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Points vs. centimeters of balance

Q: What the heck is a point? When they say a racquet is “6 points head light,” what does that mean?

A: The “point” as a measurement is 1/8” (0.125 inches). The trick is that the measurement is taken from the mid-point of the racquet. That means, if a racquet is the standard 27 inches long, the mid-point is going to be at 13.5 inches. If the racquet balance is at 13.5 inches, then it is said to have even balance. If the balance point is more toward the butt of the racquet, the racquet is said to be “head light.” If the balance point is more toward the head of the racquet, the racquet is said to be “head heavy.” In the example you give, a racquet that is 6 points head light would have its balance point 6/8” closer to the butt than the mid-point.

Although people have been using points to refer to racquet balance for many years, it is becoming more common now to refer to balance in terms of the distance from the butt end of the racquet to the balance point. Referring to balance measurements from the butt end allows you to more easily compare racquets of different lengths. A 27-inch racquet that is 8 points (1 inch) head heavy will have the same first moment (“pick-up weight”) as a 29-inch racquet with even balance, because the balance point on both is 14.5 inches.

To take your example again, a 27-inch racquet that is 6 points head light would have its balance point at 12.75 inches. Rather than use inches, however, the more common unit of measure is the centimeter, and in this case the balance point would be 32.39 centimeters.

If you are doing a lot of work with racquet balance, it can become tedious to do all the measurement conversions yourself. USRSA members can make use of our on-line Points Converter tool.

From the March 2004 issue
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