Novak Djokovic And The Andre Agassi Story Behind His Racquet

Novak Djokovic’s racquet is an indispensable weapon that helps the Serb to put his meticulous game on display. The current racquet used by Novak Djokovic is the PT113B based on the Ti/iRadical HEAD racquet mold.

However, the racquet has an interesting back story to it. Djokovic returned from a devastating elbow injury that forced him to tweak his game. Which meant he needed to find a new racquet. This was because his old specs were really heavy with a swing weight of 370.

His game-style which involved covering the baseline required a racquet with a high swing weight. However, his elbow issues meant he needed to shift to a racquet which was lighter and had more power and spin in an easier to use frame.

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The person who helped him was none other than the tennis legend Andre Agassi.

Let’s find out what Novak’s brand new weapon had as its distinguished features.

How did Novak Djokovic and Andre Agassi innovate the perfect racquet? 

The first thing they did was reduce the amount of lead tape on the racquet. In fact, this brought the weight from 359 to 353 grams. Next, the balance went down from 32.8 to 32.4 cm. The length was increased to keep the swing weight high. However, keeping his elbow in mind, it was not kept too high. Thus, Djokovic’s racquet is slightly longer than average.

However, the biggest change was made in the drill pattern. It went from 18×20 to 18×19. This was done to give Novak easier access to spin. However, care was taken at the same time to not lose too much control from the ultra-tight 18×20.

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Novak Djokovic uses the classic HEAD rectangular grip (pallet TK57), grip size 3, HEAD Finest Calfskin leather grip and two overgrips. The racquet his stringed with natural gut in the mains at 27-28 kg and Alu Power Rough.

However, you really need to be a Novak Djokovic to play with the racquet as it has a complex string setup. Plus, you will be surprised to know that the racquets endorsed by tennis players are not usually the ones they play with. This is because recreational players can’t adjust to the usually more heavy and sophisticated racquets.

For instance, Novak Djokovic endorses the HEAD Graphene 360 Speed Pro which is an easier to use instrument.