How many people still play with rackets that are over 20 years old?

[WestboroChe]

Well, it's actually pretty soft (63 RA unstrung) but it's pretty heavy too: 338 gr unstrung (12 oz), which was a standard weight for a frame of the 90s. I don't mind because I learnt to play with heavy frames and stiffer and lighter rackets bring me nothing really -- except elbow pain.

I was 24 when I started to play with it, now 43 and I don't play as much as I would like… but as for my arm, so far so good

I’m guessing most people in this thread for that profile exactly which is why we’re here.

343 grams isn’t super heavy. My old prostaff was like 350 grams. And some guys on here weight them up to over 400.

If it’s the racquet you’ve always used I imagine you’ll be able to play with it well into your 60s. Then you can go get Big Bubba or a Prince Premier and crush the afternoon doubles circuit.

 

[retrowagen]

I was asked recently by an online tennis pal what frame I’ve been using lately. At the end of winter, when I began hitting regularly, I went back to my old 1988 Head Elite Pros. Last year, I tried a few different solutions—even modern racquets like the Wilson Burn 100S and FST 95 (which is a total anomaly: it looks like a stolen Fischer design from 1990, but plays, well, like a Wilson from 2016)—but this year, with the old green Heads, I found myself easily hitting shots that I frustratingly couldn’t last year with the newer gear. Serve speeds went up a bit, oddly, and accuracy, too.

I guess after 30 years of using the same model, I should be comfortable with it!

 

[michael valek]

Just reread all this great thread. Couldn’t find anyone else using Pumas!! Anyway hit with a pro tour 630 made in Austria last night for the first time. Guess what? I prefer the Puma. The head was 350 g and the Puma 360g but Puma feels lighter, and better balanced to me. Sorry all head fans. 630 is a beautiful frame but as I’ve been using Pumas on/off since 1986(?) I just understand them better. All good though. Btw new pure aero is surprisingly very good.

 

[NicoMK]

If it’s the racquet you’ve always used I imagine you’ll be able to play with it well into your 60s. Then you can go get Big Bubba or a Prince Premier and crush the afternoon doubles circuit.

Thanks ! May you be right

 

[mctennis]

Just reread all this great thread. Couldn’t find anyone else using Pumas!! Anyway hit with a pro tour 630 made in Austria last night for the first time. Guess what? I prefer the Puma. The head was 350 g and the Puma 360g but Puma feels lighter, and better balanced to me. Sorry all head fans. 630 is a beautiful frame but as I’ve been using Pumas on/off since 1986(?) I just understand them better. All good though. Btw new pure aero is surprisingly very good.

I forgot all about Puma racquets. Now I want one!!

 

[graycrait]

I went back to my old 1988 Head Elite Pros.

@retrowagen, what are the specs of the Head Elite Pro? The D1 youngster I was hitting with today, who is a friend of Barankis, was using a typical thin beam modern Head. I offered him to hit with my Yonex DR 100 as he had had a contract with Yonex as a Euro ranked junior, but when he hit with it he said, "It's comfortable buy I cannot control it." I looked on the auction site at those "expensive" Head Elite Pros and thought, "I bet that thing can really cut through the air."

 

[retrowagen]

@retrowagen, what are the specs of the Head Elite Pro? The D1 youngster I was hitting with today, who is a friend of Barankis, was using a typical thin beam modern Head. I offered him to hit with my Yonex DR 100 as he had had a contract with Yonex as a Euro ranked junior, but when he hit with it he said, "It's comfortable buy I cannot control it." I looked on the auction site at those "expensive" Head Elite Pros and thought, "I bet that thing can really cut through the air."

Mine are 355g and 6 pts. HL, and always strung at 55 pounds with a quality multifilament. Great frame that gets the job done with its inherent warm feel and great ball control, if the operator has good timing, a long swing, and can generate lots of racquet head speed.

 

[graycrait]

Mine are 355g and 6 pts. HL, and always strung at 55 pounds with a quality multifilament.

That is how I had the Prince Approach 90 (1987ish?) set up today, 356g 6pts HL. Only my "value priced" cheap multi was at 62lbs.

 

[vsbabolat]

That is how I had the Prince Approach 90 (1987ish?) set up today, 356g 6pts HL. Only my "value priced" cheap multi was at 62lbs.

Fall of 1988 or 1989

 

[PT280 Fan]

Just reread all this great thread. Couldn’t find anyone else using Pumas!! Anyway hit with a pro tour 630 made in Austria last night for the first time. Guess what? I prefer the Puma. The head was 350 g and the Puma 360g but Puma feels lighter, and better balanced to me. Sorry all head fans. 630 is a beautiful frame but as I’ve been using Pumas on/off since 1986(?) I just understand them better. All good though. Btw new pure aero is surprisingly very good.

