Why have we all accepted the imprecision of tennis racquet specs?
I don't know anything about tennis racquet manufacturing, so I'm asking anyone with more knowledge than me.
Well all know that a racquet's stated specs (e.g. 300g weight, 320 swingweight) are often inaccurate due to wide manufacturing tolerances (e.g. plus or minus seven grams). That means you might demo a model and find it whippy and maneuverable, and then discover the version you bought is sluggish by comparison.
Assuming a normal distribution, that probably won't happen to most people. But the fact that it can happen to some people and is often talked about by reviewers who measure specs makes me wonder why this variability is collectively accepted in a sport where precision, feel, and consistency are so important.
My first question: is there something inherent and unavoidable in tennis racquet manufacturing that makes this variability necessarily so?
My second question. Let's say wide manufacturing tolerances are unavoidable. They're still knowable: manufacturers sometimes even state the bounds, i.e. by how many grams you can expect it to vary. Wouldn't it therefore make sense for manufacturers to a) intentionally design to much lower weights, outside the tolerance window, and then b) add weight intentionally to every racquet until it matches the exact target spec?
Yes, lead tape is ugly, but they could hide it in the butt cap, under the grip, or under the head guard. If they really cared, they could design a modular frame with drilled holes and clippable weight attachments. To every randomly underspecced frame they could then clip on weights of 1g, 2g, 3g, wherever it matters. This doesn't seem too hard.
The only counterargument I can imagine is that it would add an extra step to the manufacturing process. But they already do a lot by hand, so what's one more thing? And given quality racquets have a massive range in prices, the margins at the high end are probably healthy. The cost of the extra step could either be absorbed or paid for with a small bump by people who value precision. Is there something (or many things) I'm missing or not understanding?