The journal Volume 2026

Every examination we've published.

Newest first. Browse by topic from the navigation, or by category from the footer. Older pieces stay reachable forever — we don't archive away from URLs.

Page 34 of 37

331
Terminology ·5 min · May 2026

Tennis Serve Technique and the Ace: What Actually Separates an Unreturnable Serve From a Lucky One

Most recreational players have asked some version of this question after a club match: the flat serve down the T that froze the returner on Saturday looked, on video, almost identical to the one that…

332
Forehand ·5 min · May 2026

Western Forehand Grip Test: Does the "Extreme" Grip Actually Produce More Topspin?

The short version: a full western forehand grip produced roughly 12–18% more measured topspin than a semi-western in our hitting sessions, but cost the same testers about one in five low balls they…

333
Grips ·6 min · May 2026

The Semi-Western Forehand Grip, Stress-Tested: What Actually Changes When You Rotate One Bevel

Here is the claim we are going to spend the rest of this article earning the right to make: the semi-western forehand grip is not, primarily, a topspin grip. It is a contact-height grip.

334
Forehand ·10 min · May 2026

Tennis Grip Technique: Is the Eastern Forehand Still Worth Learning in 2025?

There is a question intermediate players ask their coaches, then ask again on Reddit, then ask a third time when they're stringing a new frame: should I still bother learning the Eastern forehand, or…

335
Forehand ·6 min · May 2026

Testing the Semi-Western Forehand Grip: What Actually Happens From Hand to Ball

There is a sentence that gets repeated in clinics, lesson bays, and the comment sections under every forehand video on the internet: "switch to a semi-western forehand grip and you'll finally get…

336
Grips ·5 min · May 2026

Semi-Western Forehand Grip vs. Eastern: A Side-by-Side Test for Intermediate Players

Most intermediate players we coach have, at some point, drifted into a grip that is neither one thing nor the other — somewhere between an eastern and a semi-western, set by accident rather than…

337
Wilson ·5 min · May 2026

Wilson Pro Staff 97 v13 Review: A Three-Lens Test of the Post-Countervail Frame

The Wilson Pro Staff 97 v13 is the first iteration in three generations that we'd hand to a control player without an apology — the removal of Countervail restores the frame's signature feedback, but…

338
Coaching ·5 min · May 2026

Free Tennis Education: How the Sport Came to Trust the Internet Over the Club Pro

For most of the twentieth century, the assumption inside American tennis was straightforward: if you wanted to get better, you paid a pro.

339
Racquets ·5 min · May 2026

How We Built Our Tennis Racquet Review Protocol (And Why It Matters For Federer Fans)

One frame, one scale, one surprise The first thing we did with a brand-new Wilson Pro Staff RF97 v13 was put it on a jeweler's scale, unstrung, no overgrip, no dampener.

340
Racquet Review ·10 min · May 2026

The 340-Gram Tennis Racquet Review: What Federer's Spec Sheet Actually Tells an Intermediate Player

There is a number printed on the throat of the Wilson Pro Staff RF97 v13, repeated in every catalog, every spec table, every YouTube thumbnail: 340 grams. Unstrung.