Different animal for sure. What's the head size on that Puma, about 90 sq. in.? Probably a lot stiffer too. I like the Pro Tours not only for the way they hit on the court but because 97 sq in is a little more forgiving; also it's one of the few frames I've played extensively with that didn't lead to T.E. or shoulder pain. To me 97" is the optimal size for a player that can still move and hit out on the ball. Anything over 97" is less precise, particularly with a one handed backhand and anything under 97" requires better timing to avoid mishits etc.
I also have a Kneissl Aeramic Pro 25 I like to play with occasionally. It's approx. 88 sq. in. and really a great hitting racquet with that egg shape design. Great racquet but it does require a little more precision on my part and big servers with big spin are definitely a little tougher to navigate with the smaller head size.

 

[OldschoolKIaus]

From time to time a play with a Pro's Pro Secret 600 from the mid 90s which is basically a less stiffer copy of Head Prestige back then.

Super plush and strung with synt gut just like back in the days ... relaxed basline hitting is such am enjoyment.

Too bad I don't have a second one, so I would make this beauty my main racquets.

 

[Mark-Touch]

How about over 30 years old?
Up until this past summer I was still playing with my set of Max 200G's.
The jury is still out as to how I will proceed over the next year or so, but I'm currently
using a few rackets I bought over the summer.

 

[Hannah19]

My bag contents at the moment: 2x HEAD TT Radical Tour midplus, HEAD iRadical midplus, HEAD iPrestige, Prince POG Series 90 (1984), Prince Game NXGraphite Lite, Wilson PS 85 (Reissue), Wilson PS 97S, Mizuno ProClassic (Japan), Mizuno ProDiffusion (China), LifeSport Isoflex Graphite (MadRaq stringjob).

 

[Mark-Touch]

My bag contents at the moment: 2x HEAD TT Radical Tour midplus, HEAD iRadical midplus, HEAD iPrestige, Prince POG Series 90 (1984), Prince Game NXGraphite Lite, Wilson PS 85 (Reissue), Wilson PS 97S, Mizuno ProClassic (Japan), Mizuno ProDiffusion (China), LifeSport Isoflex Graphite (MadRaq stringjob).

Be careful.
You may get tennis elbow just lifting that bag!

 

[Holdfast44ID]

Lol. I would probably play with the old PS85. I saw the pic of all the Wilson Profile racquets. Definitely not "player" racquets. I got a few free racquets from Wilson when I played in college and that included the Profile when it came out. Boy, did that ever screw up my game! Wish I had always stuck with the PS85, which I did go back to.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[wangs78]

I’ve been on vacation and playing with my old Pro Staff Classic (6.1 95) and am amazed with how well I’ve been playing with it. Granted I spent 15 years or so playing mostly with the 6.1 95 16x18 line before messing around with a bunch of racquets for about 18 months before finally settling on the RF97 two years ago. I find that the only advantage the RF97 has is greater stability and a bigger sweet spot. The 6.1 95 more than makes up for this in my view with better precision and better slices. Power is similar especially as you can always tweak string tension to adjust power/control.

Really makes you wonder how much the racquet enhancement/technology over the last 20 years makes a difference.

 

[Snaab]

Currently have a Mizuno ProClassic and Dunlop Revelation Superlong +1.50" in the bag.

 

[coachrick]

Really makes you wonder how much the racquet enhancement/technology over the last 20 years makes a difference.

Yep...If the last decade was the same as the previous, the answer may just be "none".
What truly innovative concept has been executed since the turn of the century???
Asking for a friend

 

[jsm1373]

Lol. I would probably play with the old PS85. I saw the pic of all the Wilson Profile racquets. Definitely not "player" racquets. I got a few free racquets from Wilson when I played in college and that included the Profile when it came out. Boy, did that ever screw up my game! Wish I had always stuck with the PS85, which I did go back to.

I didn't get them free from Wilson, but similarly used a PS85 in high school and switched to a Profile 3.6 thinking surely it would make me hit harder than Andre! Instead, my groundies hit the back fence on the fly so often that coach made me sprint a lap around all the courts every time After losing a few matches in a row he talked me back into the PS85.

 

[retrowagen]

I’ve been on vacation and playing with my old Pro Staff Classic (6.1 95) ...

Really makes you wonder how much the racquet enhancement/technology over the last 20 years makes a difference.

