Curved grip rackets

[Autodidactic player]

Here are my curved grip rackets.

Top to bottom, left to right:

NOS Erge Ceramic “Anatomic Plus”
NOS Erge metal
NOS Biosport Gripper ceramic “Golden Gripper”
NOS Biosport Gripper metal
8/10 Sentra Marauder
NOS Neoxxline Ergokinetic

Does anyone have others? Please post some pictures.

I've seen pictures of several Sentra curved grip rackets but I can't find any information to confirm that they were factory made. Mine definitely has a curved grip but it doesn't look as professionally formed as the others. It's also not NOS like the others so some former owner may have messed with it. Anyone got any information about these rackets?

 

[retrowagen]

Is this why they tell you not to leave tennis racquets in your car on a hot day? :lol:

Re: Sentra racquets: I seem to recall seeing curved-grip Sentras (aluminum, if I recall) pictured in World Tennis mag (USA), circa 1984. I may have to dig that one out of the archives to scan and share.

 

[magnut]

anyone ever play with one? whats the benefit of a curved grip?

 

[Sanglier]

I've seen pictures of several Sentra curved grip rackets but I can't find any information to confirm that they were factory made. Mine definitely has a curved grip but it doesn't look as professionally formed as the others. It's also not NOS like the others so some former owner may have messed with it. Anyone got any information about these rackets?

I have only one, the "Boron Stealth", for which I had already posted my impressions in an earlier thread http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=256855, so I won't repeat myself here.

I would only add that there can be no doubt that the crooked handle on this particular frame is factory-made, not just because Kuebler said so in his book, but because even its custom case came with a kinked contour:

Actually, the more I played with this frame, the more I liked it. It definitely feels unusual, but not jarringly so. It is especially good for serves, where the ergonomic bend allowed me to have a more relaxed wrist angle at full extension, which seemed to translate to a more fluid forearm rotation during the 'snap', and therefore less strain on my joints. Out of all the weird frame designs that I have sampled so far, this is the only instance where I felt that an "innovative" gimmick had resulted in a net improvement in the playability of a racquet. rather than a net handicap.

----

 

[JP25]

Here is one from my collection.

The Sentra Firepower 900, 1979 Seiko Sporting Goods, USA. Definitely factory curved.

I think the early curved grip rackets were designed to help the player keep the racket head above the wrist for volleys and slice backhands, etc., but they work in reverse as well and put the racket in a "natural" position to hit topspin as the head is below the ball when held normally (not sure if they were meant for this especially in 1979). It actually makes sense and does make it easy for a topspin groundstroke since you don't have to drop the wrist. Same concept as the ergonom style rackets except the grip is curved instead of the offset head.

 

[rodracquet]

The only thing I can add to this brilliant collection of curved grips is this ad from Rolf Jaeger in the 1880's called the SLAZENGER SABRE

 

[joe sch]

anyone ever play with one? whats the benefit of a curved grip?

I believe the purpose is to help the players hit lower ground stokes. Staying low and bending the legs is key to hitting well on the move especially and most intermediate players never master this kind of hitting. These rackets like the Snauwaert Ergonom really helped players hit better low balls. Notice how the NOS Neoxxline Ergokinetic is like the Ergonom with the curved grip.

If my beliefs are true then for todays modern tennis with big topspin, players can use these rackets to more comfortably reach higher bouncers by rotating 180 degrees

I have enjoyed playing the Ergonom and after getting use to its advantages it hard to go back to a normal racket.

 

[Ronaldo]

Anyone that served with these racquets notice the ball bouncing high? Only knew one guy who used a Sentra and his kick serve was extraordinary.

 

[rodracquet]

A guy in our collecting group in Australia plays the NEOXXLINE and loves it. Some German senior champion used to endorse and I would have thought if the Sentra was going give kick then these NEOXXLINE's would too. What is the consensus on diamond strung verus conventional. In an old Slazenger catalogue they were explaining how diamond stringing reduces the size of the sweetspot. Yet if you hit the ball the lack of string movement may help spin control..etc

 

[davced1]

I picked up an Erge at a thrift store a while ago and finally decided to give it a try yesterday. I have to say it was amazing for my top spin one handed backhand. I have always struggled with that shot and usually get some sidespin on every shot. With the Erge though from the first shot I suddenly hit perfect straight line top spin backhands and had a hard time believing how effortless it seemed. It felt very natural to hit backhands and the racquet felt stable too. Slices were also good, maybe with a bit more bite compared to my regular slice.

