-centre balls, a few tenths added at 3 and 9 o'clock can be felt.
Is recoilweight related to tennis elbow?
A racquet that recoils less passes a different shock to the arm, but no figure replaces medical advice, and the string remains the first lever: what gear can and cannot do.
And MGR/I?
It is the third derived value, the timing one. It has its own article. For measuring balance and converting it to points: racquet balance.
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