The only advance in tennis racquets over the last 20 years is that the manufacturers can produce composite racquets at a lower cost. They are engineered for the bottom line, and silly, inconsequential pseudo-technological details are added year by year, in the guise of improvements, which should motivate the consumer to run out and buy that cheaper and cheaper-made product. The materials widely used on better racquets of the 1980’s and early 1990’s were better than what is used today, and better for the user’s body, for the most part.

This is a vicious cycle that began in the industry in the mid-1990’s. Those among us who are younger than 35 or 40 will probably be none the wiser, since the marketing-driven instant obsolescence is all they’ve known.

 

[TahoeTennis]

90s racquets literally FTW!!!

 

[Tony Gareth]

i was just wondering, i see allot of people on here play with the older "players" rackets.
i just bought two prince 110 rackets, one is a pro series and the other is a spectum 110 composite.
i loved the way the older rackets played and just found these two at a great price so i went ahead and picked them up.
have not hit with them yet (the weather is too bad) but can't wait to get out on the court and hit a few around.
i played with these back about 20 some years ago but sold them and went the newer rackets.
just wanted some more input from folks that love the older rackets.
thanks:???:

People like some of the older rackets and like to stick with them. The only problem is the frame wears down some and doesn’t play the same over time due to all of the ball impacts and re-stringing. I’ve actually hit a ball hard (sometimes mishit) and can actually feel the racket flex or give and I knew that I just weakened the frame a little bit. There are a couple of rackets I’d like to play with if I can get my hands on them. They’re from the early 90s

 

[michael valek]

And now am back to the POG oversize. So much power in that frame! But which do people prefer? The 4 stripe or tour version? Hmmm.

 

[michael valek]

And for the POG mid - anyone know where you can buy a grommet set? Or do other grommets fit? Thanks

 

[jim e]

There is a place called tennis menace dot com as they typically can supply almost any grommet set, but be warned, it does come at a sticker price shock.

 

[graycrait]

And now am back to the POG oversize. So much power in that frame! But which do people prefer? The 4 stripe or tour version? Hmmm.

I like the 4-stripe and the newer (2014?) Classic POG 107. Haven't tried the most recent release. The reprised earlier Tour model seems to me to play differently.

And for the POG mid - anyone know where you can buy a grommet set? Or do other grommets fit? Thanks

Grommets are one of the reasons I have 8 POG 90s and as for the 14 or so other Prince 90 14x18 hanging around I might be able to rationalize because I need grommets. I'm not sure about wide beams like the CTS series of 14x18s that came out in the late 80s, but the grommets from the narrow beamed 90 14x18s swap. Unfortunately many are brittle, especially the maroon and gray ones in my experience. Maybe all the non-black ones are more brittle. When I buy these older ones now I look at the photos very closely and am a bit more enthused if a cover comes with the racket suggesting during its probable decades of dormancy it was possibly out of sunlight. I keep quite a few Fittex on hand as well as salvage grommet sets from failed "project" rackets.

 

[michael valek]

The 2014 I don’t like. I have one if you want to swap for a 4 stripe or tour version.......

 

[Mark-Touch]

... They are engineered for the bottom line, and silly, inconsequential pseudo-technological details are added year by year, in the guise of improvements, which should motivate the consumer to run out and buy that cheaper and cheaper-made product.

Your entire post is great, but this line in particular stands out as a wonderfully crafted gem.

 

[Plainsman83]

I would love to still play with my old grommet less POG 110, PT280 or Volkl C9 Pro since from a tech standpoint they are still viable. As mentioned by others, the problem is that after a period of time and numerous restrings, the frames just start to lose their crispness or develop cracks. I am talking years of play here, unlike some who feel obligated to change frames every year. I have been playing tournaments and leagues with the Graphene NXT Prestige Pros for several years now (I mess around with old frames during practice and warmup since the smaller heads force you to concentrate on mechanics), and rotate through the three frames in my bag to keep wear even. I have no intention of switching until they are totally dead. I swear strings have a bigger influence than the frame given that the frame has the characteristics you like.

 

[tennisbike]

I confess that I am not faithful when it comes to what rackets I bring to the court. With in a small collection, about 40 sticks, I thought perhaps 10 can be used to play serious tennis, at least in my wannabe 4.0 level. But recently I found that perhaps my "window" is narrower than I thought. In the last few weeks, I found that my FrankenStick trumped Yonex Vcore Tour G, Volkl C10 Pro, POG 4-stripe, Prince Precision 770, Michael Chang Graphite LongBody..
I found that adding about 70 grams of leadtape, putty, and nickels to about 350 gram and balance point close to 31 cm, made it played so intuitive and quick like an extension of my arm. Everything else became training sticks. Here is my blog entry on this discovery.
Oh, this Prince Triple Threat Bandit OS has the Ashaway Kevlar+ from my first set of CrossFire ZX and some synthetic gut on it. Got enough power and comfort with this setup. Spin and control is decent.