The shape of the racquet makes sure you get the racquet head well under the ball and that is the key it seems. Thanks to this racquet I am now sure that my footwork is fine on the backhand and that the problem is that I don't get under the ball enough with normal racquets. When I switched back I had the same old lousy backhand again.

Forehands though was a different story. I got a bit higher trajectory on the ball but the racquet felt wobbly and highly unstable and I had a tough time hitting the ball were I wanted too. With my normal forehand swing the ball drifted to the right so I had to make some big adjustments. It actually screwed up my forehand pretty bad when I switched to a normal racquet and I struggled for the rest of the session to get the timing right again. The Erge also caused som serious stress on my elbow on the forehand as I swung through and I would probably get a severe case of tennis elbow if I went on with it.

I played around with it for about 15 minutes and switched back when my tennis buddy asked me to try and keep the balls in the middle of the court for a while as I was spraying forehands right and left. The serve I did not bother to try this time.

If tennis was a game of backhands only I would definitely switch to this racquet. Maybe I will keep it in my tennis bag and pick up my secret weapon if opponents start to exploit my normally inconsistent backhand. They will not now what hit them before it is too late.

 

[davced1]

Took some time to figure out how to post the pic but finally here is my secret weapon!

 

[joe sch]

I picked up an Erge at a thrift store a while ago and finally decided to give it a try yesterday. I have to say it was amazing for my top spin one handed backhand. I have always struggled with that shot and usually get some sidespin on every shot. With the Erge though from the first shot I suddenly hit perfect straight line top spin backhands and had a hard time believing how effortless it seemed. It felt very natural to hit backhands and the racquet felt stable too. Slices were also good, maybe with a bit more bite compared to my regular slice.

The shape of the racquet makes sure you get the racquet head well under the ball and that is the key it seems. Thanks to this racquet I am now sure that my footwork is fine on the backhand and that the problem is that I don't get under the ball enough with normal racquets. When I switched back I had the same old lousy backhand again.

Forehands though was a different story. I got a bit higher trajectory on the ball but the racquet felt wobbly and highly unstable and I had a tough time hitting the ball were I wanted too. With my normal forehand swing the ball drifted to the right so I had to make some big adjustments. It actually screwed up my forehand pretty bad when I switched to a normal racquet and I struggled for the rest of the session to get the timing right again. The Erge also caused som serious stress on my elbow on the forehand as I swung through and I would probably get a severe case of tennis elbow if I went on with it.

I played around with it for about 15 minutes and switched back when my tennis buddy asked me to try and keep the balls in the middle of the court for a while as I was spraying forehands right and left. The serve I did not bother to try this time.

If tennis was a game of backhands only I would definitely switch to this racquet. Maybe I will keep it in my tennis bag and pick up my secret weapon if opponents start to exploit my normally inconsistent backhand. They will not now what hit them before it is too late.

Great find at a thrift !
You could use it like Courier just play your BH rather than the FH.
Jim would play near the corner and hit FH's cross court tempting his opponent to go for a down the line.
Would be even harder to do for a BH and you would have to be really fast.
I do have an Erge but was never tempted to hit it as Im pretty sure its not for me.
I never really even like metal rackets although I did give a few Wilson T's a go.

 

[1HBHfanatic]

Is this why they tell you not to leave tennis racquets in your car on a hot day? :lol:
.....

that was funny..

 

[1HBHfanatic]

Here is the modern version of this old concept

curvstar tennis racquets

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/curvstar-epic.494243/

 

[Antónis]

This sticks look really odd, but I would like to give them a try, just out of curiosity.
The only crooked racquet I ever hit with was the old Snawaert Ergonom, and this was like 30 years ago, thats how old I am
I remember I liked the Ergonom back than, but these crooked handles make me doubt I could even hit the center of the string bed using them

 

[Deleted member 3771]

Looks like those racquets were left a bit too close to the heater.