Mary Carillo believes Roger Federer will revert to original 90-inch racquet

Former tennis player Mary Carillo, now working as one of the most recognized tennis commentators, believes that Roger Federer will give up the new racquet and move back to his original 90-inch racquet.

“Clearly, he’s looking for some kind of technological advantage that he feels needs to be gained at this stage of career. That’s a silent statement, isn’t it? If you’re straining to get to the ball and perhaps not hitting as cleanly, and you’re not behind every shot the way you normally are, you’re going to need a little bit of help,” she said.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he gave it another couple of weeks and then went back to his old racket. Honestly, I think if his back gets better in the coming weeks, he’ll get quicker and won’t feel the need for this bigger racket head. It’s hard to change from something that has been an extension of your arm pretty much for your whole career,” she added.

Federer started using the larger 98-inch racquet after Wimbledon and posted mixed results. He reached the semifinals at an ATP 500 event in Hamburg but lost in his opening match at Gstaad a week later. It remains to be seen if he will use the new racquet in next week’s Cincinnati Masters. He skipped the Montreal Masters due to back injury.