 

[teachingprotx]

What racket are you talking about ?

 

[tennisbike]

What racket are you talking about ?

Sorry for keeping the identity of my FrankenStick inside the Blog entry. You would laugh.. It is a heavily customized tweener: Prince Triple Threat Bandit OS.
Here is the Blog Post for a longer version of this story.

Round Two: Monster Stick Trumped POG and MC LB, and Why?

I had high hope for the Prince Original Graphite. The first one I bought, the tear drop shaped one-stripe original model was hefty and int...

tennislaboratory.blogspot.com

Unleash the Monster - Prince Triple Threat Bandit OS

The experiment begins ... There is something irresistible about creating greatness with a low budget build like the annual 20xx ch...

tennislaboratory.blogspot.com

 

[Caol-ila]

I occasionally play with a Head Prestige 660 made in Austria. I do not know how old it is, but for sure more than 20. In one hour I am going to use it again.

 

[graycrait]

The two on the right are over 20 yrs old and I play them 3-5 times a week. I'm "fritzing" around with that new black Prince 107G on the left to see if I can "make" it as solid as the other two for ground strokes because right now I can serve better with the Prince but the older Head OSs play off the ground a bit better for me right now. For a starter I added 12g to the throat of the Prince to see if that is better/worse or no change. It might require a string change due to its more open 16x19 pattern vs the 18x19 of the other two. Also the flex of the Prince is totally different than the two Heads. I sent for 6 TK82S pallets to convert several of my existing Head OSs and allow me to bid on some others that aren't currently in my grip size.

 

[Ronaldo]

Local club player still uses the Head Genesis OS strung w/Champions Choice. Claims no current OS racquet has the weight he wants. He should start a 30 yr old thread.

 

[Ed Lee]

I have recently been playing with the Prince Magnesium Pro 90 as well as the Pro Kennex Black Ace (1987 version). They play well, but certainly requires more concentration on my part!

 

[Ronaldo]

I have recently been playing with the Prince Magnesium Pro 90 as well as the Pro Kennex Black Ace (1987 version). They play well, but certainly requires more concentration on my part!

Your Mag Pro 90 still round? Still have a pair of Mag Pro 110, may whip them out tomorrow morning

 

[Ed Lee]

I was aware of the potential problem of the head flattening out at 12 o'clock. I strung it at the low end of the recommended range. It's good!

 

[BenC]

My Hyper Pro Staffs are 19 years old, so I'm not quite there yet.

Also thought this was relevant. Basically the time of the Prince Graphite is where modern strokes start becoming effective.

Finally, search google for "DUNLOP RACQUET TECHNOLOGY" and the first link should be a page on one of TW's competitors (which is why I'm not linking it directly). That is a lot of marketing fluff ...

 

[Conan]

I play with wood rackets all the time. I have three that I absolutely love, Donnay Allwood Medium, Slazenger Challenge 1 Medium, And my mom’s Maxply Fort. I only use those against people lower than me or with other guys wanting to play wood racket tennis. The two rackets I play the most competitive with are the RF97 (5 years old) and a Ncode 95 (15 years old). Neither that close to twenty.

That video above really annoys me he doesn’t like serving with the wood racket though. My doubles/training partner (we play more singles) says my serve with the Wood rackets are tougher than my real rackets. I think he’s crazy, I think my serve is bomb with the RF, but honestly I think my wood racket serves are on par with my ncode. Granted I can’t kick as high, he says they’re heavy. And I never feel like I’m having serve rhythm issues when using them, I have no idea why that is.

 

[Ronaldo]

I play with wood rackets all the time. I have three that I absolutely love, Donnay Allwood Medium, Slazenger Challenge 1 Medium, And my mom’s Maxply Fort. I only use those against people lower than me or with other guys wanting to play wood racket tennis. The two rackets I play the most competitive with are the RF97 (5 years old) and a Ncode 95 (15 years old). Neither that close to twenty.

That video above really annoys me he doesn’t like serving with the wood racket though. My doubles/training partner (we play more singles) says my serve with the Wood rackets are tougher than my real rackets. I think he’s crazy, I think my serve is bomb with the RF, but honestly I think my wood racket serves are on par with my ncode. Granted I can’t kick as high, he says they’re heavy. And I never feel like I’m having serve rhythm issues when using them, I have no idea why that is.

What do the wood racquets weigh?

 

[vsbabolat]

What do the wood racquets weigh?

12.5oz and up

 

[Conan]

What do the wood racquets weigh?

My Allwoods are 394 and 384 love both of them.
The Maxply is 373
My RF is 359
I actually don’t know the Slazengers I’ll weigh them next week, I left it at my in laws house.

 

[Ronaldo]

My Allwoods are 394 and 384 love both of them.
The Maxply is 373
My RF is 359
I actually don’t know the Slazengers I’ll weigh them next week, I left it at my in laws house.

One of the biggest serves of anyone I played used a Kramer heavy which 15.5 oz, or 434 grams. Mass times acceleration = PAIN

 

[Conan]

One of the biggest serves of anyone I played used a Kramer heavy which 15.5 oz, or 434 grams. Mass times acceleration = PAIN

I remember demoing the k88 and thinking that was the greatest serve monster ever. And i know it was because of that weight. It kills me i didn’t buy it, just to have. But these wood rackets just feel like I’m slingshotting them with the flex, it feels awesome.

 

[13GATOSNEGROS]

i play old rackets. i DO have a (one) new racket but i prefer my old ones, they just feel better; they feel like fun, they feel familiar. also they require more attention and precision. i like that.
back then, when i finally got the new one, i used to go out with the newbie PLUS one or two oldies but after some time, i "forgot" to pack the 2014er and therefore took another extra-woodie or graphitecarbonboronalu-slugger.
today i went out with a) snauwaert graphite dyno, b) wilson ellsworth vines personal and c) head edgewood. i must confess: i only played the dyno today, really love that stick.

 

[PT280 Fan]

I'm serious about my dubs so I don't play woody fly swatters unless it's a woody only event. However, I have been going back to my 25 year old Head PT280 more and more as my other frames have been tearing up my arm and shoulder a bit. My main sticks these days are a pair of Donnay Xenecore Pro One GTs which are actually modeled after the PT57a only with a more open string pattern. I usually play the first set with the 25 year old PT280 at which point my arm is loosened up and I can switch to the Donnays for the extra spin.

 

[mat2020]

i was just wondering, i see allot of people on here play with the older "players" rackets.
i just bought two prince 110 rackets, one is a pro series and the other is a spectum 110 composite.
i loved the way the older rackets played and just found these two at a great price so i went ahead and picked them up.
have not hit with them yet (the weather is too bad) but can't wait to get out on the court and hit a few around.
i played with these back about 20 some years ago but sold them and went the newer rackets.
just wanted some more input from folks that love the older rackets.
thanks:???:

i play exclusively with the WILSON HYPER CARBON 2.0 HAMMER tennis racquet. i prefer the 115 square inch head size. the 125 square inch head size racquet is a bit too unwieldy. i have been playing with the 2.0 HYPER CARBON racquet for the last 5 years. I LOVE IT ! i know that some people consider the racquet to be only for the people of the 80 years old plus world, because it is light-weight, and with a 115 square inch head size. it is fabulous !

 

[mat2020]

Do you guys ever get tired of being teased by fellow players? Especially those who use the latest Prince and Wilson rackets? I know I do (eg, here comes the "dinosaur"....)......

hello !

i just wrote that i play with the WILSON 2.0 HYPER CARBON HAMMER racquets. i also wear on my racquet hand a golf glove. i started to wear the golf glove 20+ years ago, because of blisters and calluses on my racquet hand. the skin that is on my hand is tender.

more than one person, continually, asks me, "...how are you able to put up with a glove ? don't you lose the feel and the touch and the direct contact with the racquet ? ...".

the other question is, "... how do you play with this racquet ? the head size is SO BIG. the frame is SO LIGHT. doesn't your arm hurt ? ...".

my answers always are, "... i am so used to playing with a glove. i do not even notice it. i will feel it on my hands, and i will feel myself to be "lost" if i am not wearing a golf glove ! ...".

the other answers always are, "... the racquet is great. why should i play with a heavier / more mass racquet frame when i am able to play with a way-lighter weight/less mass frame ?

the WILSON 2.0 HYPER CARBON HAMMER racquet, and my golf gloves, are GREAT !!!

 

[Ronaldo]

Played with racquetball gloves this year due to Cyrus. Your grip is so solid with the glove may use them forward. Met guys who still use Head racquets from the 80s but strung with Champions Choice. Spin for days. Want